The study investigates how quantum cryptography can be employed to improve security in smart grid communication networks. Attempting to use the BB84 QKD protocol, it allows secure creation and management of those cryptographic keys that cannot be broken with the help of quantum and traditional hacking techniques. It depends on symmetric encryption mechanisms like AES to provide high data confidentiality during transmission. Regarding the key management, the system provides a key management server that distributes keys to the grid nodes and performs key updating to ensure control with the managing authority. It also presents reliability under practical conditions through performance analogs such as Quantum Bit Error Rates (QBER), and system latency. This approach shows that quantum cryptography can provide a highly secure and efficient communication network for the next-generation smart grid.
The study investigates how quantum cryptography can be employed to improve security in smart grid communication networks. Attempting to use the BB84 QKD protocol, it allows secure creation and management of those cryptographic keys that cannot be broken with the help of quantum and traditional hacking techniques. It depends on symmetric encryption mechanisms like AES to provide high data confidentiality during transmission. Regarding the key management, the system provides a key management server that distributes keys to the grid nodes and performs key updating to ensure control with the managing authority. It also presents reliability under practical conditions through performance analogs such as Quantum Bit Error Rates (QBER), and system latency. This approach shows that quantum cryptography can provide a highly secure and efficient communication network for the next-generation smart grid.
ABSTRACT Smart grids, as critical Internet‐of‐Things (IoT) applications, demand highly secure data transmission due to their reliance on interconnected devices and networks for managing electricity. Traditional encryption methods face challenges in secure key distribution and are increasingly vulnerable to quantum attacks. This work addresses these vulnerabilities by utilizing quantum cryptography to secure data exchange in smart grid systems. The primary contributions are the implementation of multi‐level encryption algorithms, specifically Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and the BB84 protocol, to ensure robust confidentiality and integrity in data transmission, overcoming key distribution issues and providing inherent detection of eavesdropping. Our proposed system facilitates secured, real‐time monitoring, control, and optimization of electricity generation, distribution, and consumption among distributed components. The performance of this framework is evaluated based on key metrics including relative execution time, correlation analysis of plaintext versus ciphertext, and privacy amplification effectiveness, demonstrating enhanced security and operational efficiency.
Smart energy systems are expediting the development of IoT-based devices, distributed energy resources and smart grid operations. This has eased more efficiency and environmental benefits. The digital systems lack privacy, accuracy, and reliability of data, thus making it susceptible to hacking and other evil acts. Even though it is resistant to most of the attacks, traditional cryptography may not work anymore as computers accelerate and quantum computers are put into practice. One can also utilize quantum communication technologies which are based on quantum physics which is more secure. BB84 and E91 algorithm of quantum key distribution in next-generation smart energy systems are the ones used in the current paper. The suggested solutions contribute to the improved security and stability of the operation as they bring the laws of quantum entanglement and superposition in line with the needs of the energy sector. The paper also outlines the major ways through which smart grids can be hacked like manipulating data, using false information and denying-ofservice and how they can be minimized by employing quantumenhanced communication. The success rate and level of data integrity of 98.7 % and 97.6 respectively are better than the classical cryptography and blockchain-only systems by 7.3 and 5.3 % respectively, as indicated by simulation analysis. The hybrid framework demonstrates the resilience against the false data injection and denial-of-service attacks up to 17 %.
This study explores the incorporation of Quantum Cryptography (QC) as a secure communication platform of Next-Generation Communication Networks (NGCNs) including 5G, 6G, and IoT-based networks. The study is dedicated to the BB84 Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocol, the main emphasis of which is the possibility to guarantee the confidentiality of the data and the detection of the eavesdropping by the presence of quantum states disturbances. A conceptual and analytical approach was used with theoretical modelling, algorithmic representation, and analytical analysis as a result of some fundamental parameters including Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER), Key Generation Rate (KGR), and Secure Key Rate (SKR). The results indicate that quantum cryptography provides significant quantum cryptography in terms of key exchange efficiency, reduction in latency and resistance to quantum attacks over classical cryptographic systems. The findings also demonstrate that keeping QBER below 5 % is critical to have the best stability in the system and secure key-generation with network size up to 32 nodes at a latency of less than 15 ms. In general, the paper establishes that quantum cryptography is a physics-based security system of the future that offers secure transmission of sensitive data exchanges in future high-speed communication systems.
This paper presents an enhanced Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocol to strengthen the security of smart grid systems through secure communication and signature verification. As smart grids increasingly depend on digital communication, safeguarding them against cyber threats is paramount. Our approach incorporates Hadamard, SWAP, and rotation gates to fortify the BB84 protocol, ensuring secure key exchange while verifying the integrity and authenticity of transmitted data between smart meters and grid operators. Experimental results demonstrate that the protocol provides efficient key generation, encryption, and decryption while improving eavesdropping detection. With 10 qubits, the protocol achieved a key generation rate of 957 bits and successfully encrypted messages. These findings suggest that QKD offers a robust security framework for smart grid environments, providing superior resistance to both quantum and classical attacks.
Smart grid depends on an advanced communication network to collect information from the power grid, and to disseminate control commands to the control devices. To safeguard the power grid, it is crucial to ensure information confidentiality in the communication networks. Quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols help in generating, and distributing secret keys between communication parties, and such secret keys are required in symmetric cryptography. The combination of QKD protocols, and symmetric cryptography are known to be unconditionally secure, which means information confidentiality can be guaranteed even against an eavesdropper, who has unlimited resources. This article provides a concise review of existing works on QKD protocols, and their applications in smart grid communications. Deploying QKD protocols in smart grid is challenging because distance between the control center, and control devices can be larger than the limits of existing protocols. Also, QKD protocols require an expensive quantum channel between each pair of sender, and receiver nodes, and there is large number of control devices with diverse capabilities in smart grid. We have classified existing works based on the challenges they have dealt with. Compared to the rich literature on QKD protocols in general, there are significantly fewer works in the specific context of smart grid. This can be an indication for opportunity to make a significant contribution. We have also identified a few research challenges that can be potential future works.
Quantum computing technologies are rapidly evolving and are expected to challenge the security of traditional cryptographicsystems in the near future. To address this issue, this research introduces a secure two-way communication framework based onthe BB84 Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocol combined with AES-GCM encryption. The proposed system establishesquantum-generated secret keys between two communicating nodes and uses those keys for authenticated symmetric encryption.The implementation includes dynamic key pool management, automatic key regeneration, Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER)analysis, eavesdropper detection, and real-time secure communication monitoring. A Streamlit-based graphical interface enablesvisualization of quantum transmission behavior, communication status, encrypted message exchange, and channel securitymetrics. Experimental observations show that the system successfully detects interception attempts through increased QBERwhile maintaining reliable communication under secure channel conditions. The developed framework demonstrates thepracticality of integrating quantum key exchange mechanisms with modern encryption methods for next-generation securecommunication systems.