A Quantum Resilient Security System for Smart Power Grid Data: Combining Kyber, FALCON, and Zero-Knowledge Proofs Against Quantum Threats

Abstract

The rapid progress of quantum computing poses significant challenges to traditional cryptographic mechanisms, necessitating the adoption of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) solutions. This paper proposes a Quantum-Enhanced Security for Smart Meters (QESM) system to protect power plant data in smart cities, integrating Kyber for secure key exchange, FALCON (Fast-Fourier Transform over Lattice-based Cryptography) for quantum-resistant digital signatures, and ZKP (Zero-Knowledge Proof) for effective verification without revealing sensitive data to secure power plant data against quantum attacks. To evaluate the security of the proposed system, we analyze its resistance to various quantum threats, including Shor’s algorithm, Grover’s algorithm, quantum key analysis, quantum reversal encryption, quantum amplification, quantum switching, and quantum collision attacks. In the current study, accurate measures were used and the average was approximately 7.065 (bits/byte) for randomness, the average execution time was 6.202 milliseconds, the average memory consumption was approximately 4.343 KB, 6.4 Completeness was equal to 1 and unforgeability was 100%. As for the average throughput, it was approximately 485,605 operations per second. That shows the QESM system provides strong security and efficiency, making it a viable solution for protecting the electricity infrastructure in smart cities in the quantum era.