Post-Quantum Cryptography: Algorithms and Implementation Challenges
Murali Krishna Pasupuleti · International Journal of Academic and Industrial Research Innovations(IJAIRI) · 2025
The advent of quantum computing presents a significant threat to classical public-key cryptographic systems, including RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), thereby accelerating the development and standardization of post-quantum cryptography (PQC). This study evaluates the performance and implementation challenges of leading PQC algorithms across three major categories: lattice-based, hash-based, and multivariate cryptographic schemes. Utilizing empirical benchmark data from NIST candidate algorithms, the analysis focuses on key generation time, encryption latency, and memory consumption. Simulations and regression modeling reveal that lattice-based algorithms, particularly Kyber, demonstrate favorable trade-offs between computational efficiency and cryptographic strength. However, these schemes also present integration difficulties, especially in resource-constrained or legacy systems. Hash-based schemes like SPHINCS+ exhibit strong security guarantees but suffer from high latency and memory overhead, while multivariate algorithms such as Rainbow offer compact key sizes with moderate performance. The findings highlight the need for application-specific evaluation in selecting PQC solutions and provide actionable insights for guiding secure and efficient cryptographic transitions in the post-quantum era. Keywords: Post-Quantum Cryptography, Lattice-Based Cryptography, Hash-Based Cryptography, Multivariate Cryptography, Quantum Computing, Cryptographic Algorithms, Key Generation, Encryption Latency, Implementation Challenges, NIST PQC Standardization