Use Case 3 - Quantum-resilient communications in industrial manufacturing and trustworthy residential environments for full automation, control and operation

 6G-CATS delivers a hybrid QKD/PQC cryptographic stack to industrial and residential environments, while including AI-driven detection of tampering attempts along the 6G network. The 6G network will support a diverse range of applications across industrial, residential, and commercial environments, requiring security mechanisms that can address heterogeneous user needs and service requirements. In this context, 6G-CATS focuses on several representative use cases. The secure control and monitoring of high-value assets in industrial manufacturing and energy storage environments will be enabled through secure IoT gateways that establish VPN connections protected by hybrid Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) mechanisms over fixed and wireless links within regional intra-city deployments.

 For residential users, secure network access will rely on intent-driven identification and translation of security service-level requirements, allowing the 6G network to dynamically select the most appropriate security enablers, including fixed and wireless optical quantum channels, RF-based PQC, and entanglement distribution, based on application needs and user intent identified through chatbot-assisted interaction. In addition, the detection of physical-layer tampering attempts will be achieved through seamless fiber-optic sensing deployed along the 6G infrastructure, with AI-based analysis enabling the identification of intrusion attempts targeting critical network assets, such as street cabinets and other elements of the outside network plant.