Layered Performance Analysis of TLS 1.3 Handshakes: Classical, Hybrid, and Pure Post-Quantum Key Exchange
2026-03-11 • Cryptography and Security
Cryptography and Security
AI summaryⓘ
The authors studied how new post-quantum cryptography (PQC) methods affect different parts of web transactions that use HTTPS, like the steps from starting a connection to sending web page data. They built a lab setup to mimic real internet traffic and tested different types of encryption: traditional, mixed (hybrid), and fully post-quantum. By running many experiments and looking closely at each stage, they measured how these encryption types impacted connection and data exchange speeds and behaviors. This helps understand the practical effects of adopting PQC in web communications.
Post-Quantum CryptographyTLS 1.3HTTP over TLSTCP HandshakeTLS HandshakeLoad BalancerKey ExchangeHybrid CryptographyBackend ServerStatistical Analysis
Authors
David Gómez-Cambronero, Daniel Munteanu, Ana Isabel González-Tablas
Abstract
In this paper, we present a laboratory study focused on the impact of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms on multiple layers of stateful HTTP over TLS transactions: the TCP handshake, the intermediate TCP-TLS layer, the TLS handshake, the intermediate TLS layer, and the HTTP application layer. To this end, we propose a laboratory architecture that emulates a real-world setup in which a load test of up to 100 transactions per second is sent to a load balancer, which in turn forwards them to a backend server that returns the responses. Each set of tests is executed using the TLS 1.3 key exchange groups as follows: traditional (or non-PQC), hybrid PQC and pure PQC. Each set of tests also varied the backend response size. Across more than thirty experiments, we performed data reduction and statistical analysis for each layer, to determine the specific impact of each algorithm (PQC and traditional) at every stage of the HTTP-over-TLS transaction.