The last few decades have seen a large proliferation in the prevalence of cyber-physical systems. This has been especially highlighted by the explosive growth in the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Unfortunately, the increasing prevalence of these devices has begun to draw the attention of malicious entities which exploit them for their own gain. What makes these devices especially attractive is the various resource constraints present in these devices that make it difficult to add standard security features. Therefore, one intriguing research direction is creating security solutions out of already present components such as sensors. Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs) are one potential solution that use intrinsic variations of the device manufacturing process for provisioning security. In this work, we propose a novel weak PUF design using thermistor temperature sensors. Our design uses the differences in resistance variation between thermistors in response to temperature change. To generate a PUF that is reliable across a range of temperatures, we use a response-generation algorithm that helps mitigate the effects of temperature variation on the thermistors. We tested the performance of our proposed design across a range of environmental operating conditions. From this we were able to evaluate the reliability of the proposed PUF with respect to variations in temperature and humidity. We also evaluated the PUF’s uniqueness using Monte Carlo simulations.

Embedded systems that make up the Internet of Things (IoT), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) networks, and Smart Grid applications are coming under increasing scrutiny in the security field. Remote Attestation (RA) is a security mechanism that allows a trusted device, the verifier, to determine the trustworthiness of an untrusted device, the prover. RA has become an area of high interest in academia and industry and many research works on RA have been published in recent years. This paper reviewed the published RA research works from 2003-2020. Our contributions are fourfold. First, we have re-framed the problem of RA into 5 smaller problems: root of trust, evidence type, evidence gathering, packaging and verification, and scalability. We have provided a holistic review of RA by discussing the relationships between these problems and the various solutions that exist in modern RA research. Second, we have presented an enhanced threat model that allows for a greater understanding of the security benefits of a given RA scheme. Third, we have proposed a taxonomy to classify and analyze RA research works and use it to categorize 58 RA schemes reported in literature. Fourth, we have provided cost benefit analysis details of each RA scheme surveyed such that security professionals may perform a cost benefit analysis in the context of their own challenges. Our classification and analysis has revealed areas of future research that have not been addressed by researchers rigorously.

In hybrid quantum systems, the interface between quantum and classical domains is essential for the generation, control, and measurement of quantum states. Quantum-classical interfaces (QCIs) are ubiquitous in devices such as optical modulators, quantum sensors, and signal processors, where classical signals influence quantum dynamics. In this paper, we employ the Lindblad master equation to simulate the evolution of a quantum system interacting with a classical control system. Our model captures both linear and nonlinear interactions by incorporating first- and second-order susceptibilities, and it quantifies the influence of externally applied control parameters on decoherence and state evolution. As an illustrative example, we analyze an optical modulator and demonstrate how variations in material response and drive conditions affect photon statistics, coherence, and phase-space distributions. The findings offer a path to an all-encompassing model for understanding and optimizing QCIs, with wide-ranging implications for the performance, design, and robustness of next-generation quantum devices.

Hybrid quantum–classical systems are emerging as key platforms in quantum computing, sensing, and communication technologies, but the quantum–classical interface (QCI)—the boundary enabling these systems—introduces unique and largely unexplored security vulnerabilities. This position paper proposes using entropy-based metrics to monitor and enhance security, specifically at the QCI. We present a theoretical security outline that leverages well-established information-theoretic entropy measures, such as Shannon entropy, von Neumann entropy, and quantum relative entropy, to detect anomalous behaviors and potential breaches at the QCI. By linking entropy fluctuations to scenarios of practical relevance—including quantum key distribution, quantum sensing, and hybrid control systems—we promote the potential value and applicability of entropy-based security monitoring. While explicitly acknowledging practical limitations and theoretical assumptions, we argue that entropy-based metrics provide a complementary approach to existing security methods, inviting further empirical studies and theoretical refinements that can strengthen future quantum technologies.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Scientific and Technical Information