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LEDAkem: A Post-quantum Key Encapsulation Mechanism Based on QC-LDPC Codes

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Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQCrypto 2018)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNSC,volume 10786))

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Abstract

This work presents a new code-based key encapsulation mechanism (KEM) called LEDAkem. It is built on the Niederreiter cryptosystem and relies on quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check codes as secret codes, providing high decoding speeds and compact keypairs. LEDAkem uses ephemeral keys to foil known statistical attacks, and takes advantage of a new decoding algorithm that provides faster decoding than the classical bit-flipping decoder commonly adopted in this kind of systems. The main attacks against LEDAkem are investigated, taking into account quantum speedups. Some instances of LEDAkem are designed to achieve different security levels against classical and quantum computers. Some performance figures obtained through an efficient C99 implementation of LEDAkem are provided.

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Acknowledgments

Paolo Santini was partly funded by Namirial SpA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy

    Marco Baldi, Franco Chiaraluce & Paolo Santini

  2. Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Alessandro Barenghi & Gerardo Pelosi

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  1. Marco Baldi
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  2. Alessandro Barenghi
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  3. Franco Chiaraluce
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  4. Gerardo Pelosi
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  5. Paolo Santini
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Correspondence to Marco Baldi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Tanja Lange

  2. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA

    Rainer Steinwandt

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Baldi, M., Barenghi, A., Chiaraluce, F., Pelosi, G., Santini, P. (2018). LEDAkem: A Post-quantum Key Encapsulation Mechanism Based on QC-LDPC Codes. In: Lange, T., Steinwandt, R. (eds) Post-Quantum Cryptography. PQCrypto 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10786. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-79063-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-79063-3_1

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