Detector-device-independent quantum key distribution (DDI-QKD) held the promise of being robust to detector side channels, a major security loophole in quantum key distribution (QKD) implementations. In contrast to what has been claimed, however, we demonstrate that the security of DDI-QKD is not based on postselected entanglement, and we introduce various eavesdropping strategies that show that DDI-QKD is in fact insecure against detector side-channel attacks as well as against other attacks that exploit devices' imperfections of the receiver. Our attacks are valid even when the QKD apparatuses are built by the legitimate users of the system themselves, and thus, free of malicious modifications, which is a key assumption in DDI-QKD.
Detector-device-independent quantum key distribution (DDI-QKD) held the promise of being robust to detector side channels, a major security loophole in quantum key distribution (QKD) implementations. In contrast to what has been claimed, however, we demonstrate that the security of DDI-QKD is not based on postselected entanglement, and we introduce various eavesdropping strategies that show that DDI-QKD is in fact insecure against detector side-channel attacks as well as against other attacks that exploit devices' imperfections of the receiver. Our attacks are valid even when the QKD apparatuses are built by the legitimate users of the system themselves, and thus, free of malicious modifications, which is a key assumption in DDI-QKD.
One of the most pressing issues in quantum key distribution (QKD) is the problem of detector side-channel attacks. To overcome this problem, researchers proposed an elegant “time-reversal” QKD protocol called measurement-device-independent QKD (MDI-QKD), which is based on time-reversed entanglement swapping. However, MDI-QKD is more challenging to implement than standard point-to-point QKD. Recently, an intermediary QKD protocol called detector-device-independent QKD (DDI-QKD) has been proposed to overcome the drawbacks of MDI-QKD, with the hope that it would eventually lead to a more efficient detector side-channel-free QKD system. Here, we analyze the security of DDI-QKD and elucidate its security assumptions. We find that DDI-QKD is not equivalent to MDI-QKD, but its security can be demonstrated with reasonable assumptions. On the more practical side, we consider the feasibility of DDI-QKD and present a fast experimental demonstration (clocked at 625 MHz), capable of secret key exchange up to more than 90 km.
Side-channel attacks currently constitute the main challenge for quantum key distribution (QKD) to bridge theory with practice. So far two main approaches have been introduced to address this problem, (full) device-independent QKD and measurement-device-independent QKD. Here we present a third solution that might exceed the performance and practicality of the previous two in circumventing detector side-channel attacks, which arguably is the most hazardous part