Quantum-Resilient Blockchain for Secure Transactions in UAV-Assisted Smart Agriculture Networks
Taimoor Ahmad
TL;DR
This work addresses secure, low-latency transaction integrity in UAV-enabled smart agriculture under emerging quantum threats by introducing a quantum-resilient blockchain. It fuses lattice-based post-quantum cryptography for signatures and key exchange with a lightweight, trust-ranked consensus implemented across edge nodes, tailored to UAV mobility and energy constraints. The authors formalize a system model incorporating a dynamic trust score, compression, and energy-aware metrics, and validate the framework through NS-3 simulations with 100 UAVs and 10 edge servers, achieving sub-second latency, high throughput (~180 TPS), and strong resilience to quantum-classical attacks. The results demonstrate a scalable, secure, and energy-efficient solution for trusted data sharing and automation in post-quantum UAV networks for precision agriculture.
Abstract
The integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into smart agriculture has enabled real-time monitoring, data collection, and automated farming operations. However, the high mobility, decentralized nature, and low-power communication of UAVs pose significant security challenges, particularly in ensuring transaction integrity and trust. This paper presents a quantum-resilient blockchain framework designed to secure data and resource transactions in UAV-assisted smart agriculture networks. The proposed solution incorporates post-quantum cryptographic primitives-specifically lattice-based digital signatures and key encapsulation mechanisms to achieve tamper-proof, low-latency consensus without relying on traditional computationally intensive proof-of-work schemes. A lightweight consensus protocol tailored for UAV communication constraints is developed, and transaction validation is handled through a trust-ranked, multi-layer ledger maintained by edge nodes. Experimental results from simulations using NS-3 and custom blockchain testbeds show that the framework outperforms existing schemes in terms of transaction throughput, energy efficiency, and resistance to quantum attacks. The proposed system provides a scalable, secure, and sustainable solution for precision agriculture, enabling trusted automation and resilient data sharing in post-quantum eras.