Hybrid Post-Quantum File Encryption using Kyber512 and AES: Performance Evaluation and Scalability Analysis

This paper presents a hybrid cryptographic model integrating Kyber512, a post-quantum lattice-based key encapsulation mechanism, with AES symmetric encryption to ensure quantum-resistant data confidentiality. We evaluate computational efficiency, memory consumption, and scalability through detailed benchmarking experiments comparing Kyber512 with RSA and AES. The results demonstrate Kyber512’s superior key generation speed, encryption robustness, and post-quantum resilience, positioning it as a practical solution for next-generation secure file systems.The experimental setup utilized a Python-based implementation on an Intel i7 CPU (3.4 GHz, 16 GB RAM) running Ubuntu 22.04, where file sizes ranging from 1 MB to 1 GB were encrypted and decrypted. Benchmarking revealed that Kyber512 achieved 22–28% faster key generation compared to RSA-2048 while maintaining comparable encryption times and lower memory consumption. The hybrid Kyber512–AES model demonstrated a 1.8× scalability improvement under increasing workloads, confirming its suitability for high-performance, post-quantum-secure file storage and transmission systems.