The Internet of Things (IoT) and quantum computing revolutionized the era of conventional and classical computing into a new paradigm of Quantum-IoT where qubits and entanglement make IoT more interactive, powerful, and secure. They facilitate numerous tasks by increasing productivity and efficiency, paving the path for a smarter and more connected future. In this article, we propose a novel authentication scheme, “Securing the Internet of Things, Lightweight Mutual Authentication Based on Quantum Key Distribution (LMA-QIoT)”. LMA-QIoT enables mutual authentication using various parameters including quantum key distribution, symmetric keys and timestamps, as well as additional quantum random numbers. All these parameters play a crucial role in thwarting man-in-the-middle, backtracking and nonce reuse attacks. The evaluation of LMA-QIoT demonstrates that quantum key distribution and quantum numbers enhance system performance by reducing CPU usage by 25% and memory requirements 30% compared to an IoT edge-based system and without a server, respectively. In the reconfiguration ratio, the efficiency metric grows exponentially and remains constant on the initial line in edge-server-based systems. In comparison, LMA-QIoT confirms a much reduced overall computational complexity by 16.64%, with the lowest computational cost of O(n2). At 1024 Bytes, the original data length and increased data length (normalized) sizes stay constant with 2logn(klogn). Comparing the total overhead, LMA-QIoT demonstrates a reduction of 33 ms, which corresponds to approximately 16.63% less than the baseline mechanisms.
The Internet of Things (IoT) and quantum computing revolutionized the era of conventional and classical computing into a new paradigm of Quantum-IoT where qubits and entanglement make IoT more interactive, powerful, and secure. They facilitate numerous tasks by increasing productivity and efficiency, paving the path for a smarter and more connected future. In this article, we propose a novel authentication scheme, “Securing the Internet of Things, Lightweight Mutual Authentication Based on Quantum Key Distribution (LMA-QIoT)”. LMA-QIoT enables mutual authentication using various parameters including quantum key distribution, symmetric keys and timestamps, as well as additional quantum random numbers. All these parameters play a crucial role in thwarting man-in-the-middle, backtracking and nonce reuse attacks. The evaluation of LMA-QIoT demonstrates that quantum key distribution and quantum numbers enhance system performance by reducing CPU usage by 25% and memory requirements 30% compared to an IoT edge-based system and without a server, respectively. In the reconfiguration ratio, the efficiency metric grows exponentially and remains constant on the initial line in edge-server-based systems. In comparison, LMA-QIoT confirms a much reduced overall computational complexity by 16.64%, with the lowest computational cost of O(n2). At 1024 Bytes, the original data length and increased data length (normalized) sizes stay constant with 2logn(klogn). Comparing the total overhead, LMA-QIoT demonstrates a reduction of 33 ms, which corresponds to approximately 16.63% less than the baseline mechanisms.
The Internet of Things (IoT) connects billions of machines that can interact with each other. IoT is one of the fastest-growing areas in the history of computing, and will continue in this direction in the 6G era. New security problems have been raised, however, since implementing protection mechanisms for IoT devices, such as encryption, authentication, and so on, is inefficient, due to their inherent flaws. Therefore, a new method of protecting IoT devices needs to be sought. Quantum security depends on the natural physical phenomenon (quantum mechanics) and offers an appropriate and powerful security technique. This paper suggests a new approach for simulating the quantum key distribution between IoT devices and a server to encrypt the data sent to the server. It also demonstrates the simplicity of this new method, and its efficiency in producing a quantum key distribution (QKD) simulation. In addition, it describes the use of the final length key for symmetrical security for IoT devices. Moreover, the simulation of the attacker between the server and IoT devices is performed.
The Internet of Things (IoT) now underpins critical systems like healthcare monitors, smart home, smart grids, automotive V2V & V2X networks, and industrial controls but it still relies on classical cryptography, whose security assumptions are vulnerable to quantum computers. A large quantum computer could run Shor’s algorithm to break RSA/ECC and use Grover’s algorithm to accelerate brute-forcing of symmetric keys, undermining the confidentiality and authentication of data in these IoT applications. Researchers have proposed quantum cryptographic solutions. Quantum key distribution (QKD) and quantum random number generators (QRNGs) exploit quantum mechanics to detect eavesdropping and deliver provably secure key material. For example, chip-scale QRNGs can be embedded in IoT sensors to generate true random keys, boosting resistance to brute-force attacks. These quantum techniques provide information-theoretic secrecy, for instance, QKD-generated keys have been used to authenticate smart-grid SCADA. However, most IoT devices are resource-constrained, making direct deployment of conventional QKD hardware challenging. Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) complements quantum methods by providing algorithms such as lattice-based, hash-based that resist quantum attacks on existing hardware. Standardized PQC can be deployed via software updates on legacy IoT nodes, enabling scalable and quantum-safe security within current constraints. Researchers are exploring lightweight PQC for connected cars and e-health sensors. Hybrid approaches combining QKD/QRNG with PQC offer a layered defense. Since QKD protocols are regarded as ‘future-proof’ and PQC standards mature, their combined use will be essential for robust, quantum-safe IoT security. Miniaturizing quantum components such as integrated QKD/QRNG modules and optimizing lightweight PQC schemes for low-power IoT devices are future research directions to secure IoT networks.
