Post-Quantum Cryptography for loT and Smart Grid Systems: A Comprehensive Survey on Lightweight and Quantum-Resistant Security Mechanisms

The imminent advent of large-scale quantum computing threatens the foundational security of classical cryptographic systems, particularly within loT and smart grid infrastructures, where devices are resource-constrained, operational requirements are real-time, and system lifecycles span decades. This survey presents a comprehensive, multidimensional analysis of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) for these environments, focusing on lattice, code, hash, multivariate, and isogeny-based primitives. We systematically review algorithm classifications, application-layer and deployment-specific considerations, and performance trade-offs, including computational cost, memory footprint, energy consumption, and communication overhead. Beyond algorithmic assessment, we examine implementation vulnerabilities, such as side-channel and fault injection attacks, hybrid quantum-classical threats, and emerging Al-assisted cryptanalysis, highlighting practical security challenges in IoT and smart grid deployments. A critical comparative analysis quantifies security-resource trade-offs, providing actionable guidance for selecting suitable PQC schemes across device classes and network contexts. The survey also identifies open challenges including ultra-constrained devices, real-time latency constraints, interoperability with legacy systems, secure firmware migration, long-term key management, and gaps in formal security proofs and outlines future research directions toward adaptive, context-aware, energy-efficient, and zero-trust quantum-resistant architectures. By integrating theoretical security, practical performance, and system-level considerations, this survey offers a roadmap for resilient, scalable, and future-proof PQC deployment in loT and smart grid ecosystems.

کلیدواژه ها:

Post-Quantum Cryptography ، loT Security ، Smart Grid ، Security Lightweight Cryptography ، Quantum-Resistant Algorithms ، Lattice-Based Cryptography