A Comprehensive Survey of Prominent Cryptographic Aspects for Securing Communication in PostQuantum IoT Networks Abstract   Internet of Things (IoT) ideates smart and interconnected things capable of sharing their perceptions through the Internet. These devices are different from conventional Internetconnected devices in the sense that these are able to perform skillfull things on their own with minimal or no human interaction. Unfortunately, with the advent of amalgamate technologies, security has become a major concern for IoT networks. Recent efforts include reinventing cryptographic solutions through the use of lightweight operations. However, after witnessing the growth of quantum computers, it can be inferred that the cryptographic techniques based on mathematical problems are not reliable enough. Therefore, there is need to develop solutions that can easily resist the adversarial effects and are suitable for the postquantum world. In this paper, we perform indepth analysis over the role of postquantum cryptographic techniques for securing IoT networks and also explore ongoing research efforts in the field. In addition, we discuss the open research challenges and future research directions in the field.

Semiquantum cryptography Semiquantum communication, a model introduced by Boyer et al. (Phys Rev Lett 99:140501, 2007), involves the use of fully quantum users and semiquantum, or xe2x80x9cclassicalxe2x80x9d users. These restricted users are only allowed to interact with the quantum channel in a limited manner. Originally introduced to study the keydistribution problem, semiquantum research has since expanded, and continues to grow, with new protocols, security proof methods, experimental implementations, and new cryptographic applications beyond key distribution. Research in the field of semiquantum cryptography requires new insights into working with restricted protocols and, so, the tools and techniques derived in this field can translate to results in broader quantum information science. Furthermore, other questions such as the connection between quantum and classical processing, including how classical information processing can be used to counteract a quantum deficiency in a protocol, can shed light on important theoretical questions. This work surveys the history and current state of the art in semiquantum research. We discuss the model and several protocols offering the reader insight into how protocols are constructed in this realm. We discuss security proof methods and how classical postprocessing can be used to counteract usersxe2x80x99 inability to perform certain quantum operations. Moving beyond key distribution, we survey current work in other semiquantum cryptographic protocols and current trends. We also survey recent work done in attempting to construct practical semiquantum systems including recent experimental results in this field. Finally, as this is still a growing field, we highlight, throughout this survey, several open problems that we feel are important to investigate in the hopes that this will spur even more research in this topic.