# Secured Real-Time Machine Communication Protocol
## 7 Conclusions  
In this paper, we presented the Secure Real-Time Machine Communication Protocol (SRMCP), a novel industrial communication protocol tailored to the stringent demands of Industry 4.0. By integrating advanced cryptographic techniques such as Kyber-KEM and AES-GCM, SRMCP ensures quantum-safe encryption, addressing both current and emerging security threats. The innovative \"Port Hopping\" mechanism enhances security further by obfuscating data transmission patterns, making traffic analysis and pattern recognition exceedingly difficult. Additionally, SRMCP's unique transaction mechanism ensures compliance with real-time standards like IEC 61131, while effectively managing system resources to prevent routine or memory leaks.  
Our experimental evaluation demonstrates that SRMCP outperforms widely used protocols such as Modbus and the OPC UA in key performance metrics, particularly in read and write operations, while maintaining robust security. Although SRMCP introduces some overhead in connection time due to its dual-layer encryption and advanced security features, it achieves a balanced trade-off between performance and security, making it well-suited for modern industrial applications requiring secure, efficient, and scalable communication.  
Future work will focus on optimizing SRMCP's implementation to further reduce computational overhead and enhance scalability in large-scale deployments. Additionally, efforts will be directed toward developing seamless interfaces for integration with existing industrial systems and exploring their application in other domains, such as smart grids and healthcare.  
Figure 12: Testing results for writing a variable over a remote network.  
**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, Y.R. and L.R.; methodology, Y.R.; software, Y.R.; validation, Y.R., S.K., and L.R.; formal analysis, I.M. and N.F.; investigation, Y.R.; resources, Y.R.; data curation, Y.R.; writing--original draft preparation, Y.R.; writing--review and editing, Y.R. and S.K.; visualization, Y.R.; supervision, I.M.; project administration, LM. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
**Funding:** This research received no external funding.  
**Data Availability Statement:** The SRMCP Go implementation is available at the SRMCP Go Repository ([[https://github.com/ulfaric/srmcp](https://github.com/ulfaric/srmcp)]([https://github.com/ulfaric/srmcp](https://github.com/ulfaric/srmcp))), accessed on 5 December 2024. The testing scripts are available upon request to [EMAIL_ADDRESS]. The certificates used during SRMCP testing and WireShark packet capture files are also available upon request.  
**Acknowledgments:** The authors would like to express their gratitude to Adjunct [PERSON] for his invaluable insights into industrial communication protocols, control systems, and the challenges currently faced by the industry. His expert guidance and advice greatly contributed to the direction and depth of this research. We deeply appreciate his time and support throughout the project.  
**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflicts of interest.