Recent Trends in Post-Quantum Cryptography Integration and Performance in the Internet Security Stack

Novriansyah Turnip, Togu; Andersen, Birger; Vargas-Rosales, Cesar

doi:10.22042/isecure.2026.241265

Recent Trends in Post-Quantum Cryptography Integration and Performance in the Internet Security Stack

Articles in Press

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

Togu Novriansyah Turnip ¹

Birger Andersen ¹

Cesar Vargas-Rosales ²

¹ Department of Engineering Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

² Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Science, Monterrey, Mexico

10.22042/isecure.2026.241265

Abstract

The rapid advancement of quantum computing poses a direct threat to classical public-key cryptographic systems at the core of Internet security protocols. Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) has therefore become central to ongoing standardisation and early deployment efforts. This paper presents a comparative analysis of PQC integration into TLS, SSH, and IPsec, examining cross-cutting challenges, protocol-specific trade-offs, and deployment considerations. Our findings show that PQC adoption introduces markedly uneven overheads across protocols: handshake latency may increase by up to 600% in TLS, by 29% in SSH, and by up to 300% in IPsec, while memory requirements in hybrid configurations can exceed 300 KB in resource-constrained environments. We further demonstrate that message fragmentation, certificate chain expansion, and cumulative rekeying costs emerge as protocol-dependent bottlenecks, underscoring that migration strategies must be tailored to the architecture and operational context of each protocol. Beyond performance, we identify interoperability gaps, downgrade vulnerabilities, and side-channel risks as critical obstacles to secure deployment. By combining empirical performance evidence with a structured review of challenges and deployment strategies, our study provides actionable insights for practitioners, informs ongoing standards development, and highlights research priorities essential to building a resilient, quantum-resistant Internet infrastructure.

Keywords

Internet Security

IPSec

Post-Quantum Cryptography

SSH

TLS

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