Efficient and Quantum-safe Internet Key Exchange Protocols for Satellite Communications

2026-05-27

AI Summary

This work addresses the challenges of key exchange in satellite communications, where onboard resources are constrained, propagation delays are high, and conventional protocols remain vulnerable to quantum attacks. To tackle these issues, the paper proposes a satellite-optimized variant of the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol that integrates lightweight design principles with post-quantum cryptographic algorithms, enabling hybrid deployment of classical and post-quantum cryptography. The proposed scheme maintains low computational overhead and minimal bandwidth consumption while effectively mitigating “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks. Experimental evaluations demonstrate that the protocol achieves strong performance on resource-constrained terminals alongside robust quantum-safe security, offering a practical pathway for transitioning satellite communication systems into the post-quantum era.

Abstract

This paper studies cryptographic key exchange in satellite communications, which requires specific solutions because the satellite context presents unique challenges, particularly concerning onboard resource constraints and long transmission latency. We address these challenges by considering the Internet Key Exchange (IKE) protocol, which is widely used in terrestrial networks, and studying its applicability in the satellite context. This requires addressing two main issues: i) its efficiency in terms of the resources and bandwidth required to adapt to satellite terminals, and ii) its resistance even to attackers equipped with a quantum computer, in order to resist obsolescence and defend against harvest-now-decrypt-later attacks. We study these aspects from both a design and experimental point of view, defining and assessing some protocol variants characterized by low complexity and quantum resistance. To address the need to manage the transition from classic cryptographic primitives to post-quantum ones, we also consider the possibility of using hybrid cryptographic solutions that combine them both.

Problem

• satellite communications
• key exchange
• quantum-safe
• resource constraints
• transmission latency

Innovation

• post-quantum cryptography
• Internet Key Exchange (IKE)
• satellite communications
• hybrid cryptography
• resource-constrained security