Smart Meters are usually provided with limited processing and/or storage capabilities, and also typically deployed in environments with low bandwidth. With this kind of constraints upgrading some of the functionalities protected by Asymmetric Crypto to rely Post-Quantum Crypto algorithms can lead several problems.

Specifically, the test scenario is focused on the Firmware Update functionality. In some real deployments the FW is protected by means of Elliptic Curve Digital Signatures (e.g.: NIST P-256 Curve) just to address the limitations introduced above, and the pilot’s target will be to measure/address the challenges raised by migrating to Post-Quantum Digital Signature Algorithms (or mixed classical/PQC deployments).

Leveraging PQC and QKD hybridization approaches related to 5G and their evolution to 6G architectures. PQ-REACT will investigate their application to significant use-cases, especially related to authentication, and protection mechanism for the network infrastructure, addressing the security and performance requirements in highly-pervasive, critical networked environments.

Test and validation of innovative services/apps that use PQC algorithms, in terms of various parameters like CPU, memory, power consumption, bandwidth, etc., over a virtualized infrastructure via a monitoring tool provided by the project. The algorithms may be NIST approved or submitted in the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization Call for proposals.

Practical validation and assessment of the resilience of new applications/solutions (including loTs) using PQC techniques, exploiting the capabilities of an HPC (High Performance Computer) or QC (Quantum Computer) via a suite of tools (C++/Python/Qrisp). Additional tools like, Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA), Shor’s algorithm, algorithmic primitives (e.g., quantum Fourier transform (QFT), quantum phase estimation (QPE)) and solving QUBO problem instances with QAOA are available in Qrisp.