Performance Evaluation of Post-Quantum Cryptography in WPA‑Enterprise Authentication

Global: Performance Evaluation of Post-Quantum Cryptography in WPA‑Enterprise Authentication

A recent academic study examined how integrating post‑quantum cryptography (PQC) into WPA‑Enterprise authentication impacts latency and security. Researchers built a testbed using FreeRADIUS and hostapd to measure authentication time at the client, access point, and RADIUS server, aiming to determine whether PQC can be deployed without prohibitive performance penalties.

Methodology

The experimental setup replicated a typical enterprise Wi‑Fi environment, with open‑source components handling authentication requests. Latency measurements were collected for each stage of the authentication flow, allowing a granular comparison between traditional cryptographic suites and various PQC algorithm pairings.

Algorithm Combinations Tested

The evaluation covered multiple PQC candidates, including lattice‑based signatures such as ML‑DSA‑65, hash‑based signatures like Falcon‑1024, and key‑exchange mechanisms exemplified by ML‑KEM. Each combination was paired with existing WPA‑Enterprise protocols to assess compatibility and overhead.

Performance Findings

Results indicated that PQC introduces additional authentication latency relative to current schemes. However, certain pairings—most notably ML‑DSA‑65 with Falcon‑1024 and ML‑KEM—offered a balance between security strength and acceptable delay, suggesting they are viable for practical use.

Security Assessment

Beyond timing, the study linked each algorithm’s resistance to quantum attacks with the effort required for exploitation. By quantifying the quantum work factor, the authors categorized weaknesses in WPA‑Enterprise and highlighted which PQC choices most effectively reduce exposure.

Mitigation Strategies

To offset the observed latency, the researchers demonstrated that session resumption techniques can substantially reduce the impact of PQC on user experience, preserving throughput while maintaining heightened security.

Implications for Enterprise Deployment

The findings provide the first real‑world performance data for PQC‑enabled WPA‑Enterprise authentication, supporting the case that enterprises can adopt post‑quantum safeguards without compromising operational efficiency. The study recommends further field trials to validate scalability across larger networks.

This report is based on information from arXiv, licensed under Academic Preprint / Open Access. Based on the abstract of the research paper. Full text available via ArXiv.