Quantum Attacks Research Articles

Quantum computing in financial security: A risk management framework for systemically important financial institutions

This research explores the application of quantum computing in enhancing financial system security, focusing on developing a robust risk management framework for systemically important banks in Sierra Leone. By evaluating 2 leading banks in the country, this study identifies key vulnerabilities, assesses potential quantum computing solutions, and provides a blueprint for safeguarding financial systems in the quantum era. Through implementation of the proposed framework, participating institutions demonstrated significant improvements in threat detection, encryption strength, and risk mitigation, with quantum-enhanced systems showing 99.8% accuracy in detecting sophisticated financial fraud attempts while reducing false positives by 90% compared to traditional systems. The implementation resulted in a 60% reduction in security incident response time and a 75% improvement in encryption strength against potential quantum attacks. These advancements provide crucial protection for financial infrastructure while ensuring regulatory compliance and operational resilience.

On Advances of Anonymous Credentials—From Traditional to Post-Quantum

Anonymous credential (AC) systems are privacy-preserving authentication mechanisms that allow users to prove that they have valid credentials anonymously. These systems provide a powerful tool for several practical applications, such as anonymous payment systems in e-commerce, preserving robust privacy protection for users. Most existing AC systems are constructed using traditional number-theoretic approaches, making them insecure under quantum attacks. With four decades of research in anonymous credential systems, there is a need for a comprehensive review that identifies the design structures of AC systems, organizes the research trends, and highlights unaddressed gaps for the future development of AC, especially bringing AC to post-quantum cryptography. This work is a complete study describing AC systems, as well as their architecture, components, security, and performance. Additionally, real-world implementations of various applications are identified, analyzed, and compared according to the design structure. Lastly, the challenges hindering the shift toward the quantumly secure lattice-based AC designs are discussed.

Quantum attack on RSA by D-Wave Advantage: a first break of 80-bit RSA

Quantum attack on RSA by D-Wave Advantage: a first break of 80-bit RSA

The Impact of Quantum Computing on Cryptographic Systems: Urgency of Quantum-Resistant Algorithms and Practical Applications in Cryptography

Quantum computing presents computational powers previously thought unattainable. This brings severe threats to classical cryptographic methods, especially RSA and ECC. This paper addresses these risks through a detailed investigation of quantum-resistant algorithms, focusing on lattice- based (CRYSTALS-Kyber), hash-based (SPHINCS+), and code-based (McEliece) systems. Research questions guiding this study include: How vulnerable are traditional algorithms under quantum attack, and which quantum-resistant alternatives offer viable performance and security trade-offs? Through simulations, we analyzed key metrics like encryption speeds, key sizes, and efficiency under quantum threats. Additionally, we demonstrated vulnerabilities in RSA-2048 and ECC-256 under Shor’s algorithm, emphasizing the necessity for quantum-resistant cryptography. Our results highlighted CRYSTALS-Kyber as a balanced candidate, aligning with the NIST PQC Standardization, while Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is reviewed for high-sensitivity contexts. Given the forecasted advancements in quantum hardware, we propose a transitional approach using hybrid cryptographic systems to ensure immediate security and ease the shift to quantum-safe protocols. This study also explores industry applications, particularly in finance, healthcare, and IoT, recommending a phased adoption strategy utilizing hybrid cryptographic systems for a secure, gradual transition.

Quantum Assisted Blockchain Security Model Using Artificial Intelligence to Reduce Quantum Attacks

Presently, smart sensors ensure commercial decisions where integrated electronic systems can be securely organized using blockchain and quantum computing because of their unique characteristics and features. In the current scenario, large-scale quantum computers can be built in which most current cryptographic systems can be hacked. Since digital and quantum computers can conduct computations simultaneously, a quantum tool for blockchain framework design is required. Based on these concerns in this research, an enhanced quantum-assisted blockchain security model using the artificial intelligence (EQ-BSM-AI) technique has been proposed. This model validates cryptosystems and blockchain technologies to determine their vulnerability to quantum attacks. Further, in this model, quantum assisted edge computing technique has been used to model the Human-centric Internet of Things (HIoT) system by introducing a quantum key generation process. Based on the post-quantum blockchain (PQB), a secured cryptosystem that is highly resistant to quantum computer attacks has been introduced in this research. This quantum channel with multiple inputs and outputs (MIMO) is designed for a quantum-based communication system to make this model more efficient and withstand errors. In EQ-BSM-AI, an improved quantum encryption algorithm (IQEA) stores the keys for encryption with a generalized probability accumulation model. For the current quantum computers and communications, our proposed system resulted in an improved sampling error reduction of 12.4%, enhanced efficiency of quantum entanglement of 96.3%, information randomness of 93.9%, correlation analysis of 93.2%, and increased resistance to quantum computing attacks of 90.8% when compared with other existing approaches.

