The security of the digital certificates used in authenticating network devices relies on cryptographic algorithms like the RSA and ECC, which are vulnerable to quantum attacks. This study addresses the urgent need to secure the Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP), widely used in PKI-based systems, by integrating post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) algorithms—Dilithium, Falcon, and SPHINCS+. The experimental results show that Dilithium2 (1312 bytes) and Falcon512 (897 bytes) offer the best performance and throughput, with Falcon512 also being the most efficient in terms of the storage consumption. This research represents the first integration of PQC algorithms into the SCEP, establishing a foundation for scalable, quantum-resilient certificate enrollment in future PKI systems.

An Identity Management System (IDMS) is responsible for managing and organizing identities and credentials exchanged between users, Identity Providers (IDPs), and Service Providers (SPs). The primary goal of IDMS is to ensure the confidentiality and privacy of users’ personal data. Traditional IDMS relies on a third party to store user information and authenticate the user. However, this approach poses threats to user privacy and increases the risk of single point of failure (SPOF), user tracking, and data unavailability. In contrast, decentralized IDMSs that use blockchain technology offer potential solutions to these issues as they offer powerful features including immutability, transparency, anonymity, and decentralization. Despite its advantages, blockchain technology also suffers from limitations related to performance, third-party control, weak authentication, and data leakages. Furthermore, some blockchain-based IDMSs still exhibit centralization issues, which can compromise user privacy and create SPOF risks. This study proposes a decentralized IDMS that leverages blockchain and smart contract technologies to address the shortcomings of traditional IDMSs. The proposed system also utilizes the Interplanetary file system (IPFS) to enhance the scalability and performance by reducing the on-chain storage load. Additionally, the proposed IDMS employs the Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme (ECIES) to provide an extra layer of security to protect users’ sensitive information while improving the performance of the systems’ transactions. Security analysis and experimental results demonstrated that the proposed IDMS offers significant security and performance advantages compared to its counterparts.

Deepfake technology, driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL), has become one of the foremost threats to digital trust and the authenticity of information. Despite the rapid development of deepfake detection methods, the dynamic evolution of generative models continues to outpace current mitigation efforts. This highlights the pressing need for more effective and proactive deepfake prevention strategy. This study introduces a comprehensive and multifaceted deepfake prevention framework that leverages both technical and non-technical countermeasures and involves collaboration among key stakeholders in a unified structure. The proposed framework has four modules: trusted content assurance, detection and monitoring, awareness and human-in-the-loop verification, and policy, governance, and regulation. The framework uses a combination of hybrid watermarking and embedding techniques, as well as cryptographic digital signature algorithms (DSAs) and blockchain technologies, to make sure that the media is authentic, traceable, and cannot be denied. Comparative experiments were conducted in this research using both classical and post-quantum DSAs to evaluate their efficiency, resource consumption, and gas costs in blockchain operations. The results revealed that the Falcon-512 algorithm outperformed other post-quantum algorithms while consuming fewer resources and lowering gas costs, making it a preferable option for real-time, quantum-resilient deepfake prevention. The framework also employed AI-based detection models and human oversight to enhance detection accuracy and robustness. Overall, this research offers a novel, multifaceted, and governance-aware strategy for deepfake prevention. The proposed approach significantly contributes to mitigating deepfake threats and offers a practical foundation for secure and transparent digital media ecosystems.

