Enhancing Cybersecurity with Quantum Cryptography: A Survey of Emerging Protocols

Abstract

The rapidly advancing computational capacity of modern computers is making traditional encryption techniques more and more susceptible in the ever-changing field of cybersecurity. Using the ideas of quantum mechanics, quantum cryptography presents a viable way to improve security by introducing protocols that are impervious to hacking attempts based on classical computation. This paper offers an extensive overview of newly developed quantum cryptography methods intended to protect digital communication against present and potential dangers, such as those originating from quantum computers. The potential of key protocols like post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution (QKD) to supplement or replace current encryption techniques is investigated. The report outlines the benefits of quantum cryptography, such as its capacity to safeguard wide-scale networks, its ability to detect eavesdropping in real-time, and its unbreakable encryption. It also covers the real-world difficulties in putting these protocols into practice, like budgetary constraints, infrastructure needs, and technology constraints. This survey highlights the critical necessity to implement quantum cryptography solutions as a foundation for future-proof cybersecurity frameworks as the world draws closer to the era of quantum computing