Quantum Secure Key Management System for healthcare

Abstract

This paper introduces a Quantum-Resistant HKMS which addresses the needs of patients who want to have more control over their cryptography keys to mitigate the insider dangers. The KMS traditionally refers to centralized Key Management Systems where the centralized structure has authority over the master keys and in many cases, has numerous powers in terms of security which in most cases can lead to the introduction of new sources of weakness, and particularly the so-called insider threats. Our approach alleviates these concerns by removing reliance of central key management from the system; patients actually create and can manage their keys on their own. In our system, the keys are generated from the patient’s physiological data, for instance, ECG signals, which implies that the key generation procedure remains under the control of the patient. It greatly minimizes the chance of key exposure to any central authority and improves the protection of the communication links between the patient wearable sensors and the system. Therefore, by using the quantum-resistant cryptographic methods for integration, our proposed solution minimizes the vulnerability of threats, including threats from a quantum computing system. This decentralized approach guarantees that even in cases where a centralized health data system is implemented, the patients’ most secure cryptographic keys remain under their sole control eliminating the insider threat factor while promoting secure transfer of health data. The proposed system provides a balanced, yet decentralized, approach to securing patient information, offering strong protection against current and future security challenges.