Post-Quantum Firmware Signing in IoT: Practical PQC-FOTA Implementation
summary
Implements firmware signing on ESP32 hardware using the Open Quantum Safe OQS library, generating and embedding ML‑DSA public key and signature in the firmware header, and replacing the ECDSA check in the bootloader with an OQS verify call; bootloader verifies algorithm type, verifies signatures, and rolls back on failure. Demonstrates a working deployment, discusses code‑size and RAM tradeoffs, and shows a practical ML‑DSA + ECDSA hybrid path and ESP32 bootloader verification changes for gradual migration.
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chapters (10)
- 0:00Welcome
- 1:52Speaker intro
- 2:16Why PQ firmware signing matters
- 3:46IoT constraints in PQC signing
- 6:49PQC firmware signing architecture
- 8:47Bootloader verification with OQS
- 11:16Live demo: firmware signing
- 13:08Hybrid signing approach
- 16:29Hybrid modes comparison
- 17:20Migration to full PQ firmware
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