Engineering Science and Technology an International Journal
Design and performance evaluation of an energy-aware post-quantum cryptographic system with adaptive lattice–hash integration for secure IoT applications
A. Syed Musthafa, Lavanya Murugan, R. Manikandan, Usha Moorthy
Post-quantum secure communication solutions are needed in engineering areas with distributed, resource-constrained infrastructures, such as Internet of Things (IoT) networks, due to the rapid expansion of quantum computing. The practical deployment of quantum-resistant cryptographic techniques is limited by computing cost, energy inefficiency, and implementation-level side-channel vulnerabilities. Lattice-based and hash-based post-quantum cryptography systems exhibit significant execution latency, large memory footprints, and poor adaptability to diverse device settings. Lack of system-level optimization and adaptive cryptographic selection limits their use in real-time engineering systems, where energy-performance trade-offs and secure execution are crucial. This study offers an adaptive, energy-aware Hybrid Quantum-Resistant Security Framework (HQR-SF) that combines lattice-based key encapsulation with hash-based digital signature techniques to overcome these issues. The HQR-SF’s context-driven cryptographic selection engine configures security primitives depending on anticipated threat level, computing capability, and data sensitivity. A constant-time vectorized polynomial transformation module accelerates modular arithmetic while reducing timing and power-based side-channel leakage. In the case of limited engineering systems, the framework offers a secure end-to-end communication path, complete with hybrid key exchange, authentication and data integrity protection enforcement. The proposed HQR-SF is evaluated within a testbed, which is developed through a simulation, to represent operational constraints of IoT, such as processor capacity and energy limitations. Experimental results reveal that, with a security score of 98.6%, HQR-SF reduces latency, memory consumption, computational cost, communication overhead and energy consumption by 35.93%, 25.64%, 34.55%, 17.65% and 20.10% respectively compared to the baseline approach. The framework is also easily extensible to address a variety of device types and is appropriate for use in future secure engineering infrastructures with scale.
Post-quantum secure communication solutions are needed in engineering areas with distributed, resource-constrained infrastructures, such as Internet of Things (IoT) networks, due to the rapid expansion of quantum computing. The practical deployment of quantum-resistant cryptographic techniques is limited by computing cost, energy inefficiency, and implementation-level side-channel vulnerabilities. Lattice-based and hash-based post-quantum cryptography systems exhibit significant execution latency, large memory footprints, and poor adaptability to diverse device settings. Lack of system-level optimization and adaptive cryptographic selection limits their use in real-time engineering systems, where energy-performance trade-offs and secure execution are crucial. This study offers an adaptive, energy-aware Hybrid Quantum-Resistant Security Framework (HQR-SF) that combines lattice-based key encapsulation with hash-based digital signature techniques to overcome these issues. The HQR-SF’s context-driven cryptographic selection engine configures security primitives depending on anticipated threat level, computing capability, and data sensitivity. A constant-time vectorized polynomial transformation module accelerates modular arithmetic while reducing timing and power-based side-channel leakage. In the case of limited engineering systems, the framework offers a secure end-to-end communication path, complete with hybrid key exchange, authentication and data integrity protection enforcement. The proposed HQR-SF is evaluated within a testbed, which is developed through a simulation, to represent operational constraints of IoT, such as processor capacity and energy limitations. Experimental results reveal that, with a security score of 98.6%, HQR-SF reduces latency, memory consumption, computational cost, communication overhead and energy consumption by 35.93%, 25.64%, 34.55%, 17.65% and 20.10% respectively compared to the baseline approach. The framework is also easily extensible to address a variety of device types and is appropriate for use in future secure engineering infrastructures with scale.
the rapid advancement of quantum computing introduces substantial risks to classical cryptographic algorithms that rely on number-theoretic problems, such as the Rivest–Shamir–Adleman algorithm and elliptic curve cryptography. These cryptographic primitives are susceptible to polynomial-time quantum algorithms like those proposed by Shor and Grover, thereby endangering the security of contemporary digital infrastructures. In light of these emerging threats, the global cryptographic community is prioritizing the development and deployment of quantum-resistant cryptographic techniques. These include diverse algorithmic families such as those based on lattices, hash functions, error-correcting codes, and multivariate polynomials. Each approach exhibits distinct trade-offs in terms of computational performance, key length, signature size, and long-term resilience. This paper introduces a hybrid cryptographic framework optimized for specific application domains, particularly those with limited computational and energy resources. The proposed architecture strategically combines lattice-based encryption, hash-based digital signatures, and code-based key encapsulation mechanisms to form a unified model for secure data transmission. The architecture is implemented and evaluated across heterogeneous computing environments, including low-power embedded systems and Field-Programmable Gate Arrays. Experimental metrics such as execution latency, computational overhead, memory consumption, and energy efficiency are assessed and benchmarked against traditional single-algorithm deployments. The findings demonstrate that the hybrid approach maintains strong quantum resistance while significantly reducing performance penalties, making it suitable for mobile platforms, Internet of Things environments, and real-time communication systems. Future work should emphasize further fine-tuning for specific industrial domains, standardization of hybrid cryptographic protocols, and integration with artificial intelligence-based adaptive security layers to ensure sustainability in the approaching quantum era.
