The rapid advancement of quantum computing poses a critical threat to classical public-key cryptographic systems widely used in defense communication infrastructures, while the practical deployment of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) remains constrained by excessive key sizes, computational overhead, and energy consumption in bandwidth- and latency-sensitive military environments. This study aims to develop and evaluate a quantum-inspired multi-objective optimization framework to enhance the operational feasibility of standardized PQC schemes without compromising cryptographic security. The proposed method applies a Quantum Genetic Algorithm (QGA) to optimize configuration parameters of CRYSTALS-Kyber and CRYSTALS-Dilithium by simultaneously balancing security strength, computational performance, resource efficiency, and deployability. Experiments were conducted using official NIST test vectors and defense-oriented communication scenarios, with performance evaluated across encryption and signature latency, throughput, key and signature sizes, memory footprint, and energy consumption, while security was validated against classical and quantum attack models. The results demonstrate that the optimized configurations achieve key and signature size reductions of up to 10.3%, throughput improvements of up to 15.5%, and energy consumption reductions of up to 12.5% compared to baseline NIST implementations, while fully maintaining NIST security levels and robust resistance to quantum adversaries. These improvements significantly enhance the suitability of PQC for tactical radios, satellite communications, and resource-constrained defense platforms. The findings indicate that quantum-inspired multi-objective optimization is a critical enabler for transitioning post-quantum cryptography from theoretical security constructs to deployable, mission-ready solutions in real-world defense systems.
The rapid advancement of quantum computing poses a critical threat to classical public-key cryptographic systems widely used in defense communication infrastructures, while the practical deployment of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) remains constrained by excessive key sizes, computational overhead, and energy consumption in bandwidth- and latency-sensitive military environments. This study aims to develop and evaluate a quantum-inspired multi-objective optimization framework to enhance the operational feasibility of standardized PQC schemes without compromising cryptographic security. The proposed method applies a Quantum Genetic Algorithm (QGA) to optimize configuration parameters of CRYSTALS-Kyber and CRYSTALS-Dilithium by simultaneously balancing security strength, computational performance, resource efficiency, and deployability. Experiments were conducted using official NIST test vectors and defense-oriented communication scenarios, with performance evaluated across encryption and signature latency, throughput, key and signature sizes, memory footprint, and energy consumption, while security was validated against classical and quantum attack models. The results demonstrate that the optimized configurations achieve key and signature size reductions of up to 10.3%, throughput improvements of up to 15.5%, and energy consumption reductions of up to 12.5% compared to baseline NIST implementations, while fully maintaining NIST security levels and robust resistance to quantum adversaries. These improvements significantly enhance the suitability of PQC for tactical radios, satellite communications, and resource-constrained defense platforms. The findings indicate that quantum-inspired multi-objective optimization is a critical enabler for transitioning post-quantum cryptography from theoretical security constructs to deployable, mission-ready solutions in real-world defense systems.
The rapid transformation of defense communication ecosystems into distributed, AI-enabled, and multi-domain operational environments has exposed significant vulnerabilities in existing cryptographic infrastructures. These vulnerabilities are particularly critical in light of the imminent advancement of quantum computing, which threatens conventional public-key encryption schemes, and the operational limitations imposed by lightweight encryption mechanisms deployed on resource-constrained battlefield devices. The traditional public-key algorithm like RSA and ECC, could be exploited by quantum attacks, and the resource-efficient ciphers are not always effective to protect against advanced cyber-warfare, interception, and integrity-compromise in high-mobility tactical networks. This paper suggests DEF-CRYPT-Q (Defense Cryptographic Quantum-Enhanced Privacy-Preserving Hybrid Framework) to secure distributed defense communication data because it is motivated by the requirement of having a single, quantum-resilient, and privacy-preserving security architecture that is suitable in the context of heterogeneous defense settings. The suggested architecture will have four synergistic elements, namely (i) a Context-Aware Lightweight Defense Encryption (CALDE) module that is optimized to support constrained soldier wearables, UAV nodes, and edge sensors; (ii) a Quantum-Resistant Cryptographic Layer (QRCL) that uses lattice-based post-quantum primitives, such as CRYSTALS-Kyber to support the encapsulation of secure keys and CRYSTALS-Dilithium to support the generation of digital signatures, providing long-term quantum safety The experimental assessment of a heterogeneous model of a defense communication demonstrates the shortening of the encryption latency, the limited computational costs of the models of constrained platforms, the high level of integrity, and the resistance to classical and quantum adversarial models, which in turn makes it possible to claim that DEF-CRYPT-Q is a scalable and prospective cryptographic paradigm that is consistent with the strategic goals of modernizing its defense. Simulation results demonstrate that Adaptive DDP-QKA reduces encryption latency to 14.83 ms (vs. 18.21 ms classical and 21.48 ms naïve PQC) and bandwidth overhead to 13.9% (vs. 124.6% PQC), while maintaining moderate energy use (1.14 units). It achieves high quantum resistance (0.92 score), mission adaptability (0.95), and low residual risk (< 0.1 for major threats), verifying appropriateness for latency-sensitive defense communications.
