Solving the Post-Quantum Control Plane Bottleneck: Energy-Aware Cryptographic Scheduling in Open RAN

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2602.11820v1
• Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:58:54 GMT
• Title: Solving the Post-Quantum Control Plane Bottleneck: Energy-Aware Cryptographic Scheduling in Open RAN
• Authors: Neha Gupta, Hamed Alimohammadi, Mohammad Shojafar, De Mi, Muhammad N. M. Bhutta,
• Abstract summary: Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) is the primary scalable defence but introduces a significant bottleneck for the RAN control plane.<n>This paper proposes energy-aware framework to solve this PQC bottleneck, ensuring quantum resilience without sacrificing operational energy efficiency.
• Score: 8.221622045367923
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: The Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) offers flexibility and innovation but introduces unique security vulnerabilities, particularly from cryptographically relevant quantum computers. While Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) is the primary scalable defence, its computationally intensive handshakes create a significant bottleneck for the RAN control plane, posing sustainability challenges. This paper proposes an energy-aware framework to solve this PQC bottleneck, ensuring quantum resilience without sacrificing operational energy efficiency. The system employs an O-RAN aligned split: a Crypto Policy rApp residing in the Non-Real-Time (Non-RT) RIC defines the strategic security envelope (including PQC suites), while a Security Operations Scheduling (SOS) xApp in the Near-RT RIC converts these into tactical timing and placement intents. Cryptographic enforcement remains at standards-compliant endpoints: the Open Fronthaul utilizes Media Access Control Security (MACsec) at the O-DU/O-RU, while the xhaul (midhaul and backhaul) utilizes IP Security (IPsec) at tunnel terminators. The SOS xApp reduces PQC overhead by batching non-urgent handshakes, prioritizing session resumption, and selecting parameters that meet slice SLAs while minimizing joules per secure connection. We evaluate the architecture via a Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) using 3GPP-aligned traffic profiles and verified hardware benchmarks from literature. Results show that intelligent scheduling can reduce per-handshake energy by approximately 60 percent without violating slice latency targets.

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