Post Quantum Cryptography on Intravehicular Networks

This research evaluated the practicality of implementing Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms onboard resource-constrained computing devices, especially those found in automotive platforms. While computational efficiency within PQC is high, memory size and bandwidth constraints become relevant upon consideration of end-to-end implementation. The Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol utilizes only eight (8) bytes of data payload per message, requiring the large keys of PQC algorithms to be split into several messages. Power efficient 32-bit ARM microcontrollers were used for testing. Comparison was made between software implementations of both PQC and modern algorithms to evaluate relative computational cost. Ultimately, this research determined that the communication overhead required by PQC algorithms such as CRYSTALS-Kyber, CRYSTALS-Dilithium, and Falcon is not so egregious as to preclude them from implementation on board vehicular networks.