The emergence of sixth-generation (6G) networks and the rapid proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices demand advanced security frameworks capable of operating in highly dynamic, autonomous, and zero-touch environments. Classical cryptographic solutions, relying on static policies and centralized trust models, fall short of addressing quantum-era threats and decentralized infrastructures. To overcome these limitations, we propose a quantum-enabled designated verifier signature (QDVS) scheme for smart IoT in 6G networks. The scheme leverages controlled quantum teleportation for secure state transfer, integrates identity-based verification for signer-verifier binding, and ensures tamper- proof trust management through blockchain assistance. By exploiting quantum principles such as superposition and entanglement, the scheme guarantees unforgeability, source hiding, and non-repudiation, while enabling scalable and autonomous operations within Zero-Touch IoT-cloud architectures. Security is validated through both informal analysis and formal verification using the Scyther tool, demonstrating resistance against classical and quantum attacks, including impersonation, replay, and forgery. Implementation on IBM’s Qiskit simulator achieves fidelity above 89.65% with minimal communication overhead, confirming the feasibility of the proposed protocol for real-world 6G IoT deployments. This work represents a secure-by-design signature framework, aligning with the long-term resilience goals of next-generation networks.
The emergence of sixth-generation (6G) networks and the rapid proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices demand advanced security frameworks capable of operating in highly dynamic, autonomous, and zero-touch environments. Classical cryptographic solutions, relying on static policies and centralized trust models, fall short of addressing quantum-era threats and decentralized infrastructures. To overcome these limitations, we propose a quantum-enabled designated verifier signature (QDVS) scheme for smart IoT in 6G networks. The scheme leverages controlled quantum teleportation for secure state transfer, integrates identity-based verification for signer-verifier binding, and ensures tamper- proof trust management through blockchain assistance. By exploiting quantum principles such as superposition and entanglement, the scheme guarantees unforgeability, source hiding, and non-repudiation, while enabling scalable and autonomous operations within Zero-Touch IoT-cloud architectures. Security is validated through both informal analysis and formal verification using the Scyther tool, demonstrating resistance against classical and quantum attacks, including impersonation, replay, and forgery. Implementation on IBM’s Qiskit simulator achieves fidelity above 89.65% with minimal communication overhead, confirming the feasibility of the proposed protocol for real-world 6G IoT deployments. This work represents a secure-by-design signature framework, aligning with the long-term resilience goals of next-generation networks.
The convergence of 6G communication technologies and the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has revolutionized modern healthcare by enabling real-time monitoring, intelligent diagnosis, and remote patient management. However, the proliferation of interconnected medical devices also exposes the ecosystem to severe security challenges, including identity forgery, data tampering, and emerging quantum-based attacks. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a blockchain-assisted quantum signature framework for securing data exchange in 6G - enabled IoMT environments. The proposed framework leverages quantum digital signatures (QDS) based on entangled photon states to ensure message authenticity and non-repudiation, while blockchain technology provides decentralized trust management and immutable transaction logging. A Medical Authorization Center (MAC) coordinates identity registration, signature verification, and consensus-based access control among IoMT entities. Furthermore, smart contracts are utilized to automate trust evaluation and audit trails, thereby mitigating insider and replay attacks. Performance analysis using Qiskit simulations and IBM’s quantum backends demonstrates an average signature fidelity of 91% and a communication efficiency of 75.61%, validating the framework’s robustness for resource-constrained medical devices. By fusing quantum communication primitives with blockchain-enabled transparency, this work presents a scalable and tamper-resistant security solution for next-generation healthcare networks. The convergence of 6G communication technologies and the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has revolutionized modern healthcare by enabling real-time monitoring, intelligent diagnosis, and remote patient management. However, the proliferation of interconnected medical devices also exposes the ecosystem to severe security challenges, including identity forgery, data tampering, and emerging quantum-based attacks. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a blockchain-assisted quantum signature framework for securing data exchange in 6G-enabled IoMT environments. The proposed framework leverages quantum digital signatures (QDS) based on entangled photon states to ensure message authenticity and non-repudiation, while blockchain technology provides decentralized trust management and immutable transaction logging. A Medical Authorization Center (MAC) coordinates identity registration, signature verification, and consensus-based access control among IoMT entities. Furthermore, smart contracts are utilized to automate trust evaluation and audit trails, thereby mitigating insider and replay attacks. Performance analysis using Qiskit simulations and IBM’s quantum backends demonstrates an average signature fidelity of 91% and a communication efficiency of 75.61%, validating the framework’s robustness for resource-constrained medical devices. By fusing quantum communication primitives with blockchain-enabled transparency, this work presents a scalable and tamper-resistant security solution for next-generation healthcare networks.
