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International Research Journal on Advanced Engineering and Management (IRJAEM)

Quantum Key - Based Secure Image Steganography with AES Encryption

U. Gowri Sankar, Radhesh Kumar K M, Vasanth V, Yeswanth S

Published Mar 19, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We are building a highly secure way of sending messages by combining the use of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) to produce encryption keys and encrypting messages with a variant of AES-256 (a substitution cipher) and Least Significant Bit (LSB) steganography or hiding them in images. We are employing the BB84 protocol to produce these keys based on the quantum properties of the photonic (light) particles; we can detect any third parties attempting to intercept the key and measure it by the Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER). Once we have produced a secure key, we then use it to encrypt the actual message with AES-256, and we hide that in a digital image (the cover image) with LSB steganography. Thus, if a third party were to capture the Stego image (the digital image containing the hidden encrypted message), they would not be able to decrypt the hidden message without the key that was produced using quantum cryptography. An analytics dashboard monitors the success of the key generation, the QBER value, and other performance metrics, giving a high degree of transparency and trustworthiness of the whole process.

DOI
10.47392/irjaem.2026.0071

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We are building a highly secure way of sending messages by combining the use of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) to produce encryption keys and encrypting messages with a variant of AES-256 (a substitution cipher) and Least Significant Bit (LSB) steganography or hiding them in images. We are employing the BB84 protocol to produce these keys based on the quantum properties of the photonic (light) particles; we can detect any third parties attempting to intercept the key and measure it by the Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER). Once we have produced a secure key, we then use it to encrypt the actual message with AES-256, and we hide that in a digital image (the cover image) with LSB steganography. Thus, if a third party were to capture the Stego image (the digital image containing the hidden encrypted message), they would not be able to decrypt the hidden message without the key that was produced using quantum cryptography. An analytics dashboard monitors the success of the key generation, the QBER value, and other performance metrics, giving a high degree of transparency and trustworthiness of the whole process.
In the realm of cybersecurity, the demand for robust encryption and secure data hiding techniques has intensified with the proliferation of digital communication and sensitive information exchange. This paper explores integration of QC advancements for enhancing the security of two critical cryptographic applications: Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption and Least Significant Bit (LSB) image steganography. Quantum computing introduces the concept of qubits, which harness quantum mechanical phenomena to perform computations that classical computers struggle to achieve efficiently. By leveraging qubits, AES encryption can potentially benefit from enhanced key generation and encryption processes, thereby strengthening data confidentiality against conventional and future quantum attacks. Additionally, this paper investigates the application of quantum-inspired techniques to optimize the LSB method in image steganography. LSB embedding involves hiding data within LSB of image pixels, technique vulnerable to statistical attacks. Quantum-inspired approaches aim to mitigate these vulnerabilities by improving embedding efficiency and robustness without compromising image quality. Through theoretical analysis and simulation studies, this research evaluates the feasibility and potential benefits of integrating quantum computing into AES encryption and LSB steganography. The findings underscore the promise of quantum-enhanced methods in fortifying data security across digital platforms, laying the groundwork for future advancements in quantum cryptography and information hiding techniques.
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.
This research combines the BB84 quantum key exchange protocol with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption to investigate a new method of secure image steganography. Strong data protection is guaranteed by AES encryption, and safe key distribution is provided by BB84, which uses quantum key distribution (QKD) to reduce the iterations for monitoring. By combining the two, the steganographic approach becomes much more resilient to cryptographic assaults while maintaining secrecy and integrity. This method provides a major improvement in secure communication and is perfect for sending sensitive data when privacy is of the utmost importance.
Several approaches and techniques exist to make communication via the internet secure, one of these approaches is steganography. Computer steganography can be defined as a method of hiding data in cover media so that others are not aware of its existence. Quantum computers, built on the principles of quantum physics, have introduced new possibilities for researchers in security and computer science. This paper explores the fundamentals of quantum computing, its achievements, and the challenges and future prospects it presents in the field of cryptography and steganography. Quantum computers give us a new approach to different kinds of complicated problems in security fields by creating multi-state computing spaces. The article deals with the steganography system which hides text inside images and after that realize quantum communication. The secret message is hidden in the cover image using Least Significant Bit (LSB) algorithm. The paper proposes an information transmission scheme with a quantum channel enabled. Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a secure communication method that implements a cryptographic protocol involving components of quantum mechanics.
In recent times, secure data transmission become crucial requirement because of increasing growth of threats and emergence of quantum computing technologies. However, existing Quantum Key Distribution-Advanced Encryption Standard-Least Significant Bit (QKD-AES-LSB) struggled with two main limitations such as restricted resistance to future quantum attacks because of dependence on classical encryption and vulnerability of static LSB steganography for improved Machine Learning (ML) approaches. To address these challenges, Quantum Key Distribution-Post-Quantum Cryptography-Adaptive Steganographic Encryption framework (QKD-PQC-ASE) is proposed. Primarily, secret data and cover images are gathered then quantum key is generated using E91 protocol. Next, post-quantum cryptographic key encapsulation is applied to strengthened the generated kay and ensure long-term quantum resistance. Further, secret data is encrypted employing quantum-resilient encryption mechanism and combined using cryptographic hashing. Furthermore, encrypted data is embedded in to cover image through quantum-randomness-guided adaptive steganography for resisting improved steganalysis attacks. Finally, proposed QKD-PQC-ASE framework obtains improved resistance against future quantum attacks and enhanced steganalysis by maintaining low computational overhead. Therefore, proposed QKD-PQC-ASE framework achieved greater results in terms of NPCR of 99.84 % and a UACI of57.92%\mathbf{5 7. 9 2 \%}57.92%which demonstrates efficiency of framework for secure and future-ready data encryption in quantum-aware communication environments.
Quantum computing threatens classical cryptography and the convergence of quantum key distribution (QKD), and steganography offers an unconditionally secure hybrid approach for postquantum communication. QKD ensures provable secrecy via quantum mechanics, while steganography conceals the existence of communication providing stealth and plausible deniability. This systematic review explores integrated frameworks that combine QKD with classical and quantum steganographic techniques to enhance confidentiality, integrity, and undetectability. The study categorizes existing hybrid models and evaluates their performance using metrics such as quantum bit error rate (QBER), entropy, and imperceptibility. It examines quantum steganographic protocols including quantum LSB, entangled‐state hiding, and covert key transmission, analyzing their resilience against quantum noise and steganalysis. Despite promising simulation tools and real‐time QKD implementations, challenges remain in scalability, interoperability, and formal security guarantees. This review identifies key limitations in current systems and highlights future directions for developing robust, scalable, and stealth‐aware quantum–classical security frameworks. To the best of current knowledge, this is the first systematic synthesis of hybrid QKD–steganography frameworks offering a novel taxonomy and critical analysis to advance secure communication infrastructures in the postquantum era.