Addressing security issues in Industry 4.0 through quantum key distribution

Industry 4.0 is a recent manufacturing paradigm based on the automation and digitalization of industrial processes, leveraging the interconnection of systems and processes through automation and data exchange. Despite the fact that the fourth “industrial revolution” has not yet reached its maturity and is not being widely implemented, engineers have already outlined the characteristics and goals of the upcoming fifth one. On the other hand, quantum technologies – quantum computing, sensing and communication – will soon become another point of rupture for society and industry, with a quantum-driven technological revolution expected in the next two decades. In this paper, we show that quantum key distribution, an emerging technique for secure communication, can be readily employed in Industry 4.0 to address a number of safety and privacy issues. In fact, due to the reliance of this industrial model on interconnectivity and data, cyberattacks can pose threats to production systems and infrastructures such as power grids or water treatment facilities. This threat also increases with the level of automation, digitalization, and remote control. Moreover, data can be stolen and misused both at a personal level and for collective exploitation. We simulate the transmission of sensitive data within a power plant, encryption through quantum key distribution and tentative eavesdropping, to demonstrate that this approach ensures theoretically complete security in data transmission.