Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is becoming essential for securing Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial IoT (IIoT) systems against quantum-enabled adversaries. However, existing evaluation approaches primarily focus on isolated performance metrics, offering limited support for holistic security and deployment decisions. This paper introduces QERS (Quantum Encryption Resilience Score), a universal measurement framework that integrates cryptographic performance, system constraints, and multi-criteria decision analysis to assess PQC readiness in computer, IoT, and IIoT environments. QERS combines normalized metrics, weighted aggregation, and machine learning-assisted analysis to produce interpretable resilience scores across heterogeneous devices and communication protocols. Experimental results demonstrate how the framework enables comparative evaluation of post-quantum schemes under realistic resource constraints, supporting informed security design and migration planning. This work is presented as a preprint, with extended statistical validation planned as part of ongoing graduate research.
Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is becoming essential for securing Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial IoT (IIoT) systems against quantum-enabled adversaries. However, existing evaluation approaches primarily focus on isolated performance metrics, offering limited support for holistic security and deployment decisions. This paper introduces QERS (Quantum Encryption Resilience Score), a universal measurement framework that integrates cryptographic performance, system constraints, and multi-criteria decision analysis to assess PQC readiness in computer, IoT, and IIoT environments. QERS combines normalized metrics, weighted aggregation, and machine learning-assisted analysis to produce interpretable resilience scores across heterogeneous devices and communication protocols. Experimental results demonstrate how the framework enables comparative evaluation of post-quantum schemes under realistic resource constraints, supporting informed security design and migration planning. This work is presented as a preprint, with extended statistical validation planned as part of ongoing graduate research.
The transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) presents significant challenges for modern computing environments due to increased computational overhead, communication latency, and implementation complexity. Existing evaluation methods typically focus on isolated cryptographic performance metrics and do not provide a unified framework for assessing the overall resilience of PQC deployments across heterogeneous systems. This paper introduces the Quantum Encryption Resilience Score (QERS), a novel system-level evaluation framework designed to quantify the resilience of post-quantum cryptographic implementations by integrating computational, network, and operational performance metrics into a single composite score. QERS provides a standardized methodology for comparing PQC algorithms across diverse deployment scenarios. In this study, the framework is experimentally evaluated using a heterogeneous ESP32-based embedded and IoT testbed with gateway-assisted post-quantum cryptographic processing. The proposed framework is validated through experimental implementations of the NIST-standardized ML-KEM key encapsulation mechanism and the ML-DSA digital signature algorithm under multiple communication protocols and heterogeneous hardware configurations. Experimental results demonstrate that QERS effectively distinguishes the trade-offs between security, computational efficiency, resource utilization, and communication performance, providing a practical decision-support framework for selecting appropriate PQC implementations. The proposed framework contributes a reproducible and extensible methodology for the system-level evaluation of post-quantum cryptography and establishes a foundation for future research into standardized resilience and trust assessment of quantum-resistant systems.
Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) introduces significant computational and communication overhead, which poses challenges for resource-constrained computer systems, Internet of Things (IoT), and Industrial IoT (IIoT) devices. This paper presents an experimental evaluation of the Quantum Encryption Resilience Score (QERS) applied to MQTT, HTTP, and HTTPS communication protocols operating under PQC. Using an ESP32-C6 client and an ARM-based Raspberry Pi CM4 server, latency, CPU utilization, RSSI, energy consumption, key size, and TLS handshake overhead are measured under realistic operating conditions. QERS integrates these heterogeneous metrics into normalized Basic, Tuned, and Fusion scores, enabling systematic comparison of protocol efficiency and security resilience. Experimental results show that MQTT provides the highest efficiency under PQC constraints, while HTTPS achieves the highest security-weighted resilience at the cost of increased latency and resource consumption. The proposed framework supports informed protocol selection and migration planning for PQC-enabled IoT and IIoT deployments.
Public-key cryptographic algorithms such as RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) may become vulnerable once large-scale quantum computersand quantum chips become practical for real-world infrastructure and commercial deployment. To address this risk, Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC)introduces cryptographic methods designed to resist quantum-based attacks.However, these mechanisms often require more processing power, bandwidth,and energy, which creates challenges for constrained IoT and Industrial IoT(IIoT) devices.This thesis introduces the Quantum Encryption Resilience Score (QERS), asystem-level evaluation framework designed to quantify the operational impactof post-quantum cryptographic deployment across embedded systems and networked environments. Instead of concentrating only on cryptographic accuracy,QERS integrates multiple performance dimensions, including latency, CPUutilization, energy consumption, signal strength (RSSI), and cryptographicoverhead into a unified and normalized score. A Design Science Research methodology is employed to design, implement, and evaluate the QERS frameworkusing four heterogeneous ESP-based microcontroller platforms. Experimentalevaluation is conducted using HTTP and HTTPS communication over Wi-Fi,incorporating post-quantum cryptographic configurations based on Kyber andML-DSA.The results demonstrate that post-quantum cryptographic mechanisms introduce measurable latency amplification and variability across devices, with cleardifferences in performance and stability depending on hardware capability.QERS enables systematic, cross device comparison of these effects, revealingcritical trade-offs between cryptographic strength and operational performance.The findings confirm that latency is the dominant factor influencing systemresilience, while CPU and energy contribute secondary effects. By integratingcryptographic, system, and network-level metrics into a single evaluative construct, this work provides a structured and reproducible approach for assessingresilience in post-quantum secure embedded and IoT infrastructures.
