Quantum-Resistant Cyber Defence in Nation-State Warfare: Mitigating Threats with Post-Quantum Cryptography

Abstract

Quantum computing, very likely going to be a threat against current cryptographic systems especially with respect to war between nations, where secure communication and secured data access are very important. Conventional encrypting schemes such as RSA or ECC depend on mathematical problems that can easily be solved by quantum algorithms, typically Shor's, which makes such schemes vulnerable to attacks in the future. This research investigates how PQC is implemented to combat the looming threats of quantum cyber warfare so that national security is assured. Among the most powerful PQC candidates are lattice based cryptographic techniques like NTRU Encrypt, Kyber and Dilithium, all representing quantum-resilient security. The research looks at the time taken for key generation relative to various security levels and quantum attack detection rates, analyzing in detail how these PQC algorithms stand in protecting military communications and critical infrastructure. The inference seems to be that though security levels increase, so does the computational overhead, calling for optimization strategies for realistic deployment. Also, a novel adaptive quantum attack detection system can be appended to render threat identification more efficient along the years. The joining of lattice-based encryption with quantum-resistant cloud storage and secure communication protocols will thus yield a scalable efficient model for post-quantum cyber defense. Above all, the research states the need for quickly changing cryptographic standards to those which afford resistance to quantum attacks to secure sensitive data.