The growing interconnection of critical engineering infrastructure through IoT introduces unprecedented exposure to cyber threats. Emerging quantum computing capabilities pose a transformative risk to classical cryptographic primitives such as Rivest–Shamir–Adleman and Elliptic-Curve Cryptography, which underpin secure communication and device authentication in industrial control systems, power grids, transportation networks, and healthcare infrastructure. This paper investigates quantum-resistant encryption, often termed post-quantum cryptography (PQC), as a sustainable security paradigm for IoT communication within critical systems. By analyzing lattice-based, code-based, multivariate, and hash-based schemes, the study evaluates trade-offs between computational cost, memory footprint, and latency constraints intrinsic to resource-limited IoT nodes. A hybrid architectural framework integrating the National Institute of Standards and Technology-standardized algorithms (e.g., Cryptographic Suite for Algebraic Lattices—Kyber, Dilithium) with lightweight symmetric primitives (e.g., Ascon, GIFT block cipher in Combined Feedback mode) is proposed for secure data transmission across heterogeneous IoT layers. Experimental simulations benchmark key-exchange throughput, ciphertext expansion, and resilience against quantum-adversarial models, demonstrating up to 65% reduction in handshake latency compared to baseline lattice implementations under constrained conditions. The paper concludes with policy and engineering recommendations for the adoption of quantum-resistant IoT protocols in energy, transportation, and industrial automation sectors, highlighting alignment with global PQC migration roadmaps and IEC 62443 cybersecurity standards.
The rapid development of quantum computing presents a substantial threat to traditional cryptographic algorithms, particularly those relying on mathematical problems such as integer factorization and elliptic curve operations. As a response, the cryptographic community has accelerated the design of post-quantum cryptographic schemes that can withstand attacks from both classical and quantum computers. However, many of these new schemes exhibit inherent trade-offs between performance, key sizes, and implementation complexity. To address this, we propose a novel hybrid cryptographic framework tailored for secure and efficient data transmission in future quantum-aware environments. The proposed system combines three algorithmic paradigms: a lattice-based encryption method for fast and lightweight data protection, a hash-based signature mechanism for authenticity, and a code-based key exchange method to ensure session confidentiality. This layered integration is designed to capitalize on each algorithm’s strengths while mitigating individual limitations. The system is implemented using modular components in a testbed simulating real-world deployments, and its performance is benchmarked across multiple metrics including encryption latency, signature generation time, key sizes, and throughput. Comparative results indicate that the hybrid approach outperforms monolithic schemes in critical areas such as execution time and cryptographic strength under quantum adversary models. The findings support the practicality of using multiple post-quantum primitives in tandem to build robust communication systems. This research contributes a realistic implementation and evaluation of post-quantum security models and highlights key directions for future research and standardization efforts as the global transition to quantum-safe infrastructure begins.
Abstract The increasing advancement of quantum computing threatens the security foundations of classical public-key cryptosystems, particularly RSA and ECC, which remain widely deployed across IoT infrastructures. However, existing post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) schemes are computationally intensive and often unsuitable for resource-constrained IoT devices where memory, CPU cycles, and battery capacity are severely limited. This work proposes EAL-PQCF, an Energy-Efficient Adaptive Lightweight Post-Quantum Cryptographic Framework explicitly designed for constrained IoT environments. The framework introduces a three-mode adaptive PQC strategy consisting of Eco-Secure, Standard-Secure, and Quantum-Threat modes, each selected dynamically based on device battery level, CPU load, and message sensitivity. A Python-based virtual testbed incorporating a simulated IoT device model, lattice-based PQC primitives, an energy estimation module, and an adaptive decision engine is developed for performance evaluation. Experimental results demonstrate that EAL-PQCF achieves 18–36% energy savings, 14–29% reduction in CPU cycles, and significantly improved battery longevity compared to baseline PQC methods. The proposed solution bridges the gap between high-security quantum-resistant cryptography and the practical constraints of IoT devices, offering a scalable pathway for secure next-generation IoT deployments.
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 impending threat posed by quantum computing to classical cryptographic systems has accelerated the need for post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) solutions, particularly within the rapidly expanding domain of the Internet of Things (IoT). As IoT devices operate under severe constraints in terms of memory, processing power, and energy, integrating quantum-resilient algorithms presents both a critical necessity and a formidable challenge. This chapter provides a comprehensive study of PQC implementations on constrained IoT platforms, exploring algorithmic performance, memory consumption, execution time, and energy efficiency across various benchmarking environments. It offers a comparative analysis of bare-metal and RTOSbased deployments, evaluates the trade-offs between security and real-time responsiveness, and investigates power-aware scheduling and duty cycling strategies for secure task execution. Case studies involving smart sensors, medical wearables, and industrial nodes highlight the practical implications and optimizations required for effective PQC integration. Emphasis was placed on hardware-software co-design, library selection, and communication stack alignment to ensure future-ready, quantum-secure IoT deployments. This chapter bridges theoretical cryptographic resilience and applied system-level engineering, laying a foundational framework for scalable and secure post-quantum IoT ecosystems.