Post-Quantum Cryptography Lab Instructions

Overview

In this lab, you’ll implement and analyze post-quantum encryption techniques using Kyber and Dilithium, two NIST-recommended algorithms for quantum-resistant security. The lab includes working with key exchange, digital signatures, and comparing algorithm performance.

Lab Instructions

1. Setting Up Your Environment

You will need:

  • Python 3 installed
  • Code editor (e.g., VS Code)
  • Terminal access
  • Docker (for advanced testing with liboqs)

Install the pqcrypto library:

pip install pqcrypto

(Optional) Build liboqs locally for advanced algorithm support:

git clone --recursive https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs
cd liboqs && mkdir build && cd build
cmake .. && make

2. Classical RSA Key Exchange (Baseline)

openssl genrsa -out private.pem 2048
openssl rsa -in private.pem -pubout -out public.pem

Encrypt/decrypt a message using Python or OpenSSL to compare with post-quantum algorithms.

3. Post-Quantum Key Exchange with Kyber1024

from pqcrypto.kem.kyber1024 import generate_keypair, encrypt, decrypt

pk, sk = generate_keypair()
ciphertext, shared_secret = encrypt(pk)
decrypted_secret = decrypt(sk, ciphertext)

print("Shared Secret Match:", shared_secret == decrypted_secret)

📝 Checkpoint: Note the size of ciphertext and shared secret. Compare them to RSA.

4. Post-Quantum Signatures with Dilithium (liboqs or oqs-sig)

echo "hello" > msg.txt
oqs-sig gen dilithium2 private.key public.key
oqs-sig sign dilithium2 private.key msg.txt sig.bin
oqs-sig verify dilithium2 public.key msg.txt sig.bin

If using oqs-sig is not available, explore Python bindings or Docker containers with liboqs tools.

5. Containerized PQC Testing Lab (Advanced)

docker run -it ghcr.io/open-quantum-safe/oqs-demos:latest /bin/bash

Explore key exchange and signing within an isolated quantum-safe demo environment.

6. Performance Comparison & Benchmarking

Use Python or CLI tools to compare:

  • Key size
  • Encryption/signing speed
  • Ciphertext and signature sizes

Create a table documenting your results between RSA, Kyber1024, and Dilithium2.

Reflection & Final Submission

  • How do these algorithms compare to classical cryptography in terms of performance and security?
  • Which PQC algorithm would you recommend for securing email or VPN traffic?
  • Submit a report that includes:
    • Screenshots of key steps and results
    • Comparative table
    • Reflections on quantum-readiness and potential industry use cases

🚀 Congratulations! You’ve completed the Post-Quantum Cryptography Lab! 🚀