Analytical Study of Quantum-Resistant Cryptographic Algorithms for Securing Nigerian Banking Transaction Systems

The advent of quantum computing threatens to render current public-key cryptographic algorithms, including RSA and ECC, obsolete, creating an urgent need for Nigerian banking institutions to evaluate and transition to quantum-resistant (post-quantum) cryptographic standards before quantum threats materialise. This study analytically assessed the performance and suitability of four NIST post-quantum cryptography standardisation candidates (CRYSTALS-Kyber, CRYSTALS-Dilithium, FALCON, and SPHINCS+) for Nigerian banking transaction systems. A comparative performance evaluation methodology was applied, implementing each algorithm using the Open Quantum Safe liboqs library and benchmarking against current RSA-2048 and ECDSA P-256 on reference hardware representing typical Nigerian banking API server specifications. Performance metrics measured included key generation time, signature/encapsulation time, verification/decapsulation time, and signature size. CRYSTALS-Kyber key exchange showed latency of 0.04 milliseconds, comparable to ECDH at 0.03 milliseconds, with a 1,568-byte public key compared to ECDH's 64 bytes, representing the primary bandwidth overhead consideration. CRYSTALS-Dilithium digital signatures exhibited 2.1 milliseconds signing time versus ECDSA's 0.4 milliseconds. FALCON achieved the smallest signature size at 1,280 bytes but required more complex implementation infrastructure. A TLS 1.3 hybrid classical-PQC handshake simulation showed a 38-millisecond increase in handshake latency for Kyber-based key exchange versus ECDH, falling within acceptable bounds for online banking authentication. The study recommends CBN issue guidance on PQC migration planning and designates CRYSTALS-Kyber and Dilithium as the priority algorithms for Nigerian banking system evaluation.

Keywords: post-quantum cryptography, CRYSTALS-Kyber, banking security, quantum resistance, Nigeria