Review of Encryption Techniques: A Comprehensive Survey of Classical, Symmetric, Asymmetric, Homomorphic, Blockchain-Integrated, and Post-Quantum Cryptographic Methods
Jul 2026· International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Studies· 0 citations
TL;DR
Open challenges including Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) performance, post-quantum migration, IoT key management, and regulatory alignment are discussed, followed by a research agenda for the post-quantum era.
Abstract
Encryption is the cornerstone of modern information security, enabling confidential communication across digital infrastructures that span personal devices, enterprise networks, cloud platforms, distributed ledgers, and the Internet of Things. This article provides a structured, in-depth review of encryption techniques documented in twenty-eight authoritative sources. Coverage spans symmetric algorithms (AES, DES, 3DES, Blowfish, RC4), asymmetric methods (RSA, ECC, ElGamal), classical information-theoretically secure ciphers (One-Time Pad), hybrid encryption systems, homomorphic encryption, blockchain, searchable encryption, and post-quantum cryptographic approaches based on lattice problems, code-based assumptions, and hash functions. For each technique, this review examines theoretical foundations, algorithmic structure, operational workflow, practical implementations, computational trade-offs, and security properties under both classical and quantum threat models. Structural process diagrams are provided to illustrate how plaintext is transformed to ciphertext and back under each paradigm. The following metrics were covered during the analysis Recommendations were made on what the best applicable solution across security level, key size, throughput, and quantum resistance demonstrates that no single algorithm universally satisfies all competing demands; hybrid and lattice-based designs represent the most promising directions for future-proof encryption. Open challenges including Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) performance, post-quantum migration, IoT key management, and regulatory alignment are discussed, followed by a research agenda for the post-quantum era.
The analysis indicates a significant prevalence of lattice-based schemes, hybrid strategies, and integrations with blockchain technology, zero-knowledge proofs, federated learning, homomorphic encryption, AI, and Zero Trust architectures, as well as key gaps remain in side-channel evaluation, migration pathways, deployment costs, and real-world validation.
Rodrigo Jara Espinoza, Yohamin Nafit Pimentel Alarcon, Angelo Taco-Jimenez et al.· Interfases· 0 citations
Abstract
Encryption has become the primary mechanism by which compute networks protect the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of data in transit and at rest, with recent measurements indicating that roughly ninety-five percent of web traffic is now encrypted using HTTPS. This near-universal adoption has fundamentally reshaped network security practice: it protects users from eavesdropping and tampering, but it also conceals a growing share of malicious traffic, with industry telemetry reporting that a large majority of cyberattacks now traverse encrypted channels. This paper presents a systematic literature review of encryption in compute networks, organising the field into symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic foundations, transport-layer security protocols, machine-learning-based encrypted traffic analysis, encryption in resource-constrained and Internet-of-Things environments, and the ongoing migration to post-quantum cryptography following the National Institute of Standards and Technology's 2024 finalisation of the ML-KEM, ML-DSA, and SLH-DSA standards. The review examines the datasets, protocols, and evaluation criteria that recur across this literature, presents a case study of post-quantum migration in financial and cloud network infrastructure, and discusses cross-cutting challenges including key management, performance overhead, the tension between traffic visibility and user privacy, the harvest-now-decrypt-later quantum threat, and regulatory fragmentation. The paper concludes by proposing a conceptual layered hybrid-encryption architecture for compute networks that combines classical and post-quantum primitives with privacy-preserving traffic monitoring, and by outlining directions for future research.
Keywords: encryption, compute networks, network security, cryptography, TLS, post-quantum cryptography, encrypted traffic analysis
Dr. S. Karthik Kannan, Santo Mammen Mathew, A. R et al.· International Scientific Jou...· 0 citations
Cryptography is a fundamental pillar of modern cybersecurity, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation in digital communication systems. This paper presents a comprehensive review of classical and modern cryptographic techniques, including symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, and cryptographic hash functions. Widely adopted algorithms such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Rivest -Shamir-Adleman (RSA), and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) are analyzed in terms of performance, security, and application domains. Recent advancements such as homomorphic encryption, blockchain-based cryptography, and post-quantum cryptography are also explored. Comparative analysis highlights trade-offs between computational efficiency, key size, and resistance to emerging threats such as quantum computing. Furthermore, challenges such as key management, scalability, and implementation vulnerabilities are discussed. The paper concludes by identifying future research directions focusing on lightweight, quantum-resistant, and privacy-preserving cryptographic systems for next-generation applications including IoT, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence-driven environments.