Touch Healthcare (ZTH) in the 6G era envisions fully autonomous, intelligent, and secure healthcare systems enabled by IoT, quantum communication, and decentralized cloud infrastructures. As IoT devices proliferate in smart healthcare, they generate vast volumes of sensitive physiological data, requiring robust, scalable, and future-proof protection mechanisms. This paper presents a Quantum-Secured Hybrid Encryption Framework empowered by blockchain and Zero-Touch principles to ensure end-to-end confidentiality, integrity, and trust. The framework integrates a trusted authority for access control, quantum key controllers for cryptographic key generation, and secure data vaults for encrypted storage. Blockchain-enabled consensus nodes function as proxy service nodes, eliminating reliance on centralized service providers while securely managing cipher-text transactions in a distributed manner. The proposed system resists replay, side-channel, Sybil, and eavesdropping attacks and minimizes tampering risks through targeted quantum-based verification. Simulated results demonstrate a 93.33% accuracy rate, with discrepancies primarily caused by quantum device noise. By combining quantum encryption and blockchain within an AI-driven Zero-Touch architecture, this framework establishes a secure, decentralized, and resilient model for next-generation healthcare data sharing over 6G networks. Zero-Touch Healthcare (ZTH) in the 6G era envisions fully autonomous, intelligent, and secure healthcare systems enabled by IoT, quantum communication, and decentralized cloud infrastructures. As IoT devices proliferate in smart healthcare, they generate vast volumes of sensitive physiological data, requiring robust, scalable, and future-proof protection mechanisms. This paper presents a Quantum-Secured Hybrid Encryption Framework empowered by blockchain and Zero-Touch principles to ensure end-to-end confidentiality, integrity, and trust. The framework integrates a trusted authority for access control, quantum key controllers for cryptographic key generation, and secure data vaults for encrypted storage. Blockchain-enabled consensus nodes function as proxy service nodes, eliminating reliance on centralized service providers while securely managing cipher-text transactions in a distributed manner. The proposed system resists replay, side-channel, Sybil, and eavesdropping attacks and minimizes tampering risks through targeted quantum-based verification. Simulated results demonstrate a 93.33% accuracy rate, with discrepancies primarily caused by quantum device noise. By combining quantum encryption and blockchain within an AI-driven Zero-Touch architecture, this framework establishes a secure, decentralized, and resilient model for next-generation healthcare data sharing over 6G networks.
The rapid convergence of sixth-generation (6G) networks and the Internet of Things (IoT) offers enormous potential for ultra-reliable, low-latency, and massive device connectivity. However, this integration also raises security and privacy concerns, particularly in light of new threats from quantum computing that could undermine traditional cryptography. The architecture of quantum-safe IoT networks that can withstand post-quantum security threats is thoroughly discussed in this review. It addresses the challenges related to how to use blockchain technology to provide decentralized trust as well as secure transactions, how to use post-quantum cryptographic algorithms to protect data confidentiality, and the best way to use a trust management architecture to improve identity verification, authorization, and authentication in the diverse IoT environment. The paper then examines scalability considerations, resource constraints, and interoperability problems that impact safe IoT deployments in the 6G era. This work serves as a roadmap for researchers and practitioners who aim to create robust and future IoT infrastructure and then maintain their security in a post-quantum world by integrating recent research patterns, solution development, and considerations related to real-world implementation.
The rapid growth of consumer electronic devices connected through emerging 6G networks introduces critical challenges in ensuring data security, privacy, and trust across decentralized internet of consumer electronics IoCE infrastructures. Traditional encryption and access control models are insufficient for highly dynamic, software-defined, and zero-touch network (ZTN) environments typical of consumer electronics. In this work, we propose a blockchain-assisted quantum encryption protocol tailored for IoCE-cloud architectures within secure and standardized 6G systems. The scheme integrates quantum key generation via unitary transformations, lightweight symmetric encryption using the ASCON cipher, and tamper-proof authentication through blockchain. It enables autonomous, self-configuring, and self-protecting communication pathways between consumer devices and cloud infrastructure. Formal and informal security analyses demonstrate resilience against classical and quantum attacks, including replay, eavesdropping, and Sybil attacks. The protocol is validated using Qiskit simulations on IBM quantum hardware, achieving 91% fidelity. Performance evaluation confirms its efficiency and scalability, highlighting its potential as a secure-by-design framework for next-generation IoCE systems aligned with the Zero-Touch vision.
Due to the rapid advancement of quantum computers, there has been a furious race for quantum technologies in academia and industry. Quantum cryptography is an important tool for achieving security services during quantum communication. Designated verifier signature, a variant of quantum cryptography, is very useful in applications like the Internet of Things (IoT) and auctions. An identity-based quantum-designated verifier signature (QDVS) scheme is suggested in this work. Our protocol features security attributes like eavesdropping, non-repudiation, designated verification, and hiding sources attacks. Additionally, it is protected from attacks on forgery, inter-resending, and impersonation. The proposed scheme benefits from the traditional designated verifier signature schemes. In the proposed scheme, the signer encrypts a message with his or her private key, and the designated verifier validates the accompanying QDVS using the signer’s public key, which is the signer’s name or email address, which makes the quantum signature system’s key management simpler. It uses an entangled state while signing and verifying the signature; however, the verifier is not required to compare quantum states. A detailed comparison analysis with other similar schemes provides more security for the proposed scheme. Furthermore, the proposed scheme’s effectiveness and feasibility are validated using quantum simulations.
The rapid proliferation of Consumer-Centric Internet of Things (CCIoT) devices has resulted in massive volumes of data being generated and transmitted across edge and cloud infrastructures. However, limited computational and memory resources, coupled with the vulnerabilities of open communication networks, expose CCIoT ecosystems to severe security threats. With the advent of quantum computing, traditional cryptographic schemes risk becoming obsolete, necessitating the integration of quantum cryptography into edge-assisted CCIoT protocols. In this paper, we propose a blockchain-enabled quantum-designated verifier signature protocol designed to ensure secure data transmission and storage within CCIoT networks. The protocol leverages a private blockchain, where peer nodes generate blocks from service-provider data, thereby enhancing confidentiality and integrity. Informal security verification and informal analysis confirm the robustness of the scheme against both classical and quantum adversaries. Extensive experiments, implemented in Python, evaluate the proposed quantum signature protocol theoretically and practically. The results demonstrate strong encryption performance, achieving a computational cost of 41.5 ms and communication overhead of 834 bits, outperforming recent benchmark schemes. The findings highlight the superior reliability, scalability, and efficiency of our approach, offering a viable quantum security solution for future CCIoT ecosystems.