Protect long-lived PQC secrets without hardware redesign
Devices rely on private keys that must remain secure in the field for 10-20 years. If a hacker obtains physical access and extracts the private key, they could impersonate that device, decrypt its traffic, or even push malicious “signed” firmware updates to an entire network – an eventuality that could be realized by a malicious entity performing a side channel attack. With the transition to post-quantum cryptography, the risk profile for embedded devices against physical tampering is actually increasing, and there are a number of reasons:
- PQC private keys are larger and more complex.
- Implementations faced increased side-channel exposure.
- Physical attacks are becoming more accessible.
- Brownfield devices cannot be redesigned or rearchitected
- Devices are increasingly required to show that they will survive the quantum window
The challenge: how do you protect PQC-enabled embedded devices from side channel attack?
PQMicroLib-Core – DPA-protected PQC
PQMicroLib-Core Edge grade provides pure software countermeasures that means side-channel protection against first-order Differential Power Analysis (DPA) is deliverable over-the-air – ideal for practical deployment in brownfield upgrades. No special hardware is required, and the solution has been specifically designed for exposed embedded environments.