Post-quantum cryptography in vehicles: Why now is the right time
On December 3, 2025, Elektor is hosting a conference on post-quantum cryptography and its significance for embedded and IoT systems. Ahead of the event, we spoke with one of the speakers, Claude-Pascal Stöber Schmidt, Technical Sales Manager – Cluster SDV Enabler at IAV GmbH, about a concept that enables the updating of existing ECUs for real-time capable applications based on the AUTOSAR Classic Platform.
Alexander Neumann: Why is now the right time to focus on PQC in vehicles?
Claude-Pascal Stöber-Schmidt: We don’t know when Q Day will come, but we know it will come in the near future. Due to the long lifetime of vehicles and the need for embedded systems with capacity for PQC it will be too late, if you don’t start now.
Neumann: What is crypto agility, and why is it so important for modern vehicles?
Stöber-Schmidt: Crypto agility is the capability to react to changing cryptographic requirements. Cryptographic algorithms that were once secure can become broken by new technology. Therefore, it is crucial to have the possibility to switch to secure cryptographic algorithms, especially in systems with very long lifespans.
Neumann: Why are hardware accelerators powerful but problematic in the context of crypto agility?
Stöber-Schmidt: Cryptographic algorithms always demand one thing, computing power, which is limited in embedded systems, therefore. Hardware accelerators have big advantages, because they needed algorithms or parts of it are etched directly into silicon. However, this limits their updateability massively, if hardware accelerated algorithms become outdated that piece of hardware is useless.
Neumann: You will present a concept for updating existing control units based on AUTOSAR Classic. How does that work in practice?
Stöber-Schmidt: We developed our own PQC library IAV quantumSAR. Based on the current chosen PQC algorithms by NIST, we implemented these algorithms in a lightweight embedded microcontroller compatible solution and built an AUTOSAR Crypto Driver interface for it. This library has an extensible design to add further algorithms.
Neumann: Are there certain algorithms that are particularly well suited for use in automotive systems?
Stöber-Schmidt: Yes, we identified three algorithms for the four critical scenarios in embedded systems, especially for vehicles and machinery, that are well suited.
Neumann: How do you assess the automotive industry’s willingness to integrate PQC and crypto agility into existing systems?
Stöber-Schmidt: We have been working on this topic for some years now to be prepared, and recently the interests are rising rapidly, especially since different governments set timelines for when they expect the industry to be quantum secure, which is roughly 2030-2035. Furthermore, attackers follow the strategy “Harvest-Now-Decrypt-Later”, which means gathering encrypted information now and making use of it, while the product is still in the market and has no PQC guard.
For more information on Elektor’s online conference “Post-Quantum Cryptography” on 3 December, see the conference website.
Editor’s note: eeNews Europe is an Elektor International Media publication.
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