Ensuring communication security in real-time automotive networks is of paramount importance given the sensitivity of the exchanged information and highly safety critical nature of its operation. The first step towards ensuring security is to securely authenticate all the computational nodes through use of authentication protocols based on public-key cryptography. But, traditional public-key cryptographic primitives we use today are believed to be breakable by large scale quantum computers of the future. Thus, NIST is currently running a global global level standardization process for quantum-resistant public-key cryptography, better known as post-quantum cryptography. In this work, we perform a first of its kind practical implementation of a secure authentication protocol for automotive systems with post-quantum cryptographic algorithms and perform a detailed comparative evaluation of the speed and communication bandwidth performance against their pre-quantum counterparts.
The rapid development of quantum computers threatens traditional cryptographic schemes, prompting the need for Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC). Although the NIST standardization process has accelerated the development of such algorithms, their application in resource-constrained environments such as embedded systems remains a challenge. Automotive systems relying on the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus for communication are particularly vulnerable due to their limited computational capabilities, high traffic, and need for real-time response. These constraints raise concerns about the feasibility of implementing PQC in automotive environments, where legacy hardware and bit rate limitations must also be considered.In this paper, we introduce PQ-CAN, a modular framework for simulating the performance and overhead of PQC algorithms in embedded systems. We consider the automotive domain as our case study, testing a variety of PQC schemes under different scenarios. Our simulation enables the adjustment of embedded system computational capabilities and CAN bus bit rate constraints. We also provide insights into the trade-offs involved by analyzing each algorithm’s security level and overhead for key encapsulation and digital signature. By evaluating the performance of these algorithms, we provide insights into their feasibility and identify the strengths and limitations of PQC in securing automotive communications in the post-quantum era.
A future quantum internet brings promising applications related to security, privacy and enabling distributed quantum computing. Integration of these concepts into the future trends of the automotive sector is of considerable interest, as it enables both the development of practical quantum internet use cases and the adoption of innovative technologies in the automotive sector. In this work we analyze cross-platform megatrends in both the quantum internet and the automotive industry, identifying mutually beneficial regions of interest. In the short-term (
<10 years) hardware miniaturization and automation of quantum internet technology provides a synergy interface between the two domains. For the long-term (
≥10 years) we develop a comprehensive list of use cases for the quantum internet within the automotive sector. We find considerable relevancy of augmenting autonomous driving, vehicle ad hoc networks and sensor fusion with blind quantum computing, anonymous transmission and quantum cryptographic tools. These results can be used to target future research, engineering and venture developments for both domains. Furthermore, our approach can be applied to other industries, enabling a structured methodology for identifying and developing feasible use cases for the quantum internet in diverse domains.