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Main Authors: Liu, Tao, Ramachandra, Gowri, Jurdak, Raja
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.18708
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author Liu, Tao
Ramachandra, Gowri
Jurdak, Raja
author_facet Liu, Tao
Ramachandra, Gowri
Jurdak, Raja
contents Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) creates payloads that strain the timing and energy budgets of Personal Area Networks. In post-quantum key exchange (PQKE), this causes severe fragmentation, prolonged radio activity, and high transmission overhead on low-power devices. Prior work optimizes cryptographic computation but largely ignores communication cost. This paper separates computation and communication costs using Bluetooth Low Energy as a representative platform and validates them on real hardware. Results show communication often dominates PQKE energy, exceeding cryptographic cost. Efficient quantum-resilient pairing therefore requires coordinated protocol configuration and lower-layer optimization. This work provides developers a practical way to reason about PQC energy trade-offs and informs the evolution of PAN standards toward quantum-safe operation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_18708
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On the Energy Cost of Post-Quantum Key Establishment in Wireless Low-Power Personal Area Networks
Liu, Tao
Ramachandra, Gowri
Jurdak, Raja
Cryptography and Security
Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) creates payloads that strain the timing and energy budgets of Personal Area Networks. In post-quantum key exchange (PQKE), this causes severe fragmentation, prolonged radio activity, and high transmission overhead on low-power devices. Prior work optimizes cryptographic computation but largely ignores communication cost. This paper separates computation and communication costs using Bluetooth Low Energy as a representative platform and validates them on real hardware. Results show communication often dominates PQKE energy, exceeding cryptographic cost. Efficient quantum-resilient pairing therefore requires coordinated protocol configuration and lower-layer optimization. This work provides developers a practical way to reason about PQC energy trade-offs and informs the evolution of PAN standards toward quantum-safe operation.
title On the Energy Cost of Post-Quantum Key Establishment in Wireless Low-Power Personal Area Networks
topic Cryptography and Security
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.18708