Application of Quantum Key Distribution to Enhance Data Security in Agrotechnical Monitoring Systems Using UAVs
Bakyt M. La Spada L. Zeeshan N. Moldamurat K. Atanov S.
March 2025Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Applied Sciences (Switzerland)
2025#15Issue 5
Ensuring secure data transmission in agrotechnical monitoring systems using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is critical due to increasing cyber threats, particularly with the advent of quantum computing. This study proposes the integration of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), based on the BB84 protocol, as a secure key management mechanism to enhance data security in UAV-based geographic information systems (GIS) for monitoring agricultural fields and forest fires. QKD is not an encryption algorithm but a secure key distribution protocol that provides information-theoretic security by leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics. Rather than replacing traditional encryption methods, QKD complements them by ensuring the secure generation and distribution of encryption keys, while AES-128 is employed for efficient data encryption. The QKD framework is optimized for real-time operations through adaptive key generation and energy-efficient hardware, alongside Lempel–Ziv–Welch (LZW) compression to improve the bandwidth efficiency. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed system achieves secure key generation rates up to 50 Mbps with minimal computational overhead, maintaining reliability even under adverse environmental conditions. This hybrid approach significantly improves data resilience against both quantum and classical cyber-attacks, offering a comprehensive and robust solution for secure agrotechnical data transmission.
agrotechnical monitoring , AI methods , data security , geographic information systems , quantum key distribution , UAV
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Department of Information Security, Faculty of Information Technology, L.N. Gumilyov, Eurasian National University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, Edinburgh Napier University, 10 Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5DT, United Kingdom
Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Information Technology, L.N. Gumilyov, Eurasian National University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Department of Space Technique and Technology, Faculty of Physics and Engineering, L.N. Gumilyov, Eurasian National University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Department of Information Security
School of Computing
Department of Computer Science
Department of Space Technique and Technology
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