Paper 2025/479

Post Quantum Migration of Tor

Denis Berger, Edinburgh Napier University
Mouad Lemoudden, Edinburgh Napier University
William J Buchanan, Edinburgh Napier University
Abstract

Shor's and Grover's algorithms' efficiency and the advancement of quantum computers imply that the cryptography used until now to protect one's privacy is potentially vulnerable to retrospective decryption, also known as harvest now, decrypt later attack in the near future. This dissertation proposes an overview of the cryptographic schemes used by Tor, highlighting the non-quantum-resistant ones and introducing theoretical performance assessment methods of a local Tor network. The measurement is divided into three phases. We will start with benchmarking a local Tor network simulation on constrained devices to isolate the time taken by classical cryptography processes. Secondly, the analysis incorporates existing benchmarks of quantum-secure algorithms and compares these performances on the devices. Lastly, the estimation of overhead is calculated by replacing the measured times of traditional cryptography with the times recorded for Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) execution within the specified Tor environment. By focusing on the replaceable cryptographic components, using theoretical estimations, and leveraging existing benchmarks, valuable insights into the potential impact of PQC can be obtained without needing to implement it fully.

Metadata
Available format(s)
PDF
Category
Implementation
Publication info
Preprint.
Keywords
Post Quantum CryptographyTorNISTOnion Routing
Contact author(s)
denis @ denisb net
m lemoudden @ napier ac uk
b buchanan @ napier ac uk
History
2025-03-14: approved
2025-03-13: received
See all versions
Short URL
https://ia.cr/2025/479
License
Creative Commons Attribution
CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2025/479,
      author = {Denis Berger and Mouad Lemoudden and William J Buchanan},
      title = {Post Quantum Migration of Tor},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2025/479},
      year = {2025},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/479}
}
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