Concluding Remarks and Summary

Piller, Ernst; Schölnast, Hubert

doi:10.1007/978-3-032-24764-3_9

Content of this chapter

Chapter 9 · Concluding Remarks and Summary

The concluding chapter brings together the comparison of QKD, RKD, and MKD. It evaluates how the three approaches contribute to confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity, and relates their theoretical security promises to practical limits such as key rate, distance, infrastructure, cost, and organizational complexity.

A recurring conclusion is that one-time-pad confidentiality is only realistic when enough truly random key material is available. QKD and RKD can generate physical keys but are constrained by rate, range, and deployment conditions; MKD can transport much larger key volumes but requires secure generation, protected media, and controlled logistics. The chapter therefore distinguishes cryptographic strength from operational feasibility.

The chapter does not present a single universal winner. Instead, it summarizes where each technology fits: QKD for specialized high-security links with significant infrastructure, RKD for low-cost mobile or short-range cases, and MKD where large key volumes and physical transport are acceptable. It closes the book's decision-oriented comparison.

Compares QKD, RKD, and MKD across the book's criteria
Relates one-time-pad security to available key volume
Summarizes infrastructure, cost, and range constraints
Distinguishes theoretical security from deployability
Provides a decision-oriented final assessment

Suggested citation

Reference in IEEE style

E. Piller and H. Schölnast, “Concluding Remarks and Summary,” in Data Encryption at the Intersection of Mathematics and Physics: Comparing Physical Methods of Cryptography. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Cham, 2026, doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-24764-3_9.

Reference in ACM style

Ernst Piller and Hubert Schölnast. 2026. Concluding Remarks and Summary. In Data Encryption at the Intersection of Mathematics and Physics: Comparing Physical Methods of Cryptography. Springer Cham, Cham, Switzerland. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-24764-3_9

BibTeX entry

@incollection{piller_schoelnast_2026_chapter_9_concluding_remarks,
  title     = {Concluding Remarks and Summary},
  author    = {Ernst Piller and Hubert Schölnast},
  booktitle = {Data Encryption at the Intersection of Mathematics and Physics: Comparing Physical Methods of Cryptography},
  publisher = {Springer Cham},
  series    = {SpringerBriefs in Information Security and Cryptography},
  year      = {2026},
  doi       = {10.1007/978-3-032-24764-3_9},
  url       = {https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-032-24764-3_9},
  language  = {en}
}

RIS entry

TY  - CHAP
TI  - Concluding Remarks and Summary
T2  - Data Encryption at the Intersection of Mathematics and Physics: Comparing Physical Methods of Cryptography
AU  - Piller, Ernst
AU  - Schölnast, Hubert
PY  - 2026
PB  - Springer Cham
T3  - SpringerBriefs in Information Security and Cryptography
DO  - 10.1007/978-3-032-24764-3_9
UR  - https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-032-24764-3_9
LA  - en
ER  -

CSL JSON entry

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