International Conference in Electronic Engineering & Information Technology (EEITE)
Adaptive Post-Quantum Cryptography for Blockchain: Enhancing Security and Energy Efficiency with Cryptographic Agility
Michail‐Alexandros Kourtis, George Oikonomakis, Ioannis Koufos, George K. Xilouris, Ioannis Kefaloukos, Evangelos Markakis, Daniel Karcz, Marcin Niemiec
The rapid advancement of quantum computing threatens classical cryptographic systems, necessitating a transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to ensure secure digital infrastructures. This research investigates the role of PQC-enhanced blockchain solutions in securing critical applications such as network slicing, authentication, and service-level agreement (SLA) monitoring. As part of the PQ-REACT project, quantum-resistant ledgers are employed to maintain tamper-proof records, ensuring data integrity and compliance in multi-domain environments. The study further demonstrates how context-aware cryptographic selection enables efficient resource allocation, mitigating the computational costs associated with PQC.
The rapid advancement of quantum computing threatens classical cryptographic systems, necessitating a transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to ensure secure digital infrastructures. This research investigates the role of PQC-enhanced blockchain solutions in securing critical applications such as network slicing, authentication, and service-level agreement (SLA) monitoring. As part of the PQ-REACT project, quantum-resistant ledgers are employed to maintain tamper-proof records, ensuring data integrity and compliance in multi-domain environments. The study further demonstrates how context-aware cryptographic selection enables efficient resource allocation, mitigating the computational costs associated with PQC.
The advent of quantum computing poses an existential threat to contemporary cryptographic standards, particularly those securing decentralized blockchain networks and cloud infrastructures.Classical public-key cryptosystems such as RSA, ECC, and DH, which rely on factorization and discrete logarithm problems, are rendered obsolete by Shor's algorithm, necessitating the transition toward post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) solutions.This study explores the integration of PQC algorithms, including lattice-based, hash-based, code-based, multivariate, and isogeny-based cryptographic mechanisms, within blockchain-ledger technologies and cloud architectures to ensure long-term security against quantum adversaries.A comparative analysis is conducted to evaluate computational efficiency, key size implications, communication overhead, and security resilience under quantum attack models.The research highlights the adaptation of PQC within blockchain consensus mechanisms, smart contract execution, and cryptographic primitives such as digital signatures, zero-knowledge proofs, and secure multi-party computation (MPC).Additionally, it examines the impact of PQC on cloud security, addressing challenges in quantum-safe key exchange protocols, homomorphic encryption for secure computations, and cross-platform interoperability within hybrid quantum-classical cloud ecosystems.Real-world implementations and benchmarking data provide insights into the feasibility of large-scale adoption, shedding light on standardization efforts by NIST and industry consortia.The study concludes with future directions, emphasizing the need for efficient PQC algorithm optimization, lightweight cryptographic frameworks for IoT-driven blockchain applications, and scalable post-quantum identity management systems.By establishing quantum-resistant security frameworks, this research underscores the imperative need for early adoption to mitigate cryptographic vulnerabilities in the impending post-quantum era.
The rapid advancements in quantum computing pose significant threats to traditional cryptographic systems, which are foundational to securing modern digital infrastructure. Cryptosystems like RSA and ECC, currently relied upon for secure communications, are vulnerable to quantum attacks, necessitating the development of post-quantum cryptography (PQC). The proposed methodology in this paper focuses on safeguarding critical infrastructure from quantum-based cyberattacks by leveraging PQC. The framework integrates several key strategies: hybrid cryptography, which combines classical and post-quantum algorithms to ensure security even as quantum threats evolve; quantum key distribution (QKD), ensuring secure communication by detecting any interception attempts; and post-quantum algorithms designed to resist quantum computing capabilities. The methodology also includes a robust security layer with incident response and threat monitoring systems to detect anomalies and initiate rapid responses to potential attacks. This holistic approach secures vital sectors like healthcare, energy, and telecommunications by future-proofing cryptographic measures against quantum threats.
The rapid advancement of quantum computing poses a critical threat to classical cryptographic schemes that secure modern distributed systems. As the deployment of distributed infrastructures—including blockchains, cloud-native applications, and edge networks—continues to grow, there is an urgent need to transition towards quantum-resistant security mechanisms. This paper provides a comprehensive examination of post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) algorithms and their applicability in distributed system architectures. We analyze the impact of quantum threats on key components of distributed systems such as communication protocols, identity management, data integrity, and consensus mechanisms. Furthermore, we evaluate current NIST-standardized PQC algorithms in terms of computational efficiency, scalability, and integration overhead within distributed environments. Challenges in key management, performance trade-offs, and implementation considerations are discussed. Finally, we propose best practices and future directions for secure, quantum-resilient distributed systems.