The rise of quantum computing threatens traditional cryptographic systems, driving the urgent adoption of PQC algorithms for securing IoT and edge computing environments. However, selecting an optimal PQC scheme remains challenging due to trade-offs between security strength, computational efficiency, and scalability in real-world deployments. While algorithms like CRYSTALS-Kyber, CRYSTALS-Dilithium, and SPHINCS+ offer quantum resilience. These suffer from processing overhead, high energy consumption, and limited adaptability, hindering their seamless integration into latency-sensitive and resource-constrained IoT networks. In this study, we conduct a comprehensive and systematic performance evaluation of these PQC algorithms within the context of IoT-based cryptographic scheduling workflows, assessing critical efficiency parameters such as encryption/decryption time, execution speed, system latency, energy efficiency, and scalability under varying processing loads and batch sizes. Our analysis reveals that CRYSTALS-Kyber consistently outperforms its counterparts, demonstrating superior computational efficiency, minimal processing delays, and lower power consumption while maintaining high-security resilience against quantum adversaries. Additionally, we propose a dynamic cryptographic scheduling approach, optimizing the balance between security levels and computational resource allocation, ensuring efficient cryptographic task management in large-scale IoT networks. This research provides a foundation for the practical deployment and standardization of PQC in next-generation cryptographic architectures, enabling the seamless transition from classical to quantum-secure cryptographic frameworks. The insights gained from this study are pivotal for advancing cryptographic scheduling models, enhancing security efficiency in real-time IoT operations, and driving the global adoption of PQC algorithms for future-proof digital security infrastructures.
The rapid advancement of quantum computing poses an existential threat to classical public-key cryptographic systems, necessitating the transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC). However, the deployment of lattice-based PQC schemes such as CRYSTALS-Kyber and CRYSTALS-Dilithium faces significant challenges including computational complexity, noise sensitivity, resource constraints, and security vulnerabilities. This research presents a comprehensive hybrid quantum-classical optimization framework for efficient and noise-tolerant post-quantum cryptographic systems. The framework addresses three primary objectives: (1) developing a unified hybrid quantum-classical optimization architecture that integrates variational quantum algorithms (VQE, QAOA) and QUBO/Ising formulations with classical PQC primitives based on the Learning With Errors (LWE) and Module-LWE problems; (2) designing noise-tolerant PQC protocols through multi-layer noise modeling that characterizes cryptographic, quantum hardware, and classical implementation noise; and (3) enabling resource-aware deployment on constrained platforms including embedded systems, IoT devices, and edge computing nodes. Experimental evaluation demonstrates that the QUBO formulation achieves coefficient ranges suitable for NISQ devices with 99.2% of coefficients within [-1, 1] after normalization. The adaptive partitioning algorithm achieves time-to-solution improvements of 42% for large problem instances compared to classical-only execution. The noise-aware optimization framework achieves decryption failure rate improvements ranging from 2^10.8 to 2^16.8, with combined noise tolerance success rates exceeding 94.56% under severe conditions. Side-channel countermeasures achieve 82.6% reduction in exploitable information leakage, with power leakage correlation reduced from 0.23 to 0.04. The unified Kyber-Dilithium architecture achieves 21% memory savings and 10-11% performance improvements. Reinforcement learning-based scheduling reduces latency by 37% and energy consumption by 39% compared to static scheduling. End-to-end deployment evaluation across smart home, industrial IoT, healthcare, and autonomous vehicle scenarios demonstrates that the hybrid PQC system meets latency and energy requirements while maintaining target security levels. This research provides a practical pathway toward secure communication in the quantum era, bridging the gap between current classical systems and future quantum-enabled solutions.
