The rise of quantum computing poses an imminent threat to traditional cryptographic algorithms such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and Rivest, Shamir, Adleman (RSA), necessitating innovative solutions to ensure data security in the post-quantum era. This paper introduces a novel multi-level image encryption system that combines post-quantum and conventional techniques to address this challenge. By leveraging the Quantum Fourier Transform (QFT) to decompose images, encrypting low-frequency components with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), and securing AES keys with the quantum-resistant Learning with Errors (LWE) method, this approach offers robust protection against classical and quantum attacks. Empirical evaluations using metrics such as Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), Structural Similarity Index (SSIM), entropy, and correlation coefficients demonstrate the system's ability to maintain image quality while delivering exceptional security. Scalable and effective, this framework is well-suited for safeguarding critical applications in fields such as medicine, defense, and finance.
The rise of quantum computing poses an imminent threat to traditional cryptographic algorithms such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and Rivest, Shamir, Adleman (RSA), necessitating innovative solutions to ensure data security in the post-quantum era. This paper introduces a novel multi-level image encryption system that combines post-quantum and conventional techniques to address this challenge. By leveraging the Quantum Fourier Transform (QFT) to decompose images, encrypting low-frequency components with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), and securing AES keys with the quantum-resistant Learning with Errors (LWE) method, this approach offers robust protection against classical and quantum attacks. Empirical evaluations using metrics such as Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), Structural Similarity Index (SSIM), entropy, and correlation coefficients demonstrate the system's ability to maintain image quality while delivering exceptional security. Scalable and effective, this framework is well-suited for safeguarding critical applications in fields such as medicine, defense, and finance.
In the digital era, the security of image data has become increasingly important. This study aims to develop an image encryption scheme based on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Fractional Fourier Transform (FRFT) to enhance the security of image data transmission and storage. The proposed scheme first utilizes QKD to generate and distribute secure encryption keys, ensuring the unconditional security of the key distribution process. Subsequently, FRFT is employed to perform complex transformations on the image data, using fractional order parameters to achieve multi-scale representation of the image in both time and frequency domains, thereby increasing the complexity and security of the encryption process. Experimental results demonstrate that this scheme exhibits significant advantages in terms of the quality of encrypted images and their resistance to attacks. Specifically, the encrypted images possess high Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Structural Similarity Index (SSIM), effectively resisting various attacks. Comparative analysis further verifies the superiority of this scheme in terms of security and efficiency. In summary, the proposed combination of QKD and FRFT for image encryption holds great potential and research value in the protection of image data.
With the rapid advancement regarding quantum computing, traditional cryptographic systems face an existential threat because of their reliance concerning mathematical challenges which may be addressed effectively solved using quantum algorithms like the one developed by Shor. This imminent risk has driven extensive research into quantum-resistant cryptography (PQC), that seeks to develop encryption methods resilient against attacks powered by quantum computing. This study offers a thorough literature survey on high-level security techniques in quantum security for PQC, analysing past and current research efforts in this domain. We first examine the vulnerabilities of classical cryptographic protocols, including public-key encryption methods such as RSA (developed by Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman) and ECC (which uses elliptic curve mathematics), and traditional cryptographic hashing methods, against quantum adversaries. The study then explores the foundational approaches to quantum-secure cryptography, including lattice-based, hash-based, multivariate polynomial, code-based, and isogeny-based encryption methods that possess emerged as promising candidates for standardization. The survey highlights key challenges in the real-world application of PQC, including performance trade-offs, key size overhead, and deployment complexities. We conclude by identifying future research directions during the creation of scalable, efficient, and provably secure cryptographic methods designed to withstand quantum attacks techniques. As the shift toward the quantum-resilient era approaches, this survey aims to provide a clear and structured comprehension of the evolving the domain of quantum security for PQC.
