Depth-Optimized Quantum Circuits for ASCON: AEAD and HASH

Yujin Oh, Kyungbae Jang, Anubhab Baksi and Hwajeong Seo ()
Additional contact information
Yujin Oh: Division of IT Convergence Engineering, Hansung University, Seoul 02876, Republic of Korea
Kyungbae Jang: Division of IT Convergence Engineering, Hansung University, Seoul 02876, Republic of Korea
Anubhab Baksi: School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639539, Singapore
Hwajeong Seo: Division of IT Convergence Engineering, Hansung University, Seoul 02876, Republic of Korea

Mathematics, 2024, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Quantum computing advancements pose security challenges for cryptography. Specifically, Grover’s search algorithm affects the reduction in the search complexity of symmetric-key encryption and hash functions. Recent efforts have been made to estimate the complexity of Grover’s search and evaluate post-quantum security. In this paper, we propose a depth-optimized quantum circuit implementation for ASCON, including both symmetric-key encryption and hashing algorithms, as a part of the lightweight cryptography standardization by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). As far as we know, this is the first implementation of a quantum circuit for the ASCON AEAD (Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data) scheme, which is a symmetric-key algorithm. Also, our quantum circuit implementation of the ASCON-HASH achieves a reduction of more than 88.9% in the Toffoli depth and more than 80.5% in the full depth compared to the previous work. As per our understanding, the most effective strategy against Grover’s search involves minimizing the depth of the quantum circuit for the target cipher. We showcase the optimal Grover’s search cost for ASCON and introduce a proposed quantum circuit optimized for depth. Furthermore, we utilize the estimated cost to evaluate post-quantum security strength of ASCON, employing the relevant evaluation criteria and the latest advancements in research.

Keywords: quantum computer; ASCON; Grover’s search algorithm; post-quantum security (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/12/9/1337/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/12/9/1337/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jmathe:v:12:y:2024:i:9:p:1337-:d:1384594

Access Statistics for this article

Mathematics is currently edited by Ms. Emma He

More articles in Mathematics from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().