OpenSSL Conference

OpenSSL Conference

Protocol Migration in Practice: From Classical to Post-Quantum Cryptography with OpenSSL
2025-10-09 , Krakow/ Business Value & Enterprise Adoption

Quantum computing poses an imminent threat to today's cryptographic protocols, requiring urgent migration to post-quantum cryptography. Most projects include common protocols like TLS, mTLS, QUIC, SSH, OAuth, IPSec and many more in their security implementation. This session demonstrates practical implementation of these protocols and approaches to migrating them using OpenSSL's post-quantum capabilities (ML-KEM for key generation and ML-DSA for signatures).

The presentation introduces a prototype framework that implements security protocols with both classical and post-quantum algorithms, enabling developers to understand protocol mechanics, migration challenges, and hybrid approaches. The framework uses OpenSSL and open source libraries such as LibOQS, OQS Provider, and StrongSwan to showcase real-world PQC integration.

The session explores the working of these migrations with existing open source projects, demonstrating real-world PQC integration patterns. Attendees will gain hands-on experience with PQC implementation and leave with actionable guidance for migration projects.


This session presents a comprehensive approach to post-quantum cryptographic protocol migration through both educational prototypes and real-world implementations. The demonstration includes a prototype framework that implements common protocols like TLS, mTLS, QUIC, SSH, OAuth, and IPSec with both classical and post-quantum algorithms, while also exploring how existing open source projects are handling these migrations in practice.

The session begins by demonstrating the prototype framework implementing common protocols with classical algorithms in a server-client scenario, helping developers understand how these protocols work at the code level. The presentation then identifies migration challenges for these protocols and showcases the prototype implementation with post-quantum support. Throughout this process, the session utilizes OpenSSL's classical and post-quantum capabilities specifically for key generation, exchange, and digital signatures. The examination covers practical challenges in PQC migration such as key size increases, performance impacts, and compatibility issues through prototype implementations.

Live examples include step-by-step protocol implementations with clear separation between protocol logic and cryptographic operations. Additionally, the session explores how these protocols with PQ support work within existing open source projects, examining their approaches, challenges faced, and solutions implemented.

The dual approach provides attendees with both educational clarity through simplified prototype implementations and practical insights from real-world deployments. The analysis covers concrete code examples from existing projects, migration strategies, and testing methodologies used by open source communities. The prototype framework serves as a learning tool while the real-world examples validate these concepts in practice.

This session targets developers, security professionals, and researchers interested in post-quantum cryptography implementation. Attendees will leave with both theoretical understanding from the prototype demonstrations and practical insights from existing implementations, supported by actionable guidance applicable to migration projects.

Shubham is a solution architect with four years of experience in the telecom industry. He is currently serving as the Mentor in the LFDT'25 mentorship program and has co-founded a startup and an open source community. His expertise lies in RAN architecture and 5G security, with a particular focus on integrating emerging technologies including post-quantum cryptography, blockchain, eBPF, and cloud-native tools into the telecom infrastructure.

Shankar is a telecommunications researcher and open-source leader specializing in 5G Core and ORAN technologies. Currently serving as Governing Board Member at Linux Foundation and Technical Steering Committee Representative for the 5G Super Blueprint project, he collaborates with industry leaders from Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Nokia, Verizon, and other major telecom companies.

With 4+ years of intensive 5G Core experience, Shankar is a recognized expert in ORAN Split 7.2 implementations and eBPF integration within User Plane Functions. His technical expertise spans multiple open-source platforms including Open5GS, free5gc, OAI, SD-Core, and Magma, where he has performed extensive testing, validation, and architectural design.

As a former CTO, Shankar architected and deployed private 5G solutions from scratch, demonstrating his ability to translate complex technical concepts into production-ready systems. His strategic leadership has resulted in 12+ collaborative partnerships with organizations including ONF, Magma Foundation, and TARS Foundation.

Shankar's technical skills encompass end-to-end ORAN testing with L1/L2/L3 stacks and commercial radios, DPDK-based 5G core benchmarking, and disaggregated RAN/core deployments. He has actively contributed to the open-source community, successfully implementing L3AF on Windows and speaking at prestigious events including LFN Developer Forum in Budapest and CNCF events in Delhi.

His unique combination of technical depth and strategic leadership has enabled him to secure three major deals through open-source community recognition, establishing him as a trusted voice in telecommunications and cloud computing innovation.