Development of superposition-based quantum key distribution protocol in decentralized full mesh networks

The object of this research is the security of communication networks, particularly in decentralized, multi-user environments where robust data protection and integrity are critical. The issue under discussion is the rising vulnerability of conventional cryptography systems resulting from ever complex cyberattacks and the expected risks presented by quantum computing possibilities. The development of a QKD protocol employing quantum superposition to improve data security and resilience against both present and future quantum-based cyber-attacks is demonstrated by the achieved results of this work. Achieving scalability and autonomous eavesdropping detection, this protocol lets several communication nodes securely exchange randomly produced keys without centralized management. A quick analysis of the results reveals that main elements influencing the great durability, security, and adaptability of the protocol are quantum superposition and its distributed character. Without centralized authority, the characteristics of the obtained results – especially the use of optical components, detectors, and quantum sources in conjunction with classical communication channels – solve the problem of ensuring data confidentiality and integrity in a multi-user environment. This protocol's practical reach covers safe communication applications in both public and private sectors, therefore addressing situations calling for strong data protection against modern cyberattacks. Conditions for practical application include settings like government, financial, or health-related interactions when safe information flow is crucial. This QKD system offers a future-ready security solution for high-stakes environments and represents notable advancement toward protecting data from quantum and conventional attacks

Quantum Computing: Potential and Challenges for the Future of Cryptography

Utilising the laws of quantum mechanics, quantum computing offers unparalleled computational capacity, marking a paradigm leap in the science of computation. Quantum computers' capacity to upend current cryptography systems is becoming more apparent as they mature. the two-pronged effect of quantum computing on cryptography: on the one hand, it might undermine existing encryption algorithms, and on the other, it could pave the way for the creation of new, more robust protocols that are immune to quantum attacks. We take a look at the theory behind quantum algorithms, with a focus on Shor's algorithm, which poses a danger to popular public-key encryption techniques like RSA and ECC. We also go into post-quantum cryptography, the field that aims to make encryption systems impenetrable to attacks that use quantum mechanics. Quantum cryptography has come a long way, but there are still a lot of obstacles to overcome. These include making viable quantum computers, getting past hardware limits, and dealing with the complexity of switching from classical to quantum-safe encryption. the significance of getting ready for a quantum future, with an emphasis on the continuing endeavours in quantum computing and cryptography research to safeguard the digital realm from new dangers.

Security analysis and improvement on the (T,N) threshold semiquantum secret sharing

Seldom quantum secret sharing protocols with both the flexible (t, n) threshold and semi-quantum properties have been proposed. Recently, a novel idea of (t, n) threshold semiquantum secret sharing was proposed, which has both the (t, [Formula: see text] threshold and semi-quantum properties. Its idea can simplify the quantum secret sharing process such that many classical users with simple ability of quantum operations can realize the communication goal by cooperating with one quantum party. Furthermore, the protocol is very flexible since any t collaborators of the n classical users can reconstruct the full secret by Shamir’s threshold technology. Unfortunately, their protocol is vulnerable to the NOT-gate attack. This paper shows that an attacker can break the (t, n) threshold protocol by performing two rounds of NOT-gate attack. Then, an improved (t, n) threshold semiquantum secret sharing protocol is proposed. In the improvement scheme, each receiver can perform the eavesdropping check by measuring the Z-basis sample states. The improved protocol not only has semi-quantum properties but also can repair the security hole of the old version and has enhanced security against various quantum attacks.

