Quantum Computing Threats to Management and Operational Safeguards of IEC 62351
Summary
As quantum computing technology continues to advance towards a cryptographically relevant scale, cybersecurity for critical infrastructure such as electrical power systems must prepare for an existential threat. A crucial step to mitigating the potential damage a quantum computer-aided attack may cause is identifying quantum-vulnerable algorithms that are currently used in the standards for the security of power system control centres and communication networks.
The IEC 62351 is a series of standards for protecting data in power automation systems and includes several quantum-vulnerable cryptographic primitives. Parts 7, 8, and 9 of the IEC 62351 are dedicated to network and system management, role-based access control, and key management.
In this work, a comprehensive vulnerability assessment is conducted of the cryptographic algorithms selected in these parts of IEC 62351.
Conference: 22nd Annual International Conference on Privacy, Security, and Trust (PST2025)
Location: Fredericton, Canada
Date: August 26-28, 2025
Keywords
Access control, Quantum computing, Protocols, Substations, Aging, Smart grids, Cryptography, IEC Standards, Computer security, Standards
Links
References
| APA | Goncalves, B., Mahari, A., Mashatan, A., Arani, R., & Kassouf, M. (2025). Quantum Computing Threats to Management and Operational Safeguards of IEC 62351. Proceedings of the 22nd Annual International Conference on Privacy, Security, and Trust (PST2025) (pp. 1鈥�7). Fredericton, Canada. |
|---|---|
| BibTeX | @inproceedings{goncalves2025quantum, |
| IEEE | B. Goncalves, A. Mahari, A. Mashatan, M. F. M. Arani, and M. Kassouf, 鈥淨uantum Computing Threats to Management and Operational Safeguards of IEC 62351,鈥� in Proc. 22nd Annual International Conference on Privacy, Security, and Trust (PST2025), Fredericton, Canada, Aug. 26-28, 2025, pp. 1-7. |