Quantum computing is rapidly approaching a stage where classical cryptographic systems, particularly RSA, ECC, and Diffie–Hellman, will no longer provide adequate security for critical infrastructure. The emergence of Shor’s and Grover’s algorithms introduces unprecedented vulnerability to national cyber-defense ecosystems, underpinning power grids, transportation, military communications, and banking systems. This paper presents a unified post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) security framework integrating lattice-based primitives, hybrid key-exchange mechanisms, and secure orchestration for resource-constrained operational-technology environments. The proposed architecture leverages NIST-recommended schemes, including CRYSTALS-Kyber, CRYSTALS-Dilithium, and SPHINCS+, to ensure long-term confidentiality, integrity, and interoperability across legacy and modern control environments. A defense-in-depth trust-fabric is introduced to protect critical data flows across edge controllers, automation PLCs, substations, cloud-SCADA gateways, and defense communication systems. Performance evaluation demonstrates a 39.4% reduction in key-exchange latency, 46% faster authentication cycles, and zero-downtime cryptographic transition capability. Our findings position this framework as a practical migration blueprint supporting national PQC readiness and cyber-resilience mandates.
The advent of quantum computing presents a significant threat to classical public-key cryptographic systems, including RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), thereby accelerating the development and standardization of post-quantum cryptography (PQC). This study evaluates the performance and implementation challenges of leading PQC algorithms across three major categories: lattice-based, hash-based, and multivariate cryptographic schemes. Utilizing empirical benchmark data from NIST candidate algorithms, the analysis focuses on key generation time, encryption latency, and memory consumption. Simulations and regression modeling reveal that lattice-based algorithms, particularly Kyber, demonstrate favorable trade-offs between computational efficiency and cryptographic strength. However, these schemes also present integration difficulties, especially in resource-constrained or legacy systems. Hash-based schemes like SPHINCS+ exhibit strong security guarantees but suffer from high latency and memory overhead, while multivariate algorithms such as Rainbow offer compact key sizes with moderate performance. The findings highlight the need for application-specific evaluation in selecting PQC solutions and provide actionable insights for guiding secure and efficient cryptographic transitions in the post-quantum era. Keywords: Post-Quantum Cryptography, Lattice-Based Cryptography, Hash-Based Cryptography, Multivariate Cryptography, Quantum Computing, Cryptographic Algorithms, Key Generation, Encryption Latency, Implementation Challenges, NIST PQC Standardization
The advent of quantum computing poses significant challenges to traditional cryptographic systems, threatening the confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of digital communications. This paper investigates the integration of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms into mobile communication systems to address these challenges. The study focuses on evaluating key PQC algorithms shortlisted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), including CRYSTALS-Kyber, CRYSTALS-Dilithium, Falcon and SPHINCS+, within the context of 5G and future mobile network architectures. The research encompasses the design and implementation of an experimental framework involving mobile devices, servers, and cloud-based infrastructure to simulate real-world communication scenarios. Performance metrics such as key generation time, signature generation, encryption and decryption speed, and resource consumption were analyzed across various devices to identify algorithms suitable for mobile environments. The findings reveal that lattice-based algorithms, such as Kyber and Dilithium, offer a promising balance between security and efficiency, making them ideal for resource-constrained devices. In contrast, hash-based algorithms like SPHINCS+ exhibit higher computational demands, limiting their practicality in certain applications. This work highlights the importance of algorithm selection and hardware optimization in ensuring secure and efficient communications in the quantum era. By integrating theoretical advancements in PQC with practical applications, this research lays the foundation for quantum-resistant security in mobile networks, ensuring secure and future-ready digital communications.