Rapid development of smart cities is critically dependent on intelligent systems that can integrate huge networks of sensors, IoT devices, and data-driven services. It is within this context that new paradigms, such as quantum-enhanced deep learning, have the potential to revolutionise security in smart urban environments. This paper reviews the benefits of combining quantum computing with deep learning to enhance the security of smart cities. Quantum-accelerated algorithms can provide enhanced pattern recognition and encryption, thus allowing for quicker detection of anomalies, more effective threat prediction, and better privacy preservation. Finally, this work identifies the current challenges-hardware constraints, model interpretability, and scalability-pointing out future research directions toward the creation of robust quantum-intelligent security architectures for smart city ecosystems.
Rapid development of smart cities is critically dependent on intelligent systems that can integrate huge networks of sensors, IoT devices, and data-driven services. It is within this context that new paradigms, such as quantum-enhanced deep learning, have the potential to revolutionise security in smart urban environments. This paper reviews the benefits of combining quantum computing with deep learning to enhance the security of smart cities. Quantum-accelerated algorithms can provide enhanced pattern recognition and encryption, thus allowing for quicker detection of anomalies, more effective threat prediction, and better privacy preservation. Finally, this work identifies the current challenges-hardware constraints, model interpretability, and scalability-pointing out future research directions toward the creation of robust quantum-intelligent security architectures for smart city ecosystems.
Smart cities are based on the common digital infrastructures to make cities more efficient, sustainable, and quality of life, yet the data-driven nature of such integration exposes an enormous threat to security and privacy. Other traditional methods of cybersecurity and deep learning have weaknesses of scalability, strength, and resistance to advanced and future threats. In this chapter, the authors examine the concept of Quantum-Enhanced Deep Learning as a prospective security paradigm of smart city ecosystems. The chapter proves the accuracy of improvement of intrusion detection and communication efficiency by referring to recent case studies of intelligent transportation systems and smart grids when applying hybrid classical-quantum models. The results include the potential of quantum-resilient intelligence to enhance anomaly detection, distributed security operations, and future-ready urban cybersecurity architectures and overcome the challenge of operational and governance.
Currently and in the near future, Smart Cities are vital to enhance urban living, address resource challenges, optimize infrastructure, and harness technology for sustainability, efficiency, and improved quality of life in rapidly urbanizing environments. Owing to the high usage of networks, sensors, and connected devices, Smart Cities generate a massive amount of data. Therefore, Smart City security concerns encompass data privacy, IoT vulnerabilities, cyber threats, and urban infrastructure risks, requiring robust solutions to safeguard digital assets, citizens, and critical services. Some solutions include robust cybersecurity measures, data encryption, AI-driven threat detection, public-private partnerships, standardized security protocols, and community engagement to foster a resilient and secure smart city ecosystem. For example, Security Information and Event Management helps in real-time monitoring, threat detection, and incident response by aggregating and analyzing security data. In this paper, we propose a Hybrid Quantum Architecture for bolstering Smart City security that exploits Quantum Machine Learning and SIEM to provide security based on Quantum Artificial Intelligence and patterns/rules. The validity of the architecture was proven by conducting experiments and a comparison of the QML algorithms with a state-of-the-art AI algorithms. We also provide a proof of concept dashboard for the proposed architecture.
The research investigates the implications of quantum computing on smart city infrastructure with a specific focus on addressing cybersecurity challenges. Smart cities, reliant on interconnected systems, are increasingly vulnerable to zero-day attacks exacerbated by quantum computing advancements. This study aims to develop a robust defense framework integrating quantum-resilient cryptographic techniques, artificial intelligence-based anomaly detection systems, and hybrid quantum-classical simulations. The methodology utilizes lattice-based encryption schemes and hash-based signatures to fortify communications, while machine learning models such as Long Short-Term Memory networks and Convolutional Neural Networks identify complex patterns indicative of cyber threats. Evaluation within a simulated smart city environment demonstrates high detection accuracy of 97.8 percent, reduced false positive rates, and efficient resource consumption, validating the framework’s practical applicability. By bridging theoretical advancements and practical implementation, this work enhances the resilience of urban infrastructures against quantum-augmented threats. Findings contribute to the growing body of knowledge by offering scalable and adaptable solutions tailored to the resource-constrained nature of smart cities. Future research can extend this work by addressing energy efficiency, interoperability across sectors, and incorporating federated learning paradigms to enhance distributed anomaly detection. These advancements hold significant implications for securing next-generation urban systems while ensuring sustainability and operational efficiency.