Quantum image encryption (QIE) has emerged as a promising solution for securing digital data in an era dominated by rapid advancements in quantum computing and increasing cyber threats. Traditional cryptographic techniques, which rely on classical encryption methods, are vulnerable to the computational power of quantum algorithms, posing significant challenges for maintaining data privacy and integrity. This survey presents a thorough review of quantum encryption techniques, highlighting both their limitations and advantages, with a particular emphasis on their ability to ensure secure visual data transmission in the post-quantum era. Additionally, it provides a comparative analysis of classical and quantum cryptographic techniques, with a primary focus on quantum encryption methods. The survey also explores potential solutions to address the challenges inherent in classical encryption schemes, highlighting how these challenges can be mitigated through quantum encryption approaches. As quantum computing continues to evolve, the need for quantum-secure encryption methods becomes more critical. This survey not only highlights the innovative techniques that show promise for future secure visual data transmission but also identifies key areas for future research and development, paving the way for robust and scalable solutions in the quantum computing era.
Text and images data generation, transmission, and storage have seen an exponential growth with the advancement of digital platforms which poses serious security issues for the next generation communication systems.Traditional cryptographic methods (archive) have long-standing challenges from the point of view of scalability, key management overhead and complexity, computational demands but more importantly their sustainability against the future quantum computing threats.Quantum primitives that rely on mathematical hard problems are doomed to be broken by quantum adversaries with μ= Shor's and Grover's algorithms.Also, the integration of heterogeneous data types such as unstructured text and highdimensional images under a unified framework is still an open research problem.To solve these problems, this paper presents a multi-modal quantum cryptography system for secure message and image encryption/decryption and transmission.The framework is based on the basic concepts of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, entanglement and the nocloning theorem, concentrating mainly on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and cryptographic techniques resilient to quantum attacks.The proposed approach combines quantumsecure key establishment with modality-aware encoding and encryption, specifically designed for textual and image data transport, supporting confidentiality, integrity, and secure transit of the data while maintaining high level of fidelity to the original data after decryption.Comprehensive experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed framework in all aspects over the existing work based PLS, PRS, and ACI schemes in terms of anti-self-interference ability, computational complexity or memory requirement, and resistance to cryptanalysis from both classical attacker (AA) and quantum adversary.Our findings indicate is that quantum-assisted encryption is resilient to the most aggressive threats and at the same time provides performance that is strong enough to be used on a large scale.By addressing some of the most pressing issues in the field, such as the threat of quantum attacks, the management of multi-modal data, and scalability, this research provides a foundation for a future-proof security framework that is applicable in the present as well.The new framework has a number of applications in the present, including secure medical imaging, digital forensics, and secure document transfer.
This research introduces a novel cryptographic system that enhances the security of steganographic images by integrating Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) with traditional encryption. Using the E91 QKD protocol, it generates a shared secret key between parties, leveraging quantum entanglement to provide superior protection against eavesdropping. The quantum key is then hashed with the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) to produce a fixed-length, high-entropy key for symmetric encryption . The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is employed to encrypt steganographic images, which conceal critical data within digital images, adding an extra layer of security through obscurity. Experiments with images of varying resolutions (64 × 64 to 512 × 512 pixels) show consistent encryption performance. The encrypted images exhibit high randomness, with an average entropy of 7.9929. Differential attack resilience is demonstrated by a Number of Pixels Change Rate (NPCR) averaging 99.6928% and a Unified Average Changing Intensity (UACI) of 56.1549%. The average E91 protocol key generation time is 5.78 s with a key rate of 7.43 bps. Encryption and decryption times for test images are 0.00149 and 0.00175 s, respectively. This research combines quantum and classical cryptography with steganography, providing a robust security framework highly resistant to both quantum and classical threats.
The ongoing development of powerful quantum computers poses a significant threat to the security of conventional encryption methods such as Rivest Shamir Adleman (RSA) and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). With algorithms such as Shor's Algorithm, quantum computers can solve the mathematical problems on which these methods are based and thus break them within a few hours. This work highlights this development's challenges and examines post-quantum cryptography (PQC) as a solution. PQC offers quantum-safe encryption based on mathematical problems that are difficult to solve, even for quantum computers. The text analyzes lattice, hash, and isogeny-based approaches and introduces the new NIST standards, including Kyber, Dilithium, and Sphinx+. It also discusses practical challenges in implementing quantum-safe systems, including performance degradation and cryptographic agility. It concludes with recommendations for migrating to PQC to ensure long-term security in an era increasingly characterized by quantum computing.