Access control is a mechanism that is used to decide which agent has access to which resource with some specific operations. This paper is devoted to the investigation of quantum cryptography in access control. We develop three quantum protocols and use them for key distribution, identity authentication and digital certification, respectively. We analyze our protocols by the graphical language of categorical quantum mechanics. These protocols are unconditionally secure and implementable by the current technology.
Access control is a mechanism that is used to decide which agent has access to which resource with some specific operations. This paper is devoted to the investigation of quantum cryptography in access control. We develop three quantum protocols and use them for key distribution, identity authentication and digital certification, respectively. We analyze our protocols by the graphical language of categorical quantum mechanics. These protocols are unconditionally secure and implementable by the current technology.
Cloud computing have become the budding engine of current information technology (IT) as a result of the rapid development of IT, security protection has become more and more important for cloud computing. The theft of identity authentication in sequence remains a serious hazard to the protection of cloud computing, in this process, attackers infringe into cloud computing services through identity certification information, thereby threatening the security of data from multiple perspectives. Most types of attack can cause the classified information be in the hand of unauthorized party. This situation will lead to data disclosure and the user feel insecure for using the services offered by cloud infrastructure. In this work a novel protocol is proposed to secured cloud authentication using quantum cryptography.
Quantum cryptographic protocols offer transformative potential for enhancing cloud security by leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics. These protocols ensure unbreakable encryption through quantum key distribution (QKD), where security is derived from the fundamental properties of quantum particles. Unlike classical encryption, which relies on computational complexity, quantum cryptography guarantees data protection by preventing unauthorized access, as any attempt to intercept quantum keys alters their state and can be immediately detected. This paper explores the application of quantum cryptographic protocols in securing cloud environments, addressing vulnerabilities posed by classical encryption techniques in the face of growing computational power. Key protocols, such as BB84 and E91, are analyzed for their potential in securing cloud infrastructure, offering enhanced confidentiality, integrity, and authentication of data. Additionally, this study highlights the integration of quantum cryptography with modern cloud architectures, overcoming challenges such as scalability and implementation cost. By employing quantum-resistant strategies, these protocols provide a robust defense against emerging threats from quantum computing, making them an essential solution for future-proof cloud security. The findings demonstrate that quantum cryptography, combined with advanced cloud security practices, can ensure secure, scalable, and resilient cloud infrastructures capable of protecting sensitive data in an increasingly interconnected digital landscape.
The rise of cloud computing has transformed data storage and processing but introduced new vulnerabilities, especially with the impending threat of quantum computing. Traditional cryptographic methods, though currently effective, are at risk of being compromised by quantum attacks. This research aims to develop a quantum-resistant security framework for cloud environments, combining lattice-based cryptography with Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocols, particularly the E91 protocol, for secure key management. The framework also incorporates quantum authentication protocols to enhance user identity verification, protecting against unauthorized access and tampering. The proposed solution balances robust security with practical implementation, ensuring scalability and efficiency in real-world cloud environments. Performance evaluations indicate an encryption time of approximately 30 milliseconds, outperforming existing methods such as RSA and DES. This research contributes to the development of future-proof cryptographic standards, addressing both current security challenges and emerging quantum computing threats. By leveraging quantum mechanics, the framework strengthens cloud-based data protection, providing a resilient solution against evolving cyber risks. The results hold significant promise for advancing cloud security, laying the groundwork for next-generation encryption techniques that can withstand the threats posed by quantum computing.
Cryptography is widely used technique to provide security in large networks like cloud environments. Classical cryptography and quantum cryptography are two widely used techniques. Classical cryptography uses simple mathematical methods to provide security. So it is more vulnerable to several attacks such as eaves dropping, man-in-the-middle attack etc. But in classical cryptography digital signatures are used to provide best authentication. Quantum cryptography uses quantum mechanical properties to provide security. It uses photons and polarization but it requires more communication rounds. So by combing classical and quantum cryptography to show a new combination. Here we can use implicit user authentication, explicit mutual authentication and we can digital signatures to provide best authentication. The main objectives of this article are design and develop an enhanced anonymity control scheme based on quantum cryptographic techniques. EANCTRL- an enhanced anonymity control scheme based on Quantum key distribution is presented in this article.
Quantum computing poses a critical threat to existing cryptographic primitives, rendering current access control mechanisms in cloud-native infrastructures vulnerable to compromise. This paper introduces a comprehensive quantum-resilient access control framework specifically engineered for distributed, containerized, and zero-trust environments. The proposed system integrates post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) primitives—specifically lattice-based key encapsulation (Kyber) and digital signatures (Dilithium)—with a hybrid key exchange protocol to maintain crypto-agility and backward compatibility. We design a secure token issuance and verification process employing PQC-based authentication, ensuring resistance to both classical and quantum adversaries. A prototype implementation demonstrates that our hybrid PQC approach incurs a moderate computational overhead of approximately 10–30\% while preserving horizontal scalability and interoperability across Kubernetes clusters. Security analysis under the post-quantum adversary model confirms resistance to key compromise, replay, and forgery attacks. The results highlight that quantum-resilient access control protocols can be efficiently integrated into modern cloud infrastructures without sacrificing scalability, performance, or operational flexibility.
To cope with the unauthorized access to the cloud treasure of resources and services, several cloud service providers implement the API-based access control approach and grant thus a full authentication of any client application. Once called, each cloud API (Application Programming Interface) is required to authenticate through a secret access key, commonly termed API key. A plethora of security risks is associated with these keys whether during their generation, storage, or utilization. The hardware secure element-based proposal aims for an end-to-end security between a cloud service provider and a client application. To ensure a reliable and secure API key exchange, the concerned entities rely on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). As soon as an adversary acquires an unbounded computing power, it would be easy to intercept the keys and then unlock the gate behind the valuables over the cloud. In this paper, we propose a revised scheme that discards the PKI and installs a quantum mechanism to mutually authenticate the secure element and the cloud service provider by establishing a set of shared keys. A pioneering absolute security of the presented approach is warranted by the principles of quantum physics. To analyze the security of the quantum technology, we establish a formal verification based on PRISM model checking tool. We outstandingly focus on satisfying two prominent properties: (i) both the parties engaged in the quantum protocol are able to detect any disallowed eavesdropping and (ii) the valid amount of information caught by an adversary on the installed key must be negligible.