ABSTRACT Quantum Computing (QC) has emerged as a promising paradigm capable of solving complex computational problems more efficiently than classical approaches. Quantum‐inspired algorithms provide highly efficient, optimized solutions that can revolutionize various industries by enabling faster data processing, secure communications, and innovative advancements. In cloud security, Machine Learning (ML) techniques play an essential role in detecting and mitigating cyber threats. The integration of QC with ML, known as Quantum Machine Learning (QML), introduces novel security solutions that enhance the resilience of cloud infrastructures against cyberattacks. Moreover, incorporating Generative AI into QML frameworks can further bolster cloud security through advanced anomaly detection, automated response generation, and the synthesis of secure synthetic data for training models. Additionally, in IoT‐enabled sustainable smart cities, information fusion techniques (including multi‐sensor and multi‐process fusion) are essential for ensuring robust cloud security, which is paramount to protecting interconnected systems, data privacy, and critical infrastructure. This review article provides a comprehensive survey of QML‐based approaches, augmented by generative AI and information fusion, for enhancing cloud security in these environments. We review over 150 research articles, examining the key principles of QML, its advantages over classical ML techniques, and its applications in securing cloud environments. Furthermore, the paper discusses the challenges and opportunities in implementing QML, generative AI, and information fusion for cloud security within smart city ecosystems. By offering a detailed analysis, this study aims to contribute to the advancement of quantum‐driven security frameworks for next‐generation smart cities.
This chapter presents an integrated quantum–federated intelligence framework for secure smart healthcare and smart city infrastructures. The proposed architecture combines edge IoT sensing, quantum-enhanced anomaly detection, federated learning orchestration, and quantum-secure communication layers. Hybrid quantum–classical models improve zero-day detection and high-dimensional pattern separability, while privacy-preserving federated mechanisms ensure data locality and regulatory compliance. Performance metrics, deployment constraints, and NISQ-era challenges are analyzed, outlining a practical roadmap toward scalable and resilient cyber-physical systems.
The evolution of smart cities will contribute to an increase in the use of interconnected physical/digital ecosystems, and consequently, an increase in threat surface for the cyber threats against the protected data streams. With the emergence of quantum-based cyberthreats, this has increased the potential range of types of cyber-attacks on protected data and increased the use of quantum-based means of conducting cyber-attacks on protected data. This research proposal presents an Internet of Things (IoT) smart city framework founded on quantum-secure standards that were developed for next-generation IoT smart cities. The IoT Smart City Framework is comprised of four levels of architecture: a Quantum Backbone, a Key Management Level, an Edge Gateway Level, and an IoT Device Layer. Consequently, through the use of this architecture, the IoT Smart City Framework can protect the IoT Smart City Network from future cybercriminal attacks while providing assurance that the IoT Smart City Framework has been 'future-proofed.' By utilizing strategically deployed quantum nodes, the proposed solution performs QKD and frees devices with limited resources from needing to perform highly computationally intensive cryptography in order to secure encrypted communications, instead employing Lightweight Encryption Standards in conjunction with Symmetric Keys established via QKD. Using simulated quantum channels and urban IoT workloads, our experimental results yield secret key rates between 12 and 18 kilobits/sec (kbps) with a low quantum bit error rate (QBER) of 1.8% to 3.2%. Based on these experimental results, we conclude that the proposed hierarchical security architecture provides a resilient security framework for urban essential services, with negligible energy consumption.