The rapid spreading of Internet of Things (IoT) applications have been significant challenges in achieving secure, lightweight and scalable authentication particularly due to the arising threats of quantum threats. In order to solve these issues, this paper introduces the Dynamic Adaptive Post-Quantum Elliptic Blockchain (DAPQEB) protocol which combines Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) and blockchain technology to perform decentralized and tamper-proof authentication. The protocol makes use of hybrid key generation based on ECC and PQC secrets, further supported by Key Derivation Function (HKDF)-based derivation of sessions and blockchain-based attestation that is not revoked. An active adaptation scheme also contributes to resilience by modifying the cryptographic functions depending on device resources and threat intensity, tradeoffs between performance and security. Experimental simulations on simulation networks are performed using several network sizes with energy model parameters, latency and adaptive thresholds. These findings prove that DAPQEB is more effective than the existing methods in energy consumption, throughput, ratio of packet delivery, network lifetime and detection rate. Although its generation, encryption and decryption time are slightly higher, these are reasonable trade-offs with increased robustness and quantum resistance. Altogether, DAPQEB is a resource-optimized, scalable and secure authentication system that is been applied in energy-sensitive and large-scale IoT networks.
The rapid spreading of Internet of Things (IoT) applications have been significant challenges in achieving secure, lightweight and scalable authentication particularly due to the arising threats of quantum threats. In order to solve these issues, this paper introduces the Dynamic Adaptive Post-Quantum Elliptic Blockchain (DAPQEB) protocol which combines Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) and blockchain technology to perform decentralized and tamper-proof authentication. The protocol makes use of hybrid key generation based on ECC and PQC secrets, further supported by Key Derivation Function (HKDF)-based derivation of sessions and blockchain-based attestation that is not revoked. An active adaptation scheme also contributes to resilience by modifying the cryptographic functions depending on device resources and threat intensity, tradeoffs between performance and security. Experimental simulations on simulation networks are performed using several network sizes with energy model parameters, latency and adaptive thresholds. These findings prove that DAPQEB is more effective than the existing methods in energy consumption, throughput, ratio of packet delivery, network lifetime and detection rate. Although its generation, encryption and decryption time are slightly higher, these are reasonable trade-offs with increased robustness and quantum resistance. Altogether, DAPQEB is a resource-optimized, scalable and secure authentication system that is been applied in energy-sensitive and large-scale IoT networks.
The emergence of quantum computing threatens classical cryptographic systems, including RSA and ECC, potentially compromising the security of pervasive Internet of Things (IoT) deployments. Resourceconstrained IoT devices—such as sensors, embedded controllers, and microcontrollers—face significant challenges in adopting post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) protocols due to computational, memory, and energy limitations. This paper proposes AQ-PQC, an adaptive lightweight hybrid key exchange protocol combining Kyber lattice-based KEM and lightweight elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), specifically designed for constrained devices. AQ-PQC introduces a dynamic parameter tuning algorithm that adjusts key sizes, handshake rounds, and compression ratios based on real-time device state and network conditions. Formal security analysis under the IND-CCA model demonstrates quantum-resistance and forward secrecy. Extensive hardware implementation on Raspberry Pi 4 and ESP32 devices reveals a significant reduction in handshake latency, energy consumption, and memory footprint compared to conventional PQC protocols. The proposed framework provides a practical, reproducible, and secure methodology for post-quantum IoT communications, supporting heterogeneous and resource-limited networks.
The rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) has introduced unprecedented cybersecurity challenges, as traditional cryptographic methods struggle to provide both efficiency and quantum resistance in resource-constrained environments. This research introduces Adaptive Quantum Cryptography (AQC), a novel security framework that integrates Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC), Quantum Random Number Generators (QRNGs), and AI-driven dynamic adaptation to safeguard IoT networks against evolving cyber threats. Unlike classical encryption techniques such as RSA and ECC, which are vulnerable to quantum attacks, AQC leverages quantum mechanical principles—such as superposition, entanglement, and the no-cloning theorem—to ensure provably secure key exchange and data encryption. The proposed AQC system dynamically adjusts cryptographic protocols based on real-time network conditions, computational resources, and threat intelligence, optimizing security without imposing excessive overhead. Experimental evaluations demonstrate that AQC achieves a 70% improvement in key exchange efficiency, a 50% reduction in computational load, and a 95% resilience rate against quantum attacks compared to conventional encryption methods. Additionally, the integration of QRNGs enhances cryptographic key entropy, while AI-driven anomaly detection enables proactive threat mitigation. This framework is particularly suited for next-generation IoT applications, including smart grids, autonomous vehicles, and industrial automation, where security, scalability, and energy efficiency are critical. By combining quantum-resistant algorithms with adaptive security mechanisms, AQC provides forward secrecy, resistance to quantum adversaries, and robust authentication, ensuring long-term protection for IoT ecosystems in the post-quantum era. The findings underscore AQC’s potential as a foundational security architecture for future quantum-safe IoT networks.
