Performance Analysis and Industry Deployment of Post-Quantum Cryptography Algorithms

TL;DR

The paper addresses the quantum-threat to classical cryptography by evaluating NIST-selected PQC algorithms Kyber and Dilithium for secure key exchange and digital signatures in telecom contexts. It adopts a performance-centric approach, benchmarking key operations with AVX2 optimizations and comparing against classical schemes at corresponding security levels, formalized with measurements such as $128$- or $256$-bit security. The main findings show Kyber and Dilithium deliver competitive or superior execution times to RSA and ECDSA under equivalent security, with AVX2 enabling speedups up to $6.65$× for Kyber decapsulation and about $5.83$× for Dilithium signing, highlighting practical hardware acceleration benefits. These results, combined with industry deployment analyses and case studies, indicate PQC adoption is technically feasible and can be integrated through hybrid modes and crypto-agility, informing standards and regulatory strategies for secure $5$G/$6$G networks and beyond.

Abstract

As quantum computing advances, modern cryptographic standards face an existential threat, necessitating a transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC). The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has selected CRYSTALS-Kyber and CRYSTALS-Dilithium as standardized PQC algorithms for secure key exchange and digital signatures, respectively. This study conducts a comprehensive performance analysis of these algorithms by benchmarking execution times across cryptographic operations such as key generation, encapsulation, decapsulation, signing, and verification. Additionally, the impact of AVX2 optimizations is evaluated to assess hardware acceleration benefits. Our findings demonstrate that Kyber and Dilithium achieve efficient execution times, outperforming classical cryptographic schemes such as RSA and ECDSA at equivalent security levels. Beyond technical performance, the real-world deployment of PQC introduces challenges in telecommunications networks, where large-scale infrastructure upgrades, interoperability with legacy systems, and regulatory constraints must be addressed. This paper examines the feasibility of PQC adoption in telecom environments, highlighting key transition challenges, security risks, and implementation strategies. Through industry case studies, we illustrate how telecom operators are integrating PQC into 5G authentication, subscriber identity protection, and secure communications. Our analysis provides insights into the computational trade-offs, deployment considerations, and standardization efforts shaping the future of quantum-safe cryptographic infrastructure.