Nowadays, technology is increasingly being adopted in different kinds of businesses to process, store, and share sensitive information in digital environments that include enormous numbers of users. However, this has also increased the likelihood of cyberattacks and misuse of information, potentially causing severe damage. One promising technology, which can provide the required security services with an improved level of efficiency, is blockchain. This research explores the use of Ethereum blockchain and smart contracts to create a secure and efficient quality assurance system (QAS) for academic programs. By utilizing blockchain and smart contracts, the proposed approach improves the integrity and reliability of sensitive information processed by the QAS, promotes transparency and governance, and reduces the time and effort required for quality operations. The current approach uses an additional access control layer to further enhance user privacy. Smart contracts automate various quality transactions and saves time and resources, and hence increases the efficiency of the QAS. The interplanetary file system (IPFS) is used to address the challenge of size limitations in blockchain. Additionally, this research investigates the use of various cryptographic schemes to provide robust security services at the application layer. The experimental results showed that the use of a hybrid cryptosystem relying on an Elliptic curve digital signature and AES encryption (AES_ECCDSA) outperforms other counterparts’ cryptosystems using an RSA digital signature and AES encryption (AES_RSADSA) and Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme (ECIES) in terms of speed. The performance results showed that AES_ECCDSA consumes 188 ms to perform the required cryptographic operations for a standard-quality document with a size of 8088 KB, compared to the 231 ms and 739 ms consumed by the AES_RSADSA and ECIES schemes, respectively. This study presents a prototype implementation of the blockchain-based QAS, which outlines the processing model and system requirements for key QAS processes. It has been found that the cost and time required for blockchain operations vary depending on the size of the input data—a larger data size requires more time and costs more to process. The results of the current study showed that the time delay for blockchain transactions ranges from 15 to 120 s, while the cost ranges from USD 50 to USD 400. This research provides evidence that blockchain and smart contract technologies have the potential to create a secure, efficient, and trustworthy QAS environment for academic programs.

Power quality disturbance (PQD) signal classification is crucial for the real-time monitoring of modern power grids, assuring safe and reliable operation and user safety. Traditional power quality disturbance signal classification approaches are sensitive to noise, feature selection, etc. This study introduces a novel approach utilizing a data-driven convolutional neural network (CNN) to improve the effectiveness of power quality disturbance signal classification. Deep learning has been successfully used in various fields of recognition, yielding promising outcomes. Deep learning is often characterized as a complex system, with its filters and layers being determined through empirical investigations. A deep learning model was developed for the purpose of classifying PQDs, with the aim of narrowing down the search for unidentified PQDs to a specific problem domain. This approach demonstrates a high level of efficiency in accelerating the process of recognizing PQDs among a vast database of PQDs. In order to automatically identify the number of filters and the number of layers in the model in a PQD dataset, the proposed model uses pyramidal clustering, the Fukunaga–Koontz transform, and the ratio of the between-class scatter to the within-class scatter. The suggested model was assessed using the synthetic dataset generated, with and without the presence of noise. The proposed models outperformed both well-known pre-trained models and state-of-the-art PQD classification techniques in terms of classification accuracy.

This paper proposes a new approach to integrating Q learning into the fuzzy linear programming (FLP) paradigm to improve peer selection in P2P networks. Using Q learning, the proposed method employs real-time feedback to adjust and update peer selection policies. The FLP framework enriches this process by dealing with imprecise information through fuzzy logic. It is used to achieve multiple objectives, such as enhancing the throughput rate, reducing the delay, and guaranteeing a reliable connection. This integration effectively solves the problem of network uncertainty, making the network configuration more stable and flexible. It is also important to note that throughout the use of the Q-learning agent in the network, various state metric indicators, including available bandwidth, latency, packet drop rates, and connectivity of nodes, are observed and recorded. It then selects actions by choosing optimal peers for each node and updating a Q table that defines states and actions based on these performance indices. This reward system guides the agent’s learning, refining its peer selection policy over time. The FLP framework supports the Q-learning agent by providing optimized solutions that balance conflicting objectives under uncertain conditions. Fuzzy parameters capture variability in network metrics, and the FLP model solves a fuzzy linear programming problem, offering guidelines for the Q-learning agent’s decisions. The proposed method is evaluated under different experimental settings to reveal its effectiveness. The Erdos–Renyi model simulation is used, and it shows that throughput increased by 21% and latency decreased by 40%. The computational efficiency was also notably improved, with computation times diminishing by up to five orders of magnitude compared to traditional methods.