Comparative Security and Performance Analysis of RSA and CRYSTALS-Dilithium3 Digital Signatures in the Post-Quantum Era

  • Unique Paper ID: 187363
  • PageNo: 5140-5150
  • Abstract:
  • The rapid advancement of quantum computing presents a significant threat to classical cryptographic systems, particularly RSA, whose security is based on the hardness of integer factorization. Shor’s algorithm demonstrates that large RSA keys can be efficiently broken in a quantum environment, raising concerns about the long-term reliability of traditional digital signatures. To address this, post-quantum cryptography (PQC) has emerged as a promising solution, with lattice-based schemes such as CRYSTALS-Dilithium3 gaining attention for their quantum resistance and efficiency. This study presents a comparative security and performance analysis of RSA and CRYSTALS-Dilithium3 digital signatures in the post-quantum era. The evaluation considers signature size, signing and verification speed, tamper detection capability, and resilience against classical and quantum attack models. Results highlight that RSA offers compact signature sizes but fails to provide integrity protection once subjected to simulated quantum attacks, while Dilithium3 ensures robust tamper detection, forward security, and cross-format verification across multiple document types. Despite larger signature sizes, Dilithium3 demonstrates superior verification speed and scalability, making it a viable candidate for post-quantum digital infrastructures. The findings emphasize the need for transitioning from classical to quantum-resistant cryptographic systems to ensure secure digital communication in the emerging quantum age.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{187363,
        author = {Bhanu Prakash and Dr. K. Venkata Ramana},
        title = {Comparative Security and Performance Analysis of RSA and CRYSTALS-Dilithium3 Digital Signatures in the Post-Quantum Era},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {6},
        pages = {5140-5150},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=187363},
        abstract = {The rapid advancement of quantum computing presents a significant threat to classical cryptographic systems, particularly RSA, whose security is based on the hardness of integer factorization. Shor’s algorithm demonstrates that large RSA keys can be efficiently broken in a quantum environment, raising concerns about the long-term reliability of traditional digital signatures. To address this, post-quantum cryptography (PQC) has emerged as a promising solution, with lattice-based schemes such as CRYSTALS-Dilithium3 gaining attention for their quantum resistance and efficiency. This study presents a comparative security and performance analysis of RSA and CRYSTALS-Dilithium3 digital signatures in the post-quantum era. The evaluation considers signature size, signing and verification speed, tamper detection capability, and resilience against classical and quantum attack models. Results highlight that RSA offers compact signature sizes but fails to provide integrity protection once subjected to simulated quantum attacks, while Dilithium3 ensures robust tamper detection, forward security, and cross-format verification across multiple document types. Despite larger signature sizes, Dilithium3 demonstrates superior verification speed and scalability, making it a viable candidate for post-quantum digital infrastructures. The findings emphasize the need for transitioning from classical to quantum-resistant cryptographic systems to ensure secure digital communication in the emerging quantum age.},
        keywords = {Post-Quantum Cryptography, RSA, CRYSTALS-Dilithium3, Digital Signatures, Quantum Attacks, Tamper Detection, Performance Analysis},
        month = {November},
        }

Cite This Article

Prakash, B., & Ramana, D. K. V. (2025). Comparative Security and Performance Analysis of RSA and CRYSTALS-Dilithium3 Digital Signatures in the Post-Quantum Era. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), 12(6), 5140–5150.

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