International Journal of Network Security & Its Applications (IJNSA)
ISSN: 0974 - 9330 (Online); 0975 - 2307 (Print)
Adaptive Post-Quantum Zero Trust Framework for Cloud Infrastructure: A Policy-Based Crypto-Agility Model And Benchmark-Driven Performance Evaluation
Ali Rasool Bakhsh, Nour Internet Company for Telecommunications and Information Technology, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
The emergence of quantum computing poses a significant threat to the cryptographic foundations that secure modern cloud infrastructures. Existing deployments of Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) are largely built on classical cryptographic techniques such as the RSA algorithm and elliptic curve cryptography, which are vulnerable to future quantum attacks. Moreover, current studies offer limited guidance on how PQC can be integrated into cloud-native Zero Trust environments while guaranteeing operational efficiency and addressing adaptive security needs. The present study introduces an Adaptive Post Quantum Zero Trust (Adaptive PQC-ZT) Framework by combining the NIST recommended post quantum cryptographic algorithms with a policy based Crypto-Agility Engine for algorithm dynamic selection based upon Security Sensitivity, Algorithm Characteristics, and Latency. The framework was evaluated using publicly available PQC benchmark dataset containing 37,004 key encapsulation mechanism (KEM) records and 71,456 digital signature records. The analysis examined latency, communication overhead, security levels, and workload suitability for ML-KEM and ML-DSA algorithm families across representative cloud deployment scenarios. The results demonstrate that ML-KEM algorithms provide quantum-resistant key establishment with sub-millisecond latency, while ML-DSA algorithms significantly outperform SPHINCS+ variants in execution efficiency and communication overhead. The proposed Crypto-Agility Engine helps match cryptographic configuration with the needs of different workloads. This allows web applications to run with low latency, while also giving stronger protection to high-security systems such as financial databases. The proposed framework contributes a unified cloud-native security model that blends Zero Trust principles, post-quantum cryptography, benchmark-driven evaluation, and adaptive crypto-agility. This shows practical migration to quantum-safe cloud infrastructures can be done with manageable performance hits. Organizations get a solid path to boost their long-term defense against future quantum threats.
Keywords
Post-Quantum Cryptography, Zero Trust Architecture, Cloud Security, Crypto-Agility, ML-KEM, ML-DSA, Quantum-Safe Networking, Cloud Infrastructure Security, Benchmark Analysis, Quantum-Resilient Computing