Debjit Banerjee, Arnab Acharyya· World Journal of Advanced Re...· 0 citations
This paper examines symmetric-key encryption as a layered security construction, tracing how cryptographic
guarantees propagate from primitive to protocol. The study is conducted as a structured literature review of foundational
and recent (2021–2025) cryptographic research on block cipher modes of operation and their resistance to chosen-plaintext
and chosen-ciphertext attacks. At the foundation lies the block cipher, modeled as a pseudorandom permutation (PRP)
whose security rests on cryptanalytic conjecture rather than provable hardness. Building on this, modes of operation
including ECB, CBC, CFB, OFB, and CTR combine block-cipher calls to encrypt arbitrary-length messages, with security
formally reduced to the underlying PRP assumption under indistinguishability against chosen-plaintext attack (IND-CPA).
The review finds that while CPA security is necessary, it is insufficient for real-world deployment, since adversaries in
network settings routinely gain oracle-like access to decryption; this is evidenced by recurring vulnerabilities such as
padding-oracle attacks and related exploits against CBC-mode TLS. It further finds that the stronger requirement of
indistinguishability under chosen-ciphertext attack (IND-CCA) is achieved through authenticated constructions such as
Encrypt-then-MAC and, increasingly in current practice, integrated Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data
(AEAD) schemes such as AES-GCM. The paper concludes that authenticated encryption should be the default standard in
protocol design, closing the theoretical–practical gap that has historically enabled real-world cryptographic exploits.
Idowu Mayowa Opakunle, Ojoawo Akinwale Olusola, Oladeji Oluwakayode Paul et al.· International Journal of Inn...· 0 citations
This paper provides a comparative analysis of symmetric and asymmetric encryption models within the framework of modern network protocols. The study evaluates the architectural features and performance profiles of AES-256-GCM, ChaCha20-Poly1305, RSA, and ECDH alongside post-quantum primitives defined by FIPS 203–205 standards. It explores their practical integration into TLS 1.3, WireGuard, IPsec IKEv2, SSH, and the Signal Protocol. The authors substantiate the “hybrid transition” concept, advocating for the combination of classical (X25519) and post-quantum (ML-KEM-768) key exchange mechanisms as a baseline architectural standard for the transitional period. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that coupling Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) with post-quantum KEX mechanisms yields a resilient defense against “harvest now, decrypt later” attack vectors.
E. Dzhalmukhambetova, Anna Nikolaevna Tsyguta, Evgeniya Ilyinichna Syachina· SOFT MEASUREMENTS AND COMPUT...· 0 citations
Digital identity is critical, yet centralized providers create single points of failure—breaches have exposed billions of records—and quantum computing threatens the classical public-key cryptography (RSA/ECC) on which these systems rely. We present a system-level integration of blockchain, zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), and post-quantum cryptography (PQC) for privacy-preserving digital identity. A blockchain-based decentralized identifier (DID) system removes central databases; all signing and key-encapsulation operations use lattice-based PQC (CRYSTALS-Dilithium and Kyber); and selective disclosure is provided by Groth16 zk-SNARKs, with revocation via on-chain Merkle non-membership accumulators. We specify the full credential lifecycle—issuance, two-phase authentication, and revocation—with an explicit trust boundary separating the in-circuit Groth16 relation from the off-circuit issuer-signature check. We report a measured evaluation on a reference prototype: under liboqs 0.15.0, Dilithium-II signs/verifies in 0.19/0.06 ms and Kyber-512 encapsulates/decapsulates in 0.018/0.022 ms; a single-authentication Groth16 proof over the 21,715-constraint BN254 credential circuit takes <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\approx 981$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ms (snarkJS) and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\approx 177$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ms (native rapidsnark) on byte-identical inputs, with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\approx 40$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ms verification, a 723-byte proof, and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\approx 243$ </tex-math></inline-formula>,000 gas for on-chain verification on a local EVM. A lifecycle harness with a passing revoked-credential negative test validates correctness. The signing and key-encapsulation layers are quantum-safe under current lattice assumptions; the Groth16 proof layer is classically secure only, and its post-quantum migration is identified as future work. End-to-end credential unforgeability is conditioned on an honest holder wallet performing the off-circuit signature check (Assumption 5). Every quantitative claim is labelled measured [M], simulated [S], assumption [A], or future work [F].
Kushal Sachdeva· IEEE Access· 0 citations
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