Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1110.5721

The Security of SARG04 Protocol in Plug and Play Quantum Key Distribution system with an Untrusted Source

Bingjie Xu, Xiang Peng, Hong Guo

Published Oct 26, 2011• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The SARG04 protocol is one of the most frequently used protocol in commercial plug-and-play quantum key distribution (QKD) system, where an eavesdropper can completely control or change the photon number statistics of the QKD source. To ensure the security of SARG04 protocol in plug-and-play QKD system with an unknown and untrusted source, the bounds of a few statistical parameters of the source need to be monitored. An active or a passive source monitor schemes are proposed to verify these parameters. Furthermore, the practical issues due to statistical fluctuation and detection noise in the source monitoring process are quantitatively analyzed. Our simulation results show that the passive scheme can be efficiently applied to plug-and-play system with SARG04 protocol.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1110.5721

Related papers

The security of SARG04 protocol in plug and play QKD system with an untrusted source

Bingjie Xu, Xiang Peng, Hong Mei Guo

The SARG04 protocol is one of the most frequently used protocol in commercial plug-and-play quantum key distribution (QKD) system, where an eavesdropper can completely control or change the photon number statistics of the QKD source. To ensure the security of SARG04 protocol in plug-and-play QKD system with an unknown and untrusted source, the bounds of a few statistical parameters of the source need to be monitored. An active or a passive source monitor schemes are proposed to verify these parameters. Furthermore, the practical issues due to statistical fluctuation and detection noise in the source monitoring process are quantitatively analyzed. Our simulation results show that the passive scheme can be efficiently applied to plug-and-play system with SARG04 protocol.

Quantum Information and Computation•Jul 1, 2012•2 citations

The security of SARG04 protocol in plug and play QKD system with an untrusted source

XuBingjie, PengXiang, Guohong

The SARG04 protocol is one of the most frequently used protocol in commercial plug-and-play quantum key distribution (QKD) system, where an eavesdropper can completely control or change the photon ...

Quantum Information and Computation•Jul 1, 2012•0 citations

Source monitor in quantum key distribution

Xiang Peng, Hong Mei Guo

The core value of a quantum-key-distribution (QKD) system is the unconditional security. In the standard security analysis, the characteristics of QKD source are assumed to be known and fixed. In a real QKD experiment, this assumption may be deviated. Especially, in commercial Plug&Play QKD system, the source is untrusted. Source monitor can close this security loophole. This paper analyzes passive source-monitor scheme, and shows that this scheme can be well implemented in practice.

URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium•Aug 1, 2011•0 citations

Security Analysis of an Untrusted Source for Quantum Key Distribution: Passive Approach

Yi Bing Zhao, Bing Qi, Hoi‐Kwong Lo +1 more

We present a passive approach to the security analysis of quantum key distribution (QKD) with an untrusted source. A complete proof of its unconditional security is also presented. This scheme has significant advantages in real-life implementations as it does not require fast optical switching or a quantum random number generator. The essential idea is to use a beam splitter to split each input pulse. We show that we can characterize the source using a cross-estimate technique without active routing of each pulse. We have derived analytical expressions for the passive estimation scheme. Moreover, using simulations, we have considered four real-life imperfections: Additional loss introduced by the "plug & play" structure, inefficiency of the intensity monitor, noise of the intensity monitor, and statistical fluctuation introduced by finite data size. Our simulation results show that the passive estimate of an untrusted source remains useful in practice, despite these four imperfections. Also, we have performed preliminary experiments, confirming the utility of our proposal in real-life applications. Our proposal makes it possible to implement the "plug & play" QKD with the security guaranteed, while keeping the implementation practical.

•Aug 14, 2016•29 citations

Passive-scheme analysis for solving the untrusted source problem in quantum key distribution

Xiang Peng, Bingjie Xu, Hong Mei Guo

As a practical method, the passive scheme is useful to monitor the photon statistics of an untrusted source in a ``Plug Play'' quantum key distribution (QKD) system. In a passive scheme, three kinds of monitor mode can be adopted: average photon number (APN) monitor, photon number analyzer (PNA), and photon number distribution (PND) monitor. In this paper, the security analysis is rigorously given for the APN monitor, while for the PNA, the analysis, including statistical fluctuation and random noise, is addressed with a confidence level. The results show that the PNA can achieve better performance than the APN monitor and can asymptotically approach the theoretical limit of the PND monitor. Also, the passive scheme with the PNA works efficiently when the signal-to-noise ratio (${\mathrm{R}}^{\mathrm{SN}}$) is not too low and so is highly applicable to solve the untrusted source problem in the QKD system.

