Abstract Security (privacy, confidentiality and integrity) of pre-electoral, electoral and post electoral phases of the electioneering process is fundamental to the success of Electronic Voting (E-Voting) Systems. Crystography, which is the combination of cryptography and steganography could be a fitting ‘tool kit’ for enhancing the security of sensitive election-related information transmitted over public networks, thereby also ensuring free, fair and credible election/voting. Most of the existing secure e-voting systems are based on public key cryptographic schemes like RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), whose security depends on the difficulty of solving Integer Factorization Problem (IFP) and Discrete Logarithm problem (DLP) respectively. However, techniques for solving IFP and DLP problems, improves continually. One of such is the quantum algorithm discovered by Peter Shor in 1994, which can solve both IFP and DLP problems in polynomial time. Consequently, the existence of quantum computers in the range of 1000 bits would spell doom to systems based on those problems. This paper presents the development of a new crystographic system that combines Post Quantum Cryptography with steganography to ensure that the security of e-voting is maintained both in classical computing era as well as post-quantum computing era. Our experiments’ results shows that our proposed system performed better than existing ones.
Abstract Security (privacy, confidentiality and integrity) of pre-electoral, electoral and post electoral phases of the electioneering process is fundamental to the success of Electronic Voting (E-Voting) Systems. Crystography, which is the combination of cryptography and steganography could be a fitting ‘tool kit’ for enhancing the security of sensitive election-related information transmitted over public networks, thereby also ensuring free, fair and credible election/voting. Most of the existing secure e-voting systems are based on public key cryptographic schemes like RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), whose security depends on the difficulty of solving Integer Factorization Problem (IFP) and Discrete Logarithm problem (DLP) respectively. However, techniques for solving IFP and DLP problems, improves continually. One of such is the quantum algorithm discovered by Peter Shor in 1994, which can solve both IFP and DLP problems in polynomial time. Consequently, the existence of quantum computers in the range of 1000 bits would spell doom to systems based on those problems. This paper presents the development of a new crystographic system that combines Post Quantum Cryptography with steganography to ensure that the security of e-voting is maintained both in classical computing era as well as post-quantum computing era. Our experiments’ results shows that our proposed system performed better than existing ones.
Crystography is the combination of Cryptography and Steganography for enhancing the security of communications over enterprise networks. Most existing Crystographic systems are based on Public key Cryptographic schemes like RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), whose security depends on the difficulty of solving Integer Factorisation Problem (IFP) and Discrete Logarithm problem (DLP) respectively. However, techniques for solving IFP and DLP problems, improves continually. Therefore, the existence of Quantum Computers in the range of 1000 bits would be a real world threat to systems based on those problems. This paper thus propose a new Crystographic System that combines Post Quantum Cryptography with Steganography to ensure that security of communication is maintained both in Classical Computing era as well as Post-Quantum Computing era.
The advent of quantum computing poses a significant threat to the cryptographic foundations of current electronic voting (e-voting) systems, which commonly rely on algorithms such as Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). These algorithms are believed to be vulnerable to attacks imposed by quantum computers, jeopardizing core e-voting properties, including ballot secrecy, integrity, and auditability. To address these challenges, this work presents a quantum-resistant electronic-voting (e-voting) system, named post-quantum e-voting system (PQEVS) built entirely upon cryptographic primitives standardized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for post-quantum security. The proposed PQEVS utilizes Dilithium for secure voter authentication, Brakerski/Fan-Vercauteren (BFV)-based Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) for privacy-preserving vote tallying, and Picnic-based Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) to ensure vote validity without compromising voter anonymity. Designed for modularity and scalability, our PQEVS delivers enhanced security while achieving significant performance gains, reducing vote processing latency by 85% and supporting throughputs of up to 36,000 votes per second. These results highlight the practicality and robustness of post-quantum cryptography in securing large-scale electoral processes, setting a new benchmark for verifiable and future-proof e-voting systems.
The increasing advancement in quantum computing threatens the security of traditional cryptographic systems that underpin much of the modern world’s data protection. These systems rely heavily on the computational difficulty of problems like integer factorization (RSA) and elliptic curve discrete logarithms (ECC), which quantum computers could solve in polynomial time. As a result, there is an urgent need for cryptographic systems that remain secure even in the presence of quantum capabilities. Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) is the emerging field that aims to develop cryptographic protocols resistant to quantum-based attacks. This paper discusses the need for PQC, explores various candidate algorithms, reviews standardization efforts, and looks at the current challenges and future directions in the field.
Ensuring the security and integrity of voting systems is crucial for maintaining democratic processes. With the rise of cyber threats targeting electronic voting, traditional cryptographic methods are proving inadequate in safeguarding against sophisticated attacks. Quantum cryptography, particularly Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), offers a promising solution to enhance the security of voting systems by leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics. This research explores the application of quantum cryptography in secure voting, highlighting its potential to address vulnerabilities in current systems. The study examines the technological, practical, and legal challenges of implementing quantum-based voting systems, including infrastructure requirements and public acceptance. Furthermore, it assesses how quantum cryptography ensures voter privacy, prevents tampering, and provides robust protection against future quantum computing threats. While significant hurdles remain, the integration of quantum cryptographic techniques presents a transformative opportunity to create more secure and transparent voting processes. This paper outlines the roadmap for adopting quantum cryptography in voting systems and its potential impact on electoral integrity.
Quantum computing is poised to revolutionize numerous sectors, with cryptographic security identified as one of the most critically affected domains. For instance, Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) and RSA, two traditional encryption techniques, rely on the computational difficulty of integer factorization and discrete logarithms. Nevertheless, quantum algorithms, particularly Shor's algorithm, which jeopardizes the security of existing cryptographic systems, may be able to address these problems successfully. This discovery necessitates the development of cryptographic techniques that are impervious to quantum attacks. The study of post-quantum cryptography (PQC), which includes hash-based, lattice-based, and other quantum-resistant algorithms, is becoming essential to ensuring the long-term confidentiality and integrity of data. This paper explores the basic concepts of quantum computing, their relationship to cryptographic privacy, and potential solutions for the associated security problems in the quantum age.
Quantum computing is one of the most significant technological revolutions in the 21st century. Its ability to compute complicated mathematical equations exponentially higher than classical computers poses a risk of becoming outdated to the present cryptographic systems. RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)-based public key infrastructures are especially susceptible to the Shor algorithm that is capable of factoring large integers and calculating discrete logarithms on a sufficiently large quantum computer. The paper will discuss the principles of quantum computation and their applications in cryptography, as well as a new branch of cryptography, post-quantum cryptography (PQC). It discusses fabrics of key algorithmic contenders, the implementation issues, and the worldwide move to quantum resilient systems. The paper finds that hybrid encryption models, international standardization, and ethical governance are the key elements to achieving the digital future in the quantum era.