Abstract:

The advent of quantum computing is a serious threat to conventional cryptographic systems, and thus post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is required in future-proofing data privacy in next-gen network communications. As we shift towards quantum-empowered technology, having sound encryption mechanisms is a strategic need in order to maintain privacy and ensure secure transmission. Classic cryptographic schemes such as RSA and ECC, while widely deployed, remain vulnerable to quantum attacks like Shor's algorithm that can factor them in polynomial time. Such vulnerabilities expose critical infrastructures and communications to potential decryption and exploitation. To counter such vulnerabilities, we propose the Quantum-Resistant Communication Framework (QRCF) that deploys lattice-based encryption, hash-based signatures, and code-based key encapsulation mechanisms. These PQC schemes are designed to be resistant against both classical and quantum attacks with assured secure data transmission even when quantum attackers exist. Experimental experiments of QRCF show a high level of resistance to quantum attacks without jeopardizing latency or throughput on emulation networks. Results confirm that QRCF is a feasible and strong solution to safeguard future network communications against the impending threat of quantum computing.