A (4, 4) threshold protocol of semi-quantum secret sharing using entangled state

Abstract Quantum secret sharing (QSS) can address the increasing threat of computing power. While semi-QSS protocols alleviate participants’ reliance on quantum devices, ensuring security and lowering the participation difficulty. In this paper, we propose a semi-QSS protocol based on four quantum entangled states within a four-dimensional quantum system. It generates a four-dimensional four-quantum entangled state through a dealer, requiring full quantum capability for the dealer and only partial quantum capability for the participants. Participants perform random operations on the received qubits, and eavesdropping detection is based on these random operations. Then the dealer can choose the correct measurement basis based on the receiver’s specific operations. The security and quantum efficiency of protocol depend on the ratio of information to decoy particles inserted by the dealer. Furthermore, the security analysis shows that the protocol is resistant to common quantum attacks.

A Highly Hardware Efficient ML-KEM Accelerator with Optimised Architectural Layers

The Module-Lattice-Based Key encapsulation Mechanism (ML-KEM) scheme, which is currently being standardized, is a quantum attack resistant KEM that is based on CRYSTALS-Kyber. CRYSTALS-Kyber is the only Public-key Encryption (PKE)/ KEM scheme selected in the first set of successful candidates as part of the NIST initiated Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) process. ML-KEM scheme includes three different security levels, namely security level 1, 3, and 5. In this research, we propose a highly area-time efficient hardware ML-KEM architecture. The architecture comprises three computational layers. The first layer comprises a hash and sampling module; the second layer includes a number theoretic transform (NTT), its inverse (INTT) and a point-wise multiplication (PWM) module; and the third layer comprises addition, compressing and encoding. Intra-layer pipelining and out-of-layer scheduling ensures that either layer 1 or layer 2 operate in the shortest time. In the reduction module, we propose a novel hybrid architecture to obtain the final result within 2 cycles with low area consumption. In the NTT module, the PWM pipelining method is modified and an optimised iterative FIFO access method is adopted to reduce the size of FIFO units by 55% over previous research. Look-up tables are also used to replace the first-stage of the NTT to reduce 8 cycles. Furthermore, the memory unit uses only FIFOs, the size are optimised based on the requirements of the most resource-intensive function in ML-KEM (ML-KEM.CPA.Dec). The results show that the proposed architecture 48.2%, 41.2%, and 78.1% reduction in computational time in comparison to previous work for security level 1, 3 and 5, respectively. In addition, the area of proposed optimised ML-KEM designs is reduced by 73%, 70%, 76% and resulting in an improved area-time (AT) product of 15.8%, 10.7%, and 11.3%, for the Level 1, 3 and 5 security levels respectively, compared with state-of-the-art designs.

Chosen-Prefix Collisions on AES-like Hashing

Chosen-prefix collision (CPC) attack was first presented by Stevens, Lenstra and de Weger on MD5 at Eurocrypt 2007. A CPC attack finds a collision for any two chosen prefixes, which is a stronger variant of collision attack. CPCs are naturally harder to construct but have larger practical impact than (identical-prefix) collisions, as seen from the series of previous works on MD5 by Stevens et al. and SHA-1 by Leurent and Peyrin. Despite its significance, the resistance of CPC attacks has not been studied on AES-like hashing.In this work, we explore CPC attacks on AES-like hashing following the framework practiced on MD5 and SHA-1. Instead of the message modification technique developed for MD-SHA family, we opt for related-key rebound attack to construct collisions for AES-like hashing in view of its effectiveness. We also note that the CPC attack framework can be exploited to convert a specific class of one-block free-start collisions into two-block collisions, which sheds light on the importance of free-start collisions. As a result, we present the first CPC attacks on reduced Whirlpool, Saturnin-hash and AES-MMO/MP in classic and quantum settings, and extend the collision attack on Saturnin-hash from 5 to 6 rounds in the classic setting. As an independent contribution, we improve the memoryless algorithm of solving 3-round inbound phase by Hosoyamada and Sasaki at Eurocrpyt 2020, which leads to improved quantum attacks on Whirlpool. Notably, we find the first 6-round memoryless quantum collision attack on Whirlpool better than generic CNS collision finding algorithm when exponential-size qRAM is not available but exponential-size classic memory is available.

