Deployment Feasibility Analysis of Post-Quantum Digital Signatures in Safety-Critical C-V2X Communication for Urban Mobility Scenario
2026-08-05 • Performance
Performance
AI summaryⓘ
The authors studied how new quantum-resistant signature algorithms compare to the current ECDSA used for vehicle-to-vehicle communication. They found that most post-quantum algorithms have larger data sizes that do not fit well into existing communication limits, except Falcon-512. While Falcon-512 is feasible to use, it only works well under light traffic and clear line-of-sight conditions, unlike ECDSA which performs better under more traffic. The authors emphasize that the main challenge is fitting the larger signatures into limited communication space, rather than how fast the algorithms run. Their work helps inform future standards for secure quantum-resistant vehicle communication.
ECDSAPost-Quantum CryptographyC-V2XSAE J3161IEEE 1609.2Falcon-512Dilithium-2SPHINCS+Packet Delivery RatioTransport Block
Authors
Akid Abrar, Sagar Dasgupta, Abdullah Al Mamun, Minhaj Uddin Ahmad, Mizanur Rahman, Mashrur Chowdhury, Ahmad Alsharif
Abstract
The transition from the classical ECDSA to PQC creates substantially larger authentication payloads for safety-critical C-V2X sidelink communication. This study determines which NIST post-quantum signature algorithms are compatible with the current SAE J3161 deployment profile and quantifies their communication-level effects. A transport-block feasibility analysis was performed using IEEE 1609.2 secured-message structures, SAE J3161 radio parameters, and the signature and public-key sizes of ECDSA P-256, Falcon-512, Dilithium-2, and SPHINCS+. Falcon-512, the only post-quantum candidate that fit the applicable transport-block constraints, was compared with ECDSA P-256 through full-stack C-V2X PC5 Mode 4 co-simulation. The evaluation covered 24 scenarios spanning six traffic levels-of-service with line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight propagation. PDR and end-to-end latency were evaluated at a roadside unit receiver. Dilithium-2 and SPHINCS+ exceeded the available transport-block capacity, whereas Falcon-512 remained physically feasible. Falcon-512 maintained mean latency near 52 ms and 95th-percentile latency within 97-98 ms, but met the 90% packet-delivery threshold only at traffic level-of-service A, under line-of-sight propagation. ECDSA met the threshold through traffic level-of-service C. Neither algorithm met the threshold under non-line-of-sight propagation. The study provides a standards-grounded cross-layer evaluation that identifies both algorithm feasibility and traffic-dependent deployment boundaries for post-quantum signatures on C-V2X Mode 4 sidelink. The results show that spectrum efficiency, rather than cryptographic computation time, is the primary deployment constraint. They support standards development concerning payload structure, resource allocation, certificate transmission, and migration strategies for quantum-resistant vehicular communication.