What Quantum Hackers Actually Target

What Quantum Hackers Actually Target | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article What Quantum Hackers Actually Target victoria mellor This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8920987/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper presents a formal adversarial methodology, Quantum Adversarial Physics (QAP), for red teaming quantum communication systems, with a focus on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and related quantum protocols. Rather than treating quantum mechanical principles as immutable security guarantees, QAP operationalises them as adversarial variables: coherence times, entanglement correlations, and entropy flows are each reframed as exploitable attack surfaces. The methodology introduces a structured red team lifecycle, a formally grounded threat model, a phase-by-phase attack taxonomy with feasibility assessment, an attack–defence correspondence table, and a principled vulnerability scoring system. This work provides practitioners with a repeatable, physics-aware process for assessing the real-world resilience of quantum systems. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 15 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 26 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 19 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 17 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 13 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 11 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 11 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8920987","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":610030402,"identity":"9e699ce8-b35b-469b-8717-1a27569927dd","order_by":0,"name":"victoria mellor","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"University of Portsmouth","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"victoria","middleName":"","lastName":"mellor","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-19 21:53:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8920987/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8920987/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105564934,"identity":"00cc7cb3-918e-418e-8caf-3263afe70458","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:51:21","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":223980,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"physicallayerattacksonquantumcommunication.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8920987/v1_covered_aeb2b90d-794d-4323-81ad-48f7992a61d1.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"What Quantum Hackers Actually Target","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-quantum-science","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Quantum Science](https://link.springer.com/journal/44464)","snPcode":"44464","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/44464/3","title":"Discover Quantum Science","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Open","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8920987/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8920987/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This paper presents a formal adversarial methodology, Quantum Adversarial Physics (QAP), for red teaming quantum communication systems, with a focus on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and related quantum protocols. 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