The rapid expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems has introduced significant security challenges due to resource-constrained devices, heterogeneous network architectures, and largescale connectivity. Traditional authentication and key exchange mechanisms, primarily based on classical cryptographic algorithms such as RSA and ECC, are vulnerable to future quantum computing attacks. The emergence of quantum algorithms, particularly Shor’s algorithm, threatens the long-term confidentiality and integrity of IoT communications. This paper proposes a Quantum-Resistant Authentication and Key Exchange Protocol specifically designed for secure IoT architectures. The proposed framework integrates post-quantum cryptographic primitives, including lattice-based key exchange mechanisms and hash-based authentication schemes, optimized for low computational overhead suitable for constrained IoT devices. The protocol ensures mutual authentication, forward secrecy, and resistance against quantum adversaries while maintaining minimal communication latency. Security analysis demonstrates robustness against replay, man-in-the-middle, and key-compromise attacks. Performance evaluation shows that the proposed solution achieves a balance between quantum security strength and resource efficiency, making it suitable for next-generation IoT deployments in smart cities, healthcare systems, and industrial automation.
The exponential growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) and its integration into critical infrastructures has elevated the need for robust and future-proof security mechanisms. Traditional cryptographic systems, while effective today, are increasingly vulnerable to advancements in quantum computing. This paper explores the integration of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) as a novel security paradigm for next-generation IoT ecosystems. QKD leverages the principles of quantum mechanics to enable unconditionally secure key exchange, immune to computational attacks. We propose an architecture where QKD-enabled edge gateways and IoT nodes facilitate real-time secure communication through quantum-secured channels. The study analyzes the feasibility of implementing QKD in resource-constrained IoT environments and evaluates its performance in terms of key generation rate, latency, and energy consumption. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed QKD-IoT framework significantly outperforms conventional encryption protocols in resisting both classical and quantum-based attacks, making it a viable foundation for building post-quantum resilient IoT infrastructures. The research also outlines the challenges related to scalability, hardware integration, and key management, and proposes solutions through hybrid QKD-classical cryptography models. This work paves the way for a quantum-secure IoT future, ensuring trust, privacy, and integrity in hyper-connected digital ecosystems.
The next generation of Quantum Internet of Things (QIoT) has the potential to revolutionize various sectors, including smart homes, health-care, and smart cities, by enabling more sophisticated and interconnected systems. These applications incorporate advanced features, such as autonomous decision-making based on Quantum Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (QAI/ML) and context-aware functionality. The security of the data in these applications relies on traditional cryptographic techniques, which, however, face a growing threat due to the significant advancements in quantum computing, especially with the Shor's algorithm. This algorithm poses a substantial risk of breaking conventional cryptographic methods within a feasible timeframe. To address these emerging security challenges in the quantum realm, we propose a Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) based on the BB84 protocol. This approach aims to provide robust authentication using certificates through a classical channel and secure quantum key exchange via a quantum channel in a public environment. The proposed QKD scheme is implemented using a client-server model in Python and Qiskit, demonstrating its practicality in real-world applications. The obtained results showcase the successful establishment of a secure session key between IoT smart (sensor) devices and gateway nodes, effectively mitigating potential threats such as eavesdropping.
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) enables smart manufacturing through advanced sensing, monitoring, and control capabilities. However, securing these resource-constrained IIoT devices poses critical challenges due to limited memory and energy resources, while the emergence of quantum computing threatens existing security mechanisms. This study addresses the urgent need for practical quantum-resistant security solutions for deployment in resource-limited industrial environments. It presents QLight-IIoT, a quantum-resistant authentication and key agreement (AKA) scheme established solely on hash-based hardness assumption, demonstrating that lightweight quantum-resistant authentication is achievable without relying on computationally intensive primitives like lattices or codes. The proposed scheme is deployed and tested over Raspberry Pi 4 to demonstrate its practicality in real-world IIoT environments. Experimental validation shows that the scheme ensures mutual authentication with session key establishment with an average key generation time of 0.3200 seconds. The security of the proposed QLight-IIoT scheme is systematically evaluated using the Real-or-Random (ROR) model, the Scyther tool, and the Automated Validation of Internet Security Protocols and Applications (AVISPA) framework. Performance evaluation reveals significant efficiency improvements, achieving 9.29–77.36% reduction in communication cost and 4.41–95.37% reduction in Computational overhead relative to existing schemes. The scheme requires minimal storage of 632 bits per IIoT device, resulting in up to 64.84% reduction in total system storage cost. Comparative security analysis further validates the scheme’s security against various attack vectors. This work provides a practical pathway for industrial organizations to prepare IIoT infrastructure for quantum-resistant security challenges while maintaining compatibility with current resource-constrained hardware.