Future 6G-enabled smart hospital infrastructures will support latency-critical medical operations such as robotic surgery, autonomous monitoring, and real-time clinical decision systems, which require communication mechanisms that ensure both ultra-low latency and long-term cryptographic security. Existing security solutions either rely on classical cryptographic protocols that are vulnerable to quantum attacks or deploy isolated post-quantum primitives without providing a unified framework for secure real-time medical command transmission. This research presents a latency-aware, multi-layered post-quantum security architecture for 6G-enabled smart hospital environments. The proposed framework establishes an end-to-end secure command transmission pipeline that integrates hardware-rooted device authentication, post-quantum key establishment, hybrid payload protection, dynamic access enforcement, and tamper-evident auditing within a coherent system design. In contrast to existing approaches that focus on individual security mechanisms, the architecture introduces a structured integration of Kyber-based key encapsulation and Dilithium digital signatures with hybrid AES-based encryption and legacy-compatible key transport, while Physical Unclonable Function authentication provides hardware-bound device identity verification. Zero Trust access control, metadata-driven anomaly detection, and blockchain-style audit logging provide continuous verification and traceability, while threshold cryptography distributes cryptographic authority to eliminate single points of compromise. The proposed architecture is evaluated using a discrete-event simulation framework representing adversarial conditions in realistic 6G medical communication scenarios, including replay attacks, payload manipulation, and key corruption attempts. Experimental results demonstrate improved security and operational efficiency, achieving a 48% reduction in detection latency, a 68% reduction in false-positive anomaly detection rate, and a 39% improvement in end-to-end round-trip latency compared to conventional RSA-AES-based architectures. These results demonstrate that the proposed framework provides a practical and scalable approach for achieving post-quantum secure and low-latency command transmission in next-generation 6G smart hospital systems.
Future 6G-enabled smart hospital infrastructures will support latency-critical medical operations such as robotic surgery, autonomous monitoring, and real-time clinical decision systems, which require communication mechanisms that ensure both ultra-low latency and long-term cryptographic security. Existing security solutions either rely on classical cryptographic protocols that are vulnerable to quantum attacks or deploy isolated post-quantum primitives without providing a unified framework for secure real-time medical command transmission. This research presents a latency-aware, multi-layered post-quantum security architecture for 6G-enabled smart hospital environments. The proposed framework establishes an end-to-end secure command transmission pipeline that integrates hardware-rooted device authentication, post-quantum key establishment, hybrid payload protection, dynamic access enforcement, and tamper-evident auditing within a coherent system design. In contrast to existing approaches that focus on individual security mechanisms, the architecture introduces a structured integration of Kyber-based key encapsulation and Dilithium digital signatures with hybrid AES-based encryption and legacy-compatible key transport, while Physical Unclonable Function authentication provides hardware-bound device identity verification. Zero Trust access control, metadata-driven anomaly detection, and blockchain-style audit logging provide continuous verification and traceability, while threshold cryptography distributes cryptographic authority to eliminate single points of compromise. The proposed architecture is evaluated using a discrete-event simulation framework representing adversarial conditions in realistic 6G medical communication scenarios, including replay attacks, payload manipulation, and key corruption attempts. Experimental results demonstrate improved security and operational efficiency, achieving a 48% reduction in detection latency, a 68% reduction in false-positive anomaly detection rate, and a 39% improvement in end-to-end round-trip latency compared to conventional RSA-AES-based architectures. These results demonstrate that the proposed framework provides a practical and scalable approach for achieving post-quantum secure and low-latency command transmission in next-generation 6G smart hospital systems.
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 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.
The evolution of 6G communication systems brings about unprecedented demands on ultra-reliable, lowlatency, wide-scale and end-to-end secure transmissions. At the same time, the emergence of quantum computing presents major risks for traditional cryptographic schemes, which will become unsecure for future communication infrastructures. This arti-cle introduces the first mathematically inspired architectural framework incorporating Post-Quantum Cryptographic (PQC) protocols into the 6 G design to facilitate secure and efficient communication in quantum-inimical scenarios. The framework successfully integrates them so that lattice-based cryptography and code-based signatures or multivariate polynomials with low complexity could work with one another to implement real-time confidential communication concurrently with the authentication and key exchange, while meeting the requirements of latency and bandwidth. We propose a three-layer architecture, crypto-graphic-agile and mathematically optimized, that operates at: physical, MAC and network layers and focuses on the energy efficiency, computational offloading and dynamic proto-col adaptation. In addition, the paper proposes a suite of new benchmarking metrics for QKD systems based on security, latency, and scalability, and conducts forward-looking numerical calculations under both classical and entirely quantum-safe and hybrid classical-quantum threat models. The results in this study have confirmed that the mathematically-based cryptographic modes can serve as 6 G architecture part, that can guarantee quantum resilient secure networking. The paper also points out open issues and research directions toward the efficient integration of PQC into upcoming wireless standards. Finally, this work provides the foundation framework for secure, ultra-reliable, and low-latency communication to be realized in the post-quantum 6G era.
