High-performance implementation of HQC post-quantum cryptography using AVX2 optimization on x86-64 architecture
Dicle Üniversitesi Mühendislik Fakültesi Mühendislik Dergisi, cilt.17, sa.2, ss.1-9, 2026 (TRDizin)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 17 Sayı: 2
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.24012/dumf.1887712
- Dergi Adı: Dicle Üniversitesi Mühendislik Fakültesi Mühendislik Dergisi
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-9
- İnönü Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study presents a comprehensive optimization analysis of the code-based HQC (Hamming Quasi- Cyclic) algorithm on an Intel Core i7-9750H @ 2.6 GHz processor to improve its practical applicability and overcome computational bottlenecks. The computationally intensive components of HQC, particularly the multiplication of high-order polynomials due to quasi-cyclic structures, encoding/decoding operations, error correction codes, random error vector generation, and modular reductions, cause significant delays in standard software applications. To address this bottleneck, the HQC algorithm is optimized using an AVX2 (Advanced Vector Extensions 2) based optimization method that leverages the processor's vector processing capabilities. Experimental data demonstrate that AVX2 optimization provides significant performance gains, especially at increased security levels. Compared to the pure HQC algorithm, our implementation optimized with AVX2 provided a 10x speed increase for the HQC-128 parameter set, a 21x increase for HQC-192, and a 26x increase for HQC-256. These results demonstrate that hardware- specific software optimizations play a critical role in bringing the efficiency of code-based post-quantum cryptography to a level competitive with classical systems.