The increasing ubiquity of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has necessitated robust security measures, especially with the impending threat of quantum computing to conventional cryptographic protocols.In this study, we address the imperative of selecting an optimized post-quantum cryptographic algorithm tailored for implementation on resource-constrained IoT devices while ensuring compliance with stringent security standards.This research employs a comprehensive evaluation framework that considers the unique constraints of IoT devices, including limited computational capabilities and memory resources.Furthermore, our assessment accounts for the diverse security requirements stipulated by prevailing standards to guarantee resilience against both classical and quantum threats.Through a systematic analysis of various post-quantum cryptographic algorithms, encompassing factors such as computational efficiency and resistance to quantum attacks, this study identifies a select set of algorithms that exhibit promising suitability for IoT device deployment.The evaluation considers renowned standards, including NIST's Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization initiative to align with industry best practices and interoperability.The findings presented in this study offer guidance to IoT device manufacturers, system architects, and security practitioners in making informed decisions regarding the adoption of post-quantum cryptographic algorithms.The selected algorithms not only demonstrate adeptness in mitigating quantum threats but also address resource constraints inherent in IoT environments, ensuring a secure foundation for the rapidly expanding ecosystem of interconnected devices.
The impending threat posed by quantum computing to classical cryptographic systems has accelerated the need for post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) solutions, particularly within the rapidly expanding domain of the Internet of Things (IoT). As IoT devices operate under severe constraints in terms of memory, processing power, and energy, integrating quantum-resilient algorithms presents both a critical necessity and a formidable challenge. This chapter provides a comprehensive study of PQC implementations on constrained IoT platforms, exploring algorithmic performance, memory consumption, execution time, and energy efficiency across various benchmarking environments. It offers a comparative analysis of bare-metal and RTOSbased deployments, evaluates the trade-offs between security and real-time responsiveness, and investigates power-aware scheduling and duty cycling strategies for secure task execution. Case studies involving smart sensors, medical wearables, and industrial nodes highlight the practical implications and optimizations required for effective PQC integration. Emphasis was placed on hardware-software co-design, library selection, and communication stack alignment to ensure future-ready, quantum-secure IoT deployments. This chapter bridges theoretical cryptographic resilience and applied system-level engineering, laying a foundational framework for scalable and secure post-quantum IoT ecosystems.
The rapid deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) devices across critical infrastructure’s sectors such as healthcare, transportation, and smart cities brings unprecedented security challenges; particularly as quantum computing threatens the classical cryptography. This systematic review analyzes IoT security in relation to post-quantum cryptography (PQC), highlighting vulnerabilities, evolving threat, and cryptographic countermeasures. Using the PRISMA 2020 protocol, our work employed a rigorous and reproducible search strategy, where the initial Boolean query, ((“IoT” OR “Internet of Things”) AND (“Cryptography” OR “Encryption Scheme”) AND “Quantum”), was developed and effectively customized for nine reputable databases to maximize the coverage. From an initial pool of 5,151 publications dated between 2020 and February 12, 2025, a content-based screening was conducted at the title, abstract, and full-text levels. This meticulous filtering resulted in a final corpus of 161 studies deemed relevant for in-depth analysis and synthesis. Then, we categorize and analyze PQC algorithms by vulnerabilities, suitability for resource-constrained IoT environments, performance evaluation, scalability, and quantum resilience. We also identify key limitations in implementations of current cryptographic schemes, including issues in key management and authentication; and outline major challenges such as resource constraints of IoT devices, environmental noise, quantum reversible computing, security vulnerabilities, quantum hardware constraints, and complexities in integration. To counter these threats, we propose a framework of PQC countermeasures and illustrated by a hypothetical case study of PQC adoption in a real-world IoT system. Finally, we propose future research directions in lightweight PQC, hybrid frameworks, improved key management and distribution, addressing quantum distance matters, countering quantum threats, and standardization for IoT environments.