Objective: The authors propose and evaluate a novel cybersecurity architecture for telehealth that is resilient against future quantum computing cyber threats. By integrating post-quantum cryptography (PQC) with quantum key distribution (QKD) and privacy-preserving mechanisms, data confidentiality and immutability for patient records in a post-quantum era are ensured. Methods: A multi-layered design approach was adopted. The PQC algorithms (e.g. CRYSTALS-Dilithium) were integrated at the blockchain consensus layer to resist quantum attacks. A directed acyclic graph (DAG)-based ledger managed high transaction throughput and latency constraints typical of telehealth. A QKD-enhanced key management protocol leveraged quantum channels for secure exchanges. Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and secure multiparty computation (MPC) verified transactions without exposing sensitive patient data. A granular access control model used attribute-based encryption and smart contracts to govern which participants could view or modify encrypted medical records. Results: The prototype was developed within a simulated telehealth network comprising hospitals, clinics, and patient devices. The PQC signatures at the consensus layer provided effective resistance to both classical and anticipated quantum attacks. The QKD facilitated secure key distribution, while ZKPs and MPC enabled validation of healthcare transactions without compromising patient privacy. Despite increased computational overhead, the DAG approach efficiently handled parallel transactions, indicating improved scalability compared to traditional linear blockchains. Conclusion: A QKD-enhanced, PQC-driven framework successfully addresses critical security and privacy requirements, safeguarding medical data from emerging quantum threats. Although overhead and infrastructural costs are significant, sustained cryptographic resilience and robust patient confidentiality underscore its suitability for next-generation healthcare systems. Future studies should explore additional optimizations, homomorphic encryption, and larger-scale pilots under regulatory standards.
The advent of cryptographically relevant quantum computers poses an existential threat to current public-key cryptographic systems (RSA, ECC) widely used in digital communication protocols such as TLS, IPsec, VPNs, and secure messaging. Traditional systems face risks from "Harvest Now, Decrypt Later" attacks, compromising long-term confidentiality of sensitive data in finance, healthcare, government, and critical infrastructure. This paper proposes Quantum Shield, a comprehensive post-quantum secure framework for next-generation digital communication. It integrates NIST-standardized post-quantum algorithms (ML-KEM for key encapsulation, ML-DSA and SLH-DSA for digital signatures) with hybrid crypto-agile designs, hardware acceleration support, and role-based access controls. The system ensures quantum-resistant key establishment, authentication, and end-to-end encryption while maintaining low latency and high throughput. Experimental evaluation on simulated network traffic demonstrates acceptable performance overhead, enhanced resistance to quantum attacks, improved traceability, and secure multi-party coordination. Quantum Shield bridges the gap between classical and quantum-safe infrastructures, fostering trust and compliance in an era of quantum threats.
The evolution of 6G networks necessitates robust authentication and key agreement (AKA) protocols to counter emerging security challenges, particularly the threat posed by quantum computing. Existing 5G-AKA protocols remain vulnerable to user tracking, replay attacks, and false base station impersonation, while Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) and RSA-based key exchanges face imminent obsolescence due to quantum attacks. This study examines the vulnerabilities of 5G-AKA and explores hybrid post-quantum cryptography (PQC) as a transitional security solution for 6G networks. We evaluate NIST-standardized PQC algorithms, focusing on their computational overhead, key size efficiency, and adaptability to heterogeneous network environments, including IoT and ultra-low latency applications. A comparative analysis of hybrid cryptographic schemes demonstrates that lattice-based (Kyber, Dilithium), hash-based (SPHINCS+), and code-based (BIKE, Classic McEliece) PQC techniques provide varying trade-offs between security, efficiency, and deployment feasibility. Furthermore, we propose a quantum-resistant 6G-AKA framework, integrating hybrid PQC, AI-driven trust mechanisms, and decentralized authentication to ensure scalability and interoperability. Experimental benchmarks highlight potential performance constraints, including latency in PQC-based key exchange and resource limitations in edge computing. Addressing these challenges requires the optimization of lightweight PQC implementations, formal security validation, and global standardization efforts. Our findings provide a roadmap for the secure transition to 6G authentication protocols, ensuring resilience against both classical and quantum threats.