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Cryptography

A Quantum Key Distribution for Securing Smart Grids

Iuon‐Chang Lin, Ko-Yu Lin, Nan-I Wu, Min‐Shiang Hwang

Published Apr 29, 2025• 9 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The development of Smart Grids (SGs) is a current trend and an indispensable essential living requirement. Due to economic development and improved quality of life, electricity demand has rapidly increased. However, the power grids in major cities have become outdated, leading to uneven power distribution and frequent power outages. SGs can adjust distribution strategies based on consumers’ real-time electricity demands, which requires continuous transmission of consumer electricity data within the grid. If the privacy and security of these data cannot be ensured, consumers’ habits will be exposed, and unnecessary waste may occur. In this article, we propose a key distribution process based on QKD, enabling entities within the SG to encrypt and authenticate each other’s data, ensuring the security and privacy of communication channels and transmitted data.

DOI
10.3390/cryptography9020028

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The development of Smart Grids (SGs) is a current trend and an indispensable essential living requirement. Due to economic development and improved quality of life, electricity demand has rapidly increased. However, the power grids in major cities have become outdated, leading to uneven power distribution and frequent power outages. SGs can adjust distribution strategies based on consumers’ real-time electricity demands, which requires continuous transmission of consumer electricity data within the grid. If the privacy and security of these data cannot be ensured, consumers’ habits will be exposed, and unnecessary waste may occur. In this article, we propose a key distribution process based on QKD, enabling entities within the SG to encrypt and authenticate each other’s data, ensuring the security and privacy of communication channels and transmitted data.
The vast amounts of data and the growing number of attacks in the smart grids (SGs) are consequences of the huge reliance on information and communication technology, that is further posing serious risks to the confidentiality and integrity of the power data. On the other hand, recent advancements in quantum cryptography are emerging as foundation for secure communication protocols, offering robust defenses against potential cyber threats in SGs. In response to the imperative challenge of secure data transmission, a quantum cryptography based unconditionally secure data transmission model is proposed that integrates quantum key distribution (QKD) with classical encryption. Furthermore, truly random encryption keys generated through quantum random number generator (QRNG) are utilized that assists to overcome the limitations of pseudo-random number generator and leads to the highly immune data security mechanism. The efficacy of proposed model is evaluated through experimental results obtained over classical simulator along with real quantum computers accessed through the IBM Qiskit platform. The statistical analysis conducted on the resulting quantum states showcases a high degree of accurate measurements, thereby confirming the relevance of the proposed work.
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 grids offer many advantages, but they also come with some risks, especially regarding network security and privacy. This study aims to investigate the privacy and security of existing smart grid systems and to give a cross-section of the latest findings in the field of secure data aggregation and authentication for smart grids. The study focuses on addressing the challenges posed by malicious tampering and unauthorized access to metering data by exploring innovative approaches to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of data through a process termed "secure aggregate" and that the result of secure aggregations is authenticated in a manner that is both scalable and effective using Quantum Key Distribution. A software prototype has been developed to facilitate machine-to-machine authentication because this cryptographic key can be used and machine connections can be verified. This can contribute to the protection of essential infrastructure, the creation of a continuous threat detection feedback system, and the foundations of this technology are essential conditions for increasing the ability of systems to authenticate users.
Protection of information achieves keeping confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the data. These features are essential for the proper operation of modern industrial technologies, like Smart Grid. The complex grid system integrates many electronic devices that provide an efficient way of exploiting the power systems but cause many problems due to their vulnerabilities to attacks. The aim of the work is to propose a solution to the privacy problem in Smart Grid communication network between the customers and Control center. It consists in using the relatively new cryptographic task - quantum key distribution (QKD). The solution is based on choosing an appropriate quantum key distribution method out of all the conventional ones by performing an assessment in terms of several parameters. The parameters are: key rate, operating distances, resources, and trustworthiness of the devices involved. Accordingly, we discuss an answer to the privacy problem of the SG network with regard to both security and resource economy.
The Smart Grid (SG) represents the next-generation power system in the future grid infrastructure, designed for self-healing, adaptability, and sustainability. However, the interconnected and geographically dispersed nature of SG systems introduces cybersecurity risks, potentially leading to severe incidents. Cyber attacks on SG applications could result in significant events, including outages and infrastructure damage. These attacks may compromise energy data, starting with the leakage of personal information from grid members. To address these risks, confidentiality, device authentication, and data integrity are essential, traditionally implemented through public-key cryptography (PKC). The rise of quantum computers and the potential adaptation of algorithms like Shor’s poses a threat to PKC algorithms in SG communications. In response, we propose a security protocol for post-quantum communication in SG applications, ensuring resilience against classical and quantum attacks. The protocol has been tested through rigorous informal security analysis, and comparative analysis demonstrates its scalability and effectiveness in real-world scenarios.
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.