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Post-quantum cryptography integration into the ACME protocol for the Linux based IoT context

Augusto Miguel Barth

Published Dec 16, 2025• 0 citations

Abstract

Currently, there is a growing use of IoT devices and other low-power embedded systems. This enables many applications to become connected to the Internet, such as household appliances. However, the security of these connections still faces challenges, especially due to the lack of automated mechanisms for secure certificate management and encrypted communications. The ACME (Automatic Certificate Management Environment) protocol emerges as a viable solution, as it allows the automated issuance and renewal of digital certificates. Nevertheless, the imminent advent of quantum computing threatens the cryptographic algorithms currently in use, such as RSA and ECDSA, compromising the security of these systems. Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) aims to address this issue by employing algorithms based on mathematical problems resistant to quantum attacks. Even so, integrating PQC into IoT devices is challenging due to constraints related to performance, memory, and energy consumption. In this context, this work proposes the integration of post-quantum algorithms into the ACME protocol, using open-source libraries such as liboqs from the Open Quantum Safe Project, and conducting benchmarks in the context of resource-constrained devices, contributing to proactive preparedness against potential quantum threats. The implementation presented several challenges, but the results showed that MAYO-1 is comparable to RSA in certificate issuance times under favorable network conditions, although it suffers performance degradation with 5% network packet loss due to the large number of bytes in its messages.

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The Internet of Things (IoT) has revolutionized the way devices communicate and interact, enabling seamless integration into various aspects of daily life by billions of connected devices equipped with small, embedded controllers that monitor and manage our increasingly interconnected world. The swift growth of IoT devices has led to significant concerns about data security and privacy. Traditional cryptographic algorithms, usually lightweight cryptography, are effective against classical computing threats. However, they are vulnerable to attacks from emerging quantum computing technologies, which can quickly solve the mathematically hard problems used in classical cryptography. Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) offers promising solution by providing cryptographic primitives resistant to quantum attacks. This chapter addresses challenges posed by resource constrained IoT devices, like limited processing power and memory. It also explores the integration of PQC algorithms suitable for IoT environments, considering factors like computational efficiency and resistance to quantum attacks.

The rapid advancement of quantum computing poses a critical threat to classical cryptographic algorithms such as RSA and ECC, particularly in Internet of Things (IoT) devices, where secure communication is essential but often constrained by limited computational resources. This paper investigates the feasibility of deploying post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms on resource-constrained devices. In particular, we implement three PQC algorithms - BIKE, CRYSTALS-Kyber, and HQC - on a lightweight IoT platform built with Raspberry Pi devices. Leveraging the Open Quantum Safe (liboqs) library in conjunction with mbedTLS, we develop quantumsecure key exchange protocols, and evaluate their performance in terms of computational overhead, memory usage, and energy consumption for quantum secure communication. Experimental results demonstrate that the integration of PQC algorithms on constrained hardware is practical, reinforcing the urgent need for quantum-resilient cryptographic frameworks in next-generation IoT devices. The implementation of this paper is available at https://iqsec-lab.github.io/PQC-IoT/.

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The growth of quantum computing reveals a series of significant threats to cryptographic systems known today, such as RSA, ECC, and Diffie-Hellman, which are extremely important for Internet security, but are threatened by the increase in possible quantum attacks. The area of public and private key cryptography is vast. Therefore, this article addresses post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms and the challenges of implementing them in Internet of Things (IoT) devices, given the difficulty of application due to restricted resources, such as RAM and clock speed . To this end, we will discuss the need for standardization of algorithms considering low-resource IoT devices, prioritizing RAM over ROM, meeting the needs of low-memory devices, which are lighter. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has validated four cryptographic systems that are secure against quantum attacks. We analyze the implications of these systems on the infrastructure of current networks and will compare in detail these algorithms and their respective strengths, weaknesses, and trade-offs. We evaluate the feasibility of post-quantum encryption (PQC) algorithms in resource-constrained IoT devices using the ESP-WROOM-32 microcontroller. Three cryptographic schemes were implemented and compared.

The advent of quantum computing presents a significant threat to the security of modern communication systems that depend on public-key cryptography. This work provides a comprehensive overview of a thesis that explores the integration of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) within the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol and the Automatic Certificate Management Environment (ACME). We assess the feasibility and performance implications of PQC in various network environments, focusing on the hybrid mode approach as a strategic pathway for PQC adoption. Our research aims to develop practical solutions to mitigate the quantum threat while ensuring the integrity and reliability of critical internet protocols.