Post-Quantum TLS

Abstract

The internet is secured using a cryptographic system called TLS; also known from the ‘lock on the browser’. However, the building blocks of that system are in need of replacement: they cannot withstand attacks by quantum computers. Post-quantum algorithms, which are resistant to such attacks, are however larger or heavier than existing solutions, and compromises must be made to make them work in TLS.

In this PhD thesis, Thom Wiggers looks at what happens when we adapt TLS to the post-quantum world, and whether there are more efficient solutions that make better use of the properties of post-quantum key exchange and digital signatures. This leads to a proposal for a new authentication in TLS, KEMTLS, in which key exchange is used to establish a TLS connection faster and with less data exchange. The PhD thesis examines the design of this protocol, its safety, and its performance on simulated and real networks.