The rapid proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices presents critical cybersecurity challenges, as traditional cryptographic methods often fail to provide both robust security and operational efficiency in resource-constrained environments. This paper introduces Adaptive Quantum Cryptography (AQC), a novel framework designed to secure next-generation IoT networks against evolving classical and quantum-computing threats. The AQC framework synergistically integrates Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) for unbreakable key exchange, Quantum Random Number Generators (QRNGs) for high-entropy key generation, and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) for quantum-resistant data encryption. A key feature of the system is its dynamic adaptation mechanism, which leverages artificial intelligence to intelligently select and adjust cryptographic protocols in real-time based on current network conditions, device computational capabilities, and identified threat levels. This ensures optimal security without imposing excessive overhead on IoT devices. Our comprehensive experimental evaluation demonstrates that the AQC framework significantly outperforms classical techniques, achieving a 70% improvement in key exchange efficiency, a 50% reduction in computational load, and a 95% resilience rate against quantum-based attacks. By providing forward secrecy and robust authentication, the proposed AQC framework offers a scalable, energy-efficient, and future-proof security solution, paving the way for resilient and trustworthy IoT ecosystems in the post-quantum era.
This massive rate of expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) has brought about an immediate demand of safer and efficient communication methods with the capacity to endure upcoming cyber threats of the quantum age. Conventional cryptographic keys like RSA and ECC are getting more susceptible to quantum attacks and thus quantum-proof modules should be developed. This study introduces a Quantum-Resilient Communication Protocol, a lightweight cryptography-authentication post-quantum cryptography protocol, an integration of lattice and AES-GCM encryption with HMAC-based authentication to enable more resource-constrained IoT devices to be amely secured. MATLAB and NS-3 were used to simulate the proposed protocol and the performance of the proposed protocol was compared to a traditional ECC-based IoT protocol. The findings indicated that QRCP had improvement in the latency, throughput and energy savings over 40 percent and it was found that QRCP resisted quantum attack of Shor and Grover. The results justify the practicality of integrating the post-quantum cryptographic exceptors in the IoT network and provide a scalable, energy-saving, and future-enabling paradigm of the secure communication in the quantum era of computational computing.
With billions of resource-constrained devices exchanging sensitive data over heterogeneous networks, the fast-growing expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) has heightened the concerns of security. In this regard, classical blockchain, despite its promise, has two main disadvantages: it cannot scale properly under massive IoT traffic and it can be vulnerable to quantum adversaries. This work attempts to fill these gaps through an analytical and empirical review of thirty recent models using blockchain, post-quantum cryptography, and quantum-native approaches. Conducted under the PRISMA guidelines, this review systematically examines how its models perform with respect to common security metrics: delay, complexity, throughput, security efficiency, and packet delivery ratio. The findings of the study suggest that regular adaptive blockchains with dynamic block size optimization and lightweight hashing consistently achieve high throughput (>900 Tx/sec) and packet delivery ratios (>95%) in IoT environments making them the most feasible solution in near term. In contrast, post-quantum models, using hybrid encryption and an optimized SIKE provide significantly enhanced resilience (security efficiency in the range of 92% to 96%) while introducing computational overhead unsuited for low-power devices. The frameworks of quantum blockchain, utilizing QKD-based authentication and heap-driven key distribution, provide unsurpassed security efficiency (>95%) but stay largely constrained experimentally at this stage. The synthesis from the empirical study suggests a multi-layered approach, consisting of immediate implementations of lightweight adaptive models, mid-term enhancements through post-quantum cryptography optimization, and a long-term aim of deployment of full quantum blockchain architecture. Such insights would prove pivotal in IoT sectors with real-time requirements like health, smart grids, and industrial automation, where balancing scalability, efficiency, and quantum resilience is of utmost importance. Hence, the work provides an avenue for foundational mapping of advancement in quantum-secure IoT ecosystems.
The rapid expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) applications in sectors like smart cities, healthcare, and industrial automation has introduced serious security challenges due to limited device resources and growing threats from quantum computing. Traditional cryptographic techniques such as RSA and AES are increasingly inadequate, particularly against quantum attacks, and face limitations in scalability and efficiency in multi-node environments. To overcome these challenges, this paper proposes a lightweight and quantum-resilient security framework for IoT networks based on Multi-Node Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) integrated with Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), termed MNQ-ECC. The proposed architecture enables secure key generation and exchange across multiple nodes and includes four security phases: pre-deployment, registration, login, and authentication. Here, performance evaluation is carried out using Qiskit simulators under varying network conditions and key performance metrics such as key generation rate, entropy, latency, and communication overhead are analysed. The results demonstrate that MNQ-ECC achieves 99.5% resistance to quantum attacks, improves key generation efficiency by 30%, and reduces encryption overhead by 20% compared to standard ECC. These findings confirm the framework's effectiveness in securing IoT networks with high scalability, low latency, and strong resilience against classical and quantum threats.