When Cryptography Needs a Hand: Practical Post-Quantum Authentication for V2V Communications

Geoff Twardokus

Network and Distributed System Security (NDSS) Symposium 2024 · Day 2 · Applied Cryptography

This talk, "When Cryptography Needs a Hand: Practical Post-Quantum Authentication for V2V Communications," presented by Geoff Twardokus, addresses the critical and immediate threat quantum computing poses to the security of connected vehicle technologies, specifically **vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication**. V2V systems are fundamental to intelligent transportation and autonomous driving, enabling vehicles to broadcast essential safety messages (BSMs) containing data like location and heading. These BSMs are currently secured using Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA), a cryptographic primitive highly vulnerable to attacks by sufficiently powerful quantum computers. Given that vehicles sold today will remain on the road for 12-15 years, potentially until 2039 or beyond, and experts estimate a 50% chance of a quantum computer capable of breaking classical cryptography emerging within this timeframe, the need for a robust, quantum-resistant solution is urgent.