The emergence of quantum computing is a serious threat to traditional cryptographic algorithms, making it critical to transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC). This work proposes a holistic conceptual and analytical framework for deploying PQC in multi-cloud environments where the complexity of different infrastructure, workloads and key management schemes pose significant security and efficiency problems. The proposed framework for crypto-agility follows a layered approach, with a cryptographic abstraction layer, a policy-based orchestration engine, a centralized hardware security module (HSM) management plane, and an ongoing monitoring module to facilitate a smooth transition from classical to hybrid and fully quantum-resistant cryptographic systems. He researches identifies and critically analyzes major challenges in deploying PQC technologies in multi-cloud environments, such as inter-cloud interoperability, computational complexity, latency, key management, and regulatory and compliance considerations. The framework tackles these challenges by incorporating hybrid cryptographic protocols that blend classic cryptographic algorithms with NIST-approved PQC algorithms, namely ML-KEM (FIPS 203) and ML-DSA (FIPS 204), to maintain backward compatibility and increase security against quantum-powered adversaries. Moreover, the framework proposes dynamic policy-driven algorithm selection to implement context-sensitive cryptographic enforcement based on sensitivity labels, security threats, and regulatory considerations. An experimental framework is proposed to assess the efficiency and scalability of PQC algorithms deployed in a multi-cloud environment, including metrics such as CPU usage, memory usage, latency and throughput with different workloads. Although this research is conceptual, it draws on previous benchmarking to discuss the securityperformance trade-offs associated with PQC. The results highlight the need for centralized trust anchors, crypto-agility and hybrid deployment models to address risks from cryptographic diversity and ensure the sustainability of security operations. This study advances the research on quantum-safe cloud security by offering a systematic, scalable and policy-oriented framework for PQC deployment. It provides practical guidance for businesses, cloud architects, and security professionals on how to safeguard against quantum vulnerabilities and ensure efficient operations in distributed systems by implementing quantum-safe cryptographic infrastructures.
As Cryptanalytically Relevant Quantum Computing (CRQC) approaches, organizations managing critical infrastructure must prepare to transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC). This paper provides comprehensive guidance for this transition, addressing the challenges of quantum computing to current cryptographic systems. It presents a framework for the efficient and timely adoption of PQC within critical infrastructure. The study examines the current development of PQC, evaluates vulnerabilities in legacy cryptographic algorithms, and identifies key strategies for mitigating risks associated with quantum computing. The proposed framework includes a multi-faceted approach, encompassing the evaluation and selection of PQC algorithms, developing a phased transition plan, and establishing governance structures to ensure the long-term viability of quantum-resistant cryptographic infrastructure. Additionally, the paper underscores the importance of collaboration among business leaders, governmental bodies, and educational institutions to promote knowledge sharing and accelerate the adoption of PQC standards. By proactively addressing the challenges of transitioning to PQC, organizations can enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data in the face of advancing quantum computing capabilities.
The rapid advancement of quantum computing poses a significant threat to classical cryptographic methods used in blockchain-based healthcare systems. Existing security mechanisms such as RSA and ECC are vulnerable to quantum attacks, posing a risk to patient data integrity, confidentiality, and authentication mechanisms. To address this challenge, postquantum cryptographic (PQC) solutions, including lattice-based, hash-based, code-based, and multivariate polynomial-based techniques, have been proposed. This study systematically reviews and classifies PQC methods and their integration into blockchainbased healthcare infrastructures. A three-layer security model is discussed to enhance blockchain resilience against quantum attacks. The study further explores on-chain, off-chain, and crosschain security mechanisms within healthcare applications to ensure secure medical data storage, patient identity management, and interoperability among healthcare providers. The findings suggest that hybrid cryptographic models, combining classical and post-quantum techniques, provide a practical transition strategy for ensuring long-term security in blockchain networks. This research contributes to the field by offering a structured classification of quantum-resistant blockchain security mechanisms and providing insights into future research directions, particularly in the areas of quantum-safe healthcare data management, performance optimization of PQC methods, and the development of quantum-resistant smart contracts.