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Prof. Sedat Akleylek Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia Post-Quantum Cryptographic Protocols: from Theory to Practice The transition to post-quantum cryptography is no longer a theoretical exercise but an urgent engineering challenge driven by the accelerating progress of quantum computing. This invited talk explores the practical realities of migrating real-world systems to quantum-resistant security, focusing on three critical pillars: Transport layer security (TLS), CDOC2 (Estonia’s file encryption format) secure document container systems, and the integration of post-quantum key encapsulation mechanisms (KEMs) and digital signature schemes. We begin with an overview of the cryptographic threat landscape and the implications for widely deployed protocols such as TLS, where hybrid and post-quantum key exchange mechanisms are being standardized to ensure forward secrecy in a quantum era. We examine the design and deployment considerations of integrating PQ KEMs into TLS handshakes, including performance overhead, interoperability, backward compatibility, and cryptographic agility. We provide some challenges and opportunities in the quantum era. |
