PQC-LEO: An Evaluation Framework for Post-Quantum Cryptographic Algorithms

TL;DR

The PQC-LEO framework is introduced, a benchmarking suite designed to automate the evaluation of PQC computational and networking performance across x86 and ARM architectures and shows that there is a greater performance reduction in implementing PQC methods with higher security on ARM architectures than on the x86 architecture.

Abstract

Advances in quantum computing threaten digital communication security by undermining the foundations of current public-key cryptography through Shor's quantum algorithm. This has driven the development of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC), a new set of algorithms resistant to quantum attacks. While NIST has standardised several PQC schemes, challenges remain in their adoption. This paper introduces the PQC-LEO framework, a benchmarking suite designed to automate the evaluation of PQC computational and networking performance across x86 and ARM architectures. A proof-of-concept evaluation was conducted to demonstrate the framework's capabilities and highlight its application in supporting ongoing research on the adoption of PQC algorithms. The results show that there is a greater performance reduction in implementing PQC methods with higher security on ARM architectures than on the x86 architecture.

Figures (1)

• Figure 1: Overview of the PQC-LEO Framework Testing Types