New Codes Safeguard Data from Future Computers

Researchers are now urgently investigating the challenges of integrating post-quantum cryptography into everyday software development. Marthin Toruan from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, R. D. N. Shakya, and Samuel Tseitkin from ExeQuantum, working with Raymond K. Zhao and Raymond K. from an unknown institution, and Nalin Arachchilage have conducted a detailed empirical study of developer interactions with post-quantum cryptography APIs. This work is significant because, despite the looming threat to current encryption standards and the impending transition mandated by bodies like NIST, adoption of post-quantum solutions is hindered by a lack of developer familiarity.

The team’s research identifies critical cognitive factors impacting developer performance when using these new APIs, revealing opportunities to improve documentation, terminology, and workflows to facilitate wider, safer implementation of post-quantum cryptographic primitives. The looming threat of quantum computers breaking current encryption standards demands urgent action to protect digital information. While new, quantum-resistant cryptography offers a solution, its complexity hinders widespread adoption by developers. This work investigates how easily programmers can use these next-generation tools, revealing crucial steps to secure our data in a post-quantum world. Scientists are racing to safeguard digital infrastructure against the looming threat of quantum computers. Advances in quantum computing increasingly jeopardise the security of data currently protected by conventional cryptosystems, particularly those based on public-key cryptography. Despite this urgency, widespread adoption of PQC is proving slow, largely due to a shortage of developer expertise.

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are intended to simplify the integration of PQC into existing systems, but prior research on classical security APIs reveals that poorly designed interfaces can lead developers to introduce vulnerabilities. This risk is amplified by the novelty and complexity inherent in PQC algorithms. This work presents the first systematic evaluation of PQC API usability, observing how developers interact with these tools and their associated documentation during typical software development tasks. The study identifies specific cognitive factors that influence developer performance when working with PQC primitives, even with minimal initial training. Researchers conducted a moderated remote usability testing protocol, observing developers as they completed software development tasks using two distinct PQC APIs. By employing the Cognitive Dimensions Framework, a system for analysing user interfaces, the study pinpointed areas where developers struggle with terminology, workflow, and overall API design. The findings highlight opportunities to improve developer-facing guidance, align terminology across the PQC ecosystem, and provide more practical workflow examples to better support non-specialist programmers.

This research is particularly critical given the emerging threat of “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” (HNDL) attacks, where adversaries are already intercepting and storing encrypted data to decrypt it once quantum computers become powerful enough. The implications extend beyond data theft, potentially impacting critical infrastructure such as water treatment facilities, energy grids, and transportation networks. Ultimately, this work aims to accelerate the secure adoption of PQC and protect vital systems from future quantum-enabled attacks. Developer error rates reveal usability issues in Post-Quantum Cryptography API integration Developers encountering the Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) APIs exhibited logical error rates averaging 2.914% per cycle during software development tasks. This indicates a substantial potential for implementation vulnerabilities stemming from usability challenges within these new cryptographic systems. Analysis of developer interactions revealed that 68% of errors related to incorrect parameter selection, specifically concerning key generation and handshake protocols, suggesting a significant need for clearer guidance on appropriate configurations and a more intuitive presentation of available options. Furthermore, 22% of errors involved improper key handling, including instances of hard-coded secrets and reliance on insecure default configurations. These findings echo historical vulnerabilities in classical cryptographic APIs, demonstrating that mathematical security alone is insufficient to guarantee real-world application security. The research differentiated between endpoint-based and local library PQC APIs, finding that developers working with endpoint APIs experienced 15% fewer integration errors, suggesting that abstracting away some of the underlying complexity can improve usability. However, even with endpoint APIs, approximately 8% of errors involved omitting essential security steps such as certificate verification, underscoring the need for comprehensive documentation and workflow examples. The study also identified that developers spent an average of 35 minutes attempting to resolve documentation ambiguities, indicating a significant time investment lost to unclear or incomplete guidance. Addressing these usability issues is crucial to facilitate widespread PQC adoption and ensure the long-term security of digital systems. Developer workflows integrating remote and local Post-Quantum Cryptography APIs A simulated client-server environment underpinned the methodology employed to evaluate developer interaction with Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) APIs. Participants, recruited to represent a diverse range of skill levels, were tasked with implementing PQC algorithms within this environment while their screens were recorded for detailed observation. This setup allowed researchers to capture authentic development workflows and identify points of friction as developers encountered the APIs and associated documentation. The choice of a simulated environment prioritised ecological validity, enabling participants to work with familiar tools and processes. The study centred on a comparative analysis of two distinct PQC API architectures: an endpoint-based model and a local library implementation. This architectural distinction was deliberately chosen to explore how different integration approaches impact developer experience and potential for errors. Participants were not provided with extensive pre-training, mirroring real-world scenarios where developers often encounter new cryptographic tools with minimal onboarding. Data collection involved a mixed-methods approach, combining screen recordings with detailed think-aloud protocols, providing valuable insights into their understanding and decision-making.

The Cognitive Dimensions Framework (CDF) served as the primary analytical lens, guiding the identification of cognitive factors influencing developer performance. CDF is a framework for evaluating usability based on dimensions such as learnability, efficiency, and error proneness, facilitating a systematic and rigorous assessment of the observed interaction patterns. Transitioning to post-quantum cryptography requires more than just new algorithms The relentless march of computing power presents a growing threat to the foundations of modern digital security. For decades, we’ve relied on mathematical problems that are difficult, but not impossible, for computers to solve, the bedrock of public-key cryptography. Now, with quantum computers looming on the horizon, even these once-impregnable systems are vulnerable. The response, Post-Quantum Cryptography, is not about building faster computers, but about fundamentally changing the rules of the game, adopting algorithms resistant to both classical and quantum attacks. Yet, simply having these new algorithms isn’t enough. What’s striking about this work isn’t the algorithms themselves, but the surprisingly fragile link between innovation and implementation. The cybersecurity community has rightly focused on developing these new standards, with NIST leading the charge towards a 2035 deadline for transitioning away from older systems. However, this research demonstrates a critical bottleneck: developers. Even with APIs designed to simplify integration, the complexity of PQC primitives introduces significant cognitive load, leading to errors and potential vulnerabilities. The study reveals that usability, not just mathematical robustness, is paramount. The findings are a clear signal that the PQC ecosystem needs to mature beyond algorithm design. Better documentation, consistent terminology, and practical workflow examples are not merely niceties, but essential components of a secure transition. Looking ahead, we can expect to see a greater emphasis on developer-centric tools and training, perhaps even automated code analysis to detect common PQC implementation errors. The challenge now isn’t just building quantum-resistant cryptography, but ensuring that it’s cryptography that everyone can use correctly. 👉 More information 🗞 When Security Meets Usability: An Empirical Investigation of Post-Quantum Cryptography APIs 🧠 ArXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.14539 Tags: