Implementation and performance of post-quantum cryptography for resource constrained consumer electronics

The proliferation of consumer electronics (CE), from smartphones to IoT-enabled smart devices, has significantly transformed our everyday lives, enhancing convenience and connectivity. However, these transformations to modern life have introduced security vulnerabilities, particularly as traditional cryptographic algorithms face mounting challenges from quantum computing technology. Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) has emerged as a promising solution for providing future-proof security for next-generation CE against the quantum computing threat. PQC algorithms are developed to resist cyberattacks from both classical and quantum computers, ensuring long-term security solutions. This article explores the integration of PQC into next-generation CE devices to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and user privacy. It highlights the vulnerabilities of classical cryptographic methods and underscores the need for transitioning to quantum-resistant solutions. Moreover, the practical implementation of PQC in resource-constrained CE devices is analyzed. Our evaluation shows that optimized PQC incurs negligible overhead on servers (5%), can be up to 12× slower on CE devices, and reduces communication overhead below conventional ECC (1 KB vs. 2.1 KB), while achieving hardware throughput thousands of times higher than RSA. By proactively exploring the opportunities and challenges associated with PQC, this research outlines future directions for implementing robust, scalable, and secure systems, thereby ensuring consumer trust in the evolving technological landscape.