Secure IoT in the Era of Quantum Computers—Where Are the Bottlenecks?

Abstract

Recent progress in quantum computers severely endangers the security of widely used public-key cryptosystems and of all communication that relies on it. Thus, the US NIST is currently exploring new post-quantum cryptographic algorithms that are robust against quantum computers. Security is seen as one of the most critical issues of low-power IoT devices—even with pre-quantum public-key cryptography—since IoT devices have tight energy constraints, limited computational power and strict memory limitations. In this paper, we present, to the best of our knowledge, the first in-depth investigation of the application of potential post-quantum key encapsulation mechanisms (KEMs) and digital signature algorithms (DSAs) proposed in the related US NIST process to a state-of-the-art, TLS-based, low-power IoT infrastructure. We implemented these new KEMs and DSAs in such a representative infrastructure and measured their impact on energy consumption, latency and memory requirements during TLS handshakes on an IoT edge device. Based on our investigations, we gained the following new insights. First, we show that the main contributor to high TLS handshake latency is the higher bandwidth requirement of post-quantum primitives rather than the cryptographic computation itself. Second, we demonstrate that a smart combination of multiple DSAs yields the most energy-, latency- and memory-efficient public key infrastructures, in contrast to NIST’s goal to standardize only one algorithm. Third, we show that code-based, isogeny-based and lattice-based algorithms can be implemented on a low-power IoT edge device based on an off-the-shelf Cortex M4 microcontroller while maintaining viable battery runtimes. This is contrary to much research that claims dedicated hardware accelerators are mandatory.

A Review of Functional Encryption in IoT Applications

“…It is therefore necessary to explore new post-quantum cryptographic algorithms and investigate architectures against strong attackers, especially those employing quantum computing [ 213 ]. Recent research works have investigated the application of potential post-quantum key encapsulation mechanisms and the digital signature algorithms identified in current NIST proposals [ 214 ]. There is always a risk of sensitive information being leaked as the function result in FE processing is communicated to the presumably sincere but inquisitive coordinator [ 121 ].…”

An Application of the Khumbelo Function on the Camellia Algorithm to Prevent Attacks in IoT Devices

“…Companies use IoT devices and networks to exchange top secret and condential information, [4]. Some of this information is sent unencrypted or encrypted by algorithms that are vulnerable to attacks [4].Cryptographic algorithms are primarily used to ensure security and privacy [4]. One of the cryptographic algorithms used on IoT devices is Camellia.…”

“…According to the ndings of this study, these S-Boxes are vulnerable to various attacks. Cryptographic algorithms are unavoidable, but they must be designed in advance to withstand attacks [4].The existing studies show that intruders attack the Camellia algorithm with various attack methods. For instance:i.…”

“…Cryptographic algorithms are primarily used to ensure security and privacy [4]. One of the cryptographic algorithms used on IoT devices is Camellia.…”

“…According to the ndings of this study, these S-Boxes are vulnerable to various attacks. Cryptographic algorithms are unavoidable, but they must be designed in advance to withstand attacks [4].…”