On the Proof of Ownership of Digital Wallets

With the widespread adoption and increasing application of blockchain technology, cryptocurrency wallets used in Bitcoin and Ethereum play a crucial role in facilitating decentralized asset management and secure transactions. However, wallet security relies heavily on private keys, with insufficient attention to the risks of theft and exposure. To address this issue, Chaum et al. (ACNS’21) proposed a “proof of ownership” method using a “backup key” to prove ownership of private keys even when exposed. However, their interactive proof approach is inefficient in large-scale systems and vulnerable to side-channel attacks due to the long key generation time. Other related schemes also suffer from low efficiency and complex key management, increasing the difficulty of securely storing backup keys. In this paper, we present an efficient, non-interactive proof generation approach for ownership of secret keys using a single backup key. Our approach leverages non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs and symmetric encryption, allowing users to generate multiple proofs with one fixed backup key, simplifying key management. Additionally, our scheme resists quantum attacks and provides a fallback signature. Our new scheme can be proved to capture unforgeability under the computational indistinguishability from the Uniformly Random Distribution property of a proper hash function and soundness in the quantum random oracle model. Experimental results indicate that our approach achieves a short key generation time and enables an efficient proof generation scheme in large-scale decentralized systems. Compared with state-of-the-art schemes, our approach is applicable to a broader range of scenarios due to its non-interactive nature, short key generation time, high efficiency, and simplified key management system.

Security Analysis of Classical and Post-Quantum Blockchains

ABSTRACT In recent years, the emergence of quantum computing has created substantial problems to the security of cryptographic methods often utilized in blockchain technology. As quantum computers become more powerful, the possibility of them breaking classical cryptography algorithms such as ECDSA grows, forcing researchers to look for quantum-resistant alternatives. Post-quantum cryptographic algorithms, such as Falcon, have emerged as possible alternatives for long-term blockchain security. This study examines the performance and security of classical (ECDSA) and post-quantum (Falcon) blockchains under a variety of attack scenarios, including DDoS, replay, and Sybil attacks. Our research will evaluate the computational and resource needs of several cryptographic approaches, as well as examine how these infrastructures respond under various attack situations and emphasize the trade-offs between higher security and resource consumption. Our results show that, while post-quantum blockchains are more resistant to quantum computing threats, they need much more CPU and memory than their classical equivalents. This increased resource requirement affects scalability and efficiency, especially in high-load scenarios. Despite their resistance to quantum attacks, post-quantum blockchains are still vulnerable to traditional attack vectors, as demonstrated by the significant computing cost seen throughout our testing. These research results underscore the need of balanced blockchain systems that successfully handle the trade-offs between security and performance.

Quantum blockchain: Trends, technologies, and future directions

AbstractBlockchain technology is a highly developed database system that shares information within a business web. It stores details in blocks connected chronologically, ensuring information integrity through consensus mechanisms that prevent unauthorised alterations. This decentralised system removes the need for a believable mediator, mitigating vulnerabilities and enhancing transaction security. Blockchain’s application spans the energy, finance, media, entertainment, and retail sectors. However, classical blockchain faces threats from quantum computing advancements, necessitating the development of quantum blockchain technology. Quantum blockchain, leveraging quantum computation and information theory, offers enhanced security and immutability. In this paper, different mathematical foundations, practical implementations and effectiveness of lattice‐based cryptography in securing blockchain applications are discussed. Analysis of how the cryptographic techniques can protect blockchain systems against quantum attacks is being done by using mathematical formulations and examples. Quantum computing strengthens blockchain security with advanced encryption and authentication, which is critical for safeguarding diverse sectors from evolving cyber threats. Further study on quantum‐resistant design is necessary if blockchain networks are to be robust and intact in the face of future technological developments.

Two-step quantum dialogue protocols against collective noises

By designing two-step transmissions, this paper presents two quantum dialogue (QD) protocols that can resist different types of collective noise in the quantum channel. The message carrier of the proposed scheme utilizes decoherence-free subspaces to remain invariant under the impact of collective noise. We employ combinations of these quantum states to form decoy photon pairs, ensuring secure transmission and preventing message distortion. Based on the principle that a single photon in an EPR pair reveals no information about its actual state, an EPR pair requires only one photon for protection during transmission. This property effectively reduces the number of decoy photons needed to ensure the security of quantum transmission, which can also be applied to the logical EPR pair consisting of logical qubits. A quantum logic circuit is also designed to demonstrate the practical implementation of shuffling the logical qubits within each logical EPR pair. Therefore, the proposed two-step QD protocols require only half as many decoy photons to achieve the same security level as other state-of-the-art QD schemes. The significant reduction in the utilization of decoy photons improves the qubit efficiency of the proposed QD protocols compared to other existing works in the field. Additionally, the security analysis of the proposed QD schemes ensures the absence of information leakage and resistance to common quantum attacks.

Systematic study on vulnerabilities, countermeasures and security analysis tools for cryptocurrencies and post quantum cryptographic approach to design quantum resistant blockchains

Blockchain and other Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) have evolved significantly in the last years and their use has been suggested for numerous applications due to their ability to provide transparency, redundancy and accountability. Public key cryptography and hash functions provide security to blockchains, smart contracts and cryptocurrencies. Fast progress in Quantum computing presents significant threats to blockchain systems as it has leveraged possibility of attacking cryptosecurity systems in near future forcing re-design of blockchains to withstand quantum attacks and vulnerabilities. This article studies different types of vulnerabilities to blockchains, existing countermeasures for attacks and investigates causes and preventive mechanisms to make quantum resistant or quantum proof blockchains. Thus, this article seeks to provide a broad view on security analysis tools, quantum-based cryptosystems, signature schemes and algorithms on Post-Quantum Blockchain (PQB) security to future blockchain researchers and developers.

Advanced threshold signature schemes leveraging isogeny-based cryptography

This paper investigates the use of threshold signature schemes in isogeny-based cryptosystems. By leveraging the distinct features of isogeny graphs, we propose a protocol that offers high security and practical efficiency, making it ideal for distributed ledger technologies and secure multi-party computations. Our scheme is resistant to quantum attacks and maintains minimal computational and communication overheads. We present an extensive analysis of the security and performance of our protocol, emphasizing its relevance to real-world cryptographic systems. MSC 2020: 94A60, 11G07, 68M07.

Exploring Post-Quantum Cryptography: Review and Directions for the Transition Process

As quantum computing advances, current cryptographic protocols are increasingly vulnerable to quantum attacks, particularly those based on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) like RSA or Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). This paper presents a comprehensive review of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) as a solution to protect digital systems in the quantum era. We provide an in-depth analysis of various quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms, including lattice-based, code-based, hash-based, isogeny-based, and multivariate approaches. The review highlights the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) PQC standardization process, highlighting key algorithms, such as CRYSTALS–Kyber, CRYSTALS–Dilithium, Falcon, and SPHINCS+, and discusses the strengths, vulnerabilities, and implementation challenges of the leading algorithms. In addition, we explore transition strategies for organizations, emphasizing hybrid cryptography to ensure backward compatibility during migration. This study offers key insights into the future of cryptographic standards and the critical steps necessary to prepare for the transition from classical to quantum-resistant systems.

Quantum Cryptography for Secure Data Transmission in IoT Networks

The rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) has introduced significant security challenges, especially in safeguarding sensitive data transmitted across vast networks. Traditional cryptographic methods, though widely used, face increasing vulnerabilities in light of advancements in quantum computing. This research explores the application of quantum cryptography, particularly Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), to secure data transmission in IoT networks. Quantum cryptography offers a revolutionary approach by utilizing the principles of quantum mechanics, ensuring communication channels are resistant to eavesdropping and quantum attacks. Despite its promise, integrating quantum cryptography into resource-constrained IoT environments presents several technical challenges. This paper examines current quantum cryptographic techniques, their feasibility for IoT applications, and proposed solutions for overcoming integration hurdles. Case studies of real-world implementations and experimental results are discussed to highlight the effectiveness of these methods. The findings suggest that quantum cryptography, while still in its infancy for IoT, has the potential to provide robust security solutions in future networks.

On the quantum security of high-dimensional RSA protocol

Abstract The idea of extending the classical RSA protocol using algebraic number fields was introduced by Takagi and Naito (Construction of RSA cryptosystem over the algebraic field using ideal theory and investigation of its security. Electron Commun Japan Part III Fund Electr Sci. 2000;83:19–29). Recently, Zheng et al. proposed the use of the ring of algebraic integers of an algebraic number field and the lattice theory to present a high-dimensional form of RSA. The authors claim that their proposal is post-quantum and is significant both from the theoretical and practical point of view. In this article, we prove that the security of Zheng et al.’s scheme is still based on the factorization problem, and we present a practical quantum attack on this proposed scheme, our attack is a quantum polynomial time algorithm that employs Shor’s algorithm as a subroutine.