Strengthening Security Mechanisms of Satellites and UAVs Against Possible Attacks from Quantum Computers

The mounting prevalence of quantum computing poses a threat not only to conventional but also to futuristic network systems. As a result, today the focus shifts towards strengthening existing networks to secure sensitive data that may be threatened as a result of the potential for breaking present encryption protocols with the introduction of quantum computing. Cryptography, commonly referred to as encryption, is the underlying principle that enables safe data storage and communication. Cryptography involves key distribution, for which the current best method is a public key distribution based on principles such as Diffie-Hellman key exchange. However, these principles rely on classical computer limitations, such as factoring big numbers, which are expected to be eliminated with quantum computers and algorithms. This research provides an overview of using Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocols for satellite-based and Unmanned-Aerial-Vehicle (UAV) related communication. This research also proposes a none QKD protocol to provide an understanding of analysis of the advantages and applications of these protocols. As several QKD protocols have been proposed in the past, identifying the advantages and unique performance characteristics of these protocols is important, especially when adapting these protocols to specific use cases such as satellite-based communications and UAV-related communications.