Quantum Cryptography for Future Networks Security: A Systematic Review

Quantum Cryptography (QC) revolutionizes network communication – harnessing principles of quantum mechanics to enable the exchange of encrypted messages – for enabling secure data transmission in an era of quantum information processing. With a significant rise in quantum compu...

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Main Authors: Durr-E-Shahwar, Muhammad Imran, Ahmed B. Altamimi, Wilayat Khan, Shariq Hussain, Mohammad Alsaffar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2024-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10763508/
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author Durr-E-Shahwar
Muhammad Imran
Ahmed B. Altamimi
Wilayat Khan
Shariq Hussain
Mohammad Alsaffar
author_facet Durr-E-Shahwar
Muhammad Imran
Ahmed B. Altamimi
Wilayat Khan
Shariq Hussain
Mohammad Alsaffar
author_sort Durr-E-Shahwar
collection DOAJ
description Quantum Cryptography (QC) revolutionizes network communication – harnessing principles of quantum mechanics to enable the exchange of encrypted messages – for enabling secure data transmission in an era of quantum information processing. With a significant rise in quantum computing research and development efforts, there is an increasing interest in exploring QC (e.g., Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Quantum Secured Encryption (QSE)) against a multitude of security threats in futuristic networks for quantum information processing. The objective of this study is to review the existing research i.e., consolidating the published evidence, that streamlines and documents the predominant challenges, recurring solutions, security threats, and their counter-measures against the outlined research questions in the context of QC. To conduct this study, we followed the guidelines and method of Systematic Literature Reviews (SLRs) to answer seven research questions. These questions investigate the proposed solutions for state-of-the-art QC and its impact on future network security. Based on the seven (7) outlined research questions, this study systematically selected and reviewed one hundred and thirty four (134) research studies published from 2016 to 2023 with a focus on QC for quantum information processing. The results of this SLR establish a knowledge base for modern QC applications to guarantee network security in quantum-enabled network communications. The review reveals that though still in the phase of its inception, the research on QC is progressing rapidly, highlighting the necessity for network protocol and frameworks to cater for quantum network security. The SLR also highlights the challenges encountered while designing or implementing the QC systems, pinpointing the significance of keeping abreast of QKD networks and addressing possible ramifications for internet security in the future. The SLR provides theoretical foundations and evidence-based guidelines to tackle emerging and futuristic challenges of security in the context of QC and QKD for quantum information processing.
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spelling doaj-art-a545e4f968d34d85b97e1efba83dfd182024-12-11T00:05:34ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362024-01-011218004818007810.1109/ACCESS.2024.350481510763508Quantum Cryptography for Future Networks Security: A Systematic Review Durr-E-Shahwar0https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8262-2498Muhammad Imran1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2979-564XAhmed B. Altamimi2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2893-0042Wilayat Khan3Shariq Hussain4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2093-7274Mohammad Alsaffar5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8116-5322Department of Software Engineering, Foundation University Islamabad, Islamabad, PakistanNational Centre for Physics, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Computer Engineering, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Computer Engineering, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Software Engineering, Foundation University Islamabad, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Information and Computer Science, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi ArabiaQuantum Cryptography (QC) revolutionizes network communication – harnessing principles of quantum mechanics to enable the exchange of encrypted messages – for enabling secure data transmission in an era of quantum information processing. With a significant rise in quantum computing research and development efforts, there is an increasing interest in exploring QC (e.g., Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Quantum Secured Encryption (QSE)) against a multitude of security threats in futuristic networks for quantum information processing. The objective of this study is to review the existing research i.e., consolidating the published evidence, that streamlines and documents the predominant challenges, recurring solutions, security threats, and their counter-measures against the outlined research questions in the context of QC. To conduct this study, we followed the guidelines and method of Systematic Literature Reviews (SLRs) to answer seven research questions. These questions investigate the proposed solutions for state-of-the-art QC and its impact on future network security. Based on the seven (7) outlined research questions, this study systematically selected and reviewed one hundred and thirty four (134) research studies published from 2016 to 2023 with a focus on QC for quantum information processing. The results of this SLR establish a knowledge base for modern QC applications to guarantee network security in quantum-enabled network communications. The review reveals that though still in the phase of its inception, the research on QC is progressing rapidly, highlighting the necessity for network protocol and frameworks to cater for quantum network security. The SLR also highlights the challenges encountered while designing or implementing the QC systems, pinpointing the significance of keeping abreast of QKD networks and addressing possible ramifications for internet security in the future. The SLR provides theoretical foundations and evidence-based guidelines to tackle emerging and futuristic challenges of security in the context of QC and QKD for quantum information processing.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10763508/Quantum cryptographysystematic literature reviewquantum computingcryptographic protocolsquantum key distribution
spellingShingle Durr-E-Shahwar
Muhammad Imran
Ahmed B. Altamimi
Wilayat Khan
Shariq Hussain
Mohammad Alsaffar
Quantum Cryptography for Future Networks Security: A Systematic Review
IEEE Access
Quantum cryptography
systematic literature review
quantum computing
cryptographic protocols
quantum key distribution
title Quantum Cryptography for Future Networks Security: A Systematic Review
title_full Quantum Cryptography for Future Networks Security: A Systematic Review
title_fullStr Quantum Cryptography for Future Networks Security: A Systematic Review
title_full_unstemmed Quantum Cryptography for Future Networks Security: A Systematic Review
title_short Quantum Cryptography for Future Networks Security: A Systematic Review
title_sort quantum cryptography for future networks security a systematic review
topic Quantum cryptography
systematic literature review
quantum computing
cryptographic protocols
quantum key distribution
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10763508/
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