arXiv:0908.1641•Physical Review A•Apr 23, 2010•21 citations

Quantum key distribution with an unknown and untrusted source

Yi Bing Zhao, Bing Qi, Hoi‐Kwong Lo

The security of a standard bidirectional ``plug-and-play'' quantum key distribution (QKD) system has been an open question for a long time. This is mainly because its source is equivalently controlled by an eavesdropper, which means the source is unknown and untrusted. Qualitative discussion on this subject has been made previously. In this paper, we solve this question directly by presenting the quantitative security analysis on a general class of QKD protocols whose sources are unknown and untrusted. The securities of standard Bennett-Brassard 1984 protocol, $\text{weak}+\text{vacuum}$ decoy state protocol, and one-decoy state protocol, with unknown and untrusted sources are rigorously proved. We derive rigorous lower bounds to the secure key generation rates of the above three protocols. Our numerical simulation results show that QKD with an untrusted source gives a key generation rate that is close to that with a trusted source.

arXiv:0802.2725•Physical Review A•May 20, 2008•119 citations
The SARG04 protocol is one of the most frequently used protocol in commercial plug-and-play quantum key distribution (QKD) system, where an eavesdropper can completely control or change the photon number statistics of the QKD source. To ensure the security of SARG04 protocol in plug-and-play QKD system with an unknown and untrusted source, the bounds of a few statistical parameters of the source need to be monitored. An active or a passive source monitor schemes are proposed to verify these parameters. Furthermore, the practical issues due to statistical fluctuation and detection noise in the source monitoring process are quantitatively analyzed. Our simulation results show that the passive scheme can be efficiently applied to plug-and-play system with SARG04 protocol.
The SARG04 protocol is one of the most frequently used protocol in commercial plug-and-play quantum key distribution (QKD) system, where an eavesdropper can completely control or change the photon number statistics of the QKD source. To ensure the security of SARG04 protocol in plug-and-play QKD system with an unknown and untrusted source, the bounds of a few statistical parameters of the source need to be monitored. An active or a passive source monitor schemes are proposed to verify these parameters. Furthermore, the practical issues due to statistical fluctuation and detection noise in the source monitoring process are quantitatively analyzed. Our simulation results show that the passive scheme can be efficiently applied to plug-and-play system with SARG04 protocol.
We present a passive approach to the security analysis of quantum key distribution (QKD) with an untrusted source. A complete proof of its unconditional security is also presented. This scheme has significant advantages in real-life implementations as it does not require fast optical switching or a quantum random number generator. The essential idea is to use a beam splitter to split each input pulse. We show that we can characterize the source using a cross-estimate technique without active routing of each pulse. We have derived analytical expressions for the passive estimation scheme. Moreover, using simulations, we have considered four real-life imperfections: Additional loss introduced by the "plug & play" structure, inefficiency of the intensity monitor, noise of the intensity monitor, and statistical fluctuation introduced by finite data size. Our simulation results show that the passive estimate of an untrusted source remains useful in practice, despite these four imperfections. Also, we have performed preliminary experiments, confirming the utility of our proposal in real-life applications. Our proposal makes it possible to implement the "plug & play" QKD with the security guaranteed, while keeping the implementation practical.
As a practical method, the passive scheme is useful to monitor the photon statistics of an untrusted source in a ``Plug Play'' quantum key distribution (QKD) system. In a passive scheme, three kinds of monitor mode can be adopted: average photon number (APN) monitor, photon number analyzer (PNA), and photon number distribution (PND) monitor. In this paper, the security analysis is rigorously given for the APN monitor, while for the PNA, the analysis, including statistical fluctuation and random noise, is addressed with a confidence level. The results show that the PNA can achieve better performance than the APN monitor and can asymptotically approach the theoretical limit of the PND monitor. Also, the passive scheme with the PNA works efficiently when the signal-to-noise ratio (RSN{\mathrm{R}}^{\mathrm{SN}}RSN) is not too low and so is highly applicable to solve the untrusted source problem in the QKD system.
The security of a standard bidirectional ``plug-and-play'' quantum key distribution (QKD) system has been an open question for a long time. This is mainly because its source is equivalently controlled by an eavesdropper, which means the source is unknown and untrusted. Qualitative discussion on this subject has been made previously. In this paper, we solve this question directly by presenting the quantitative security analysis on a general class of QKD protocols whose sources are unknown and untrusted. The securities of standard Bennett-Brassard 1984 protocol, weak+vacuum\text{weak}+\text{vacuum}weak+vacuum decoy state protocol, and one-decoy state protocol, with unknown and untrusted sources are rigorously proved. We derive rigorous lower bounds to the secure key generation rates of the above three protocols. Our numerical simulation results show that QKD with an untrusted source gives a key generation rate that is close to that with a trusted source.