SBIR Phase I: Post-Quantum Cryptography in Resource-Constrained Devices

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是为物联网(IoT)和嵌入式设备设计人员、企业硬件和软件供应商以及政府承包商提供最先进的加密和网络安全解决方案，以抵御经典和量子计算机的攻击。人们普遍认为，量子计算机对当今安全的攻击有望在未来十年内成为现实。在建造量子计算机方面已经取得了一些进展，尽管还没有制造出具有真正计算能力的量子计算机。然而，我们认为提前计划未来的需求是谨慎的，因为由于网络影响，通常需要很多年才能更改密码系统部署。该项目计划实施量子安全解决方案，这将需要在嵌入式系统中使用的资源受限的设备上集成量子安全软件和/或硬件加密解决方案。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将设计、开发和实施适用于小型和资源受限设备的加密算法，这些加密算法采用已知的经典和量子安全的硬而复杂的数学假设。所有后量子密码学候选都需要根据性能进行评估，而目标应用程序是资源受限的设备。在这些设备中部署量子安全密码算法时，长期和轻量级安全性是需要考虑的两个主要参数。我们计划采用一类特殊的基于椭圆曲线上映射的量子安全算法，以达到所需的性能和安全性。众所周知，基于椭圆曲线上的这些映射的密码系统提供了可能的最小密钥大小，与其他量子安全候选方案相比，它们的安全级别由单个参数的简单选择决定。硬件设计通过VLSI设计流程来实现，并对集成电路的功耗、面积/性能和安全性进行了评估。该项目将产生关于如何在量子时代确保安全的新见解和结果。该项目还将有助于美国政府和其他国际组织正在进行的标准化工作。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to deliver state of the art cryptography and cybersecurity solutions to Internet of Things (IoTs) and embedded device designers, enterprise hardware and software vendors, and government contractors against the attack of classical and quantum computers. It has been widely accepted that quantum computer attacks on today's security are expected to become a reality within the next decade. Some progress towards constructing quantum computers has been made, although no quantum computers with serious computing power have yet been built. Nevertheless, we believe it is prudent to plan ahead for future needs as it normally takes many years to change cryptosystem deployments due to network effects. This project plans to implement quantum-safe solutions which will require the integration of quantum-safe software and/or hardware cryptographic solutions on resource-constrained devices used in embedded systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will design, develop, and implement cryptographic algorithms that are suitable for small and resource-constrained devices employing hard and complex mathematical assumptions known to be classical- and quantum-safe. All post-quantum cryptography candidates need to be evaluated in terms of performance while the target applications are resource-constrained devices. Long-term and lightweight security are two main parameters that need to be considered while deploying quantum-safe cryptographic algorithms in these devices. We plan to employ a special class of quantum-safe algorithms based on maps on elliptic curves to achieve the required performance and security. Cryptosystems based on these maps on the elliptic curves are known to provide the smallest possible key sizes and their security level is determined by a simple choice of a single parameter in comparison to the other quantum-safe candidates. The hardware designs are taken through VLSI design flow to realize the integrated circuits that are evaluated for energy/power, area/performance, and security. The project will generate new insights and results about how to be safe and secure in the quantum era. This project will also contribute to the ongoing standardization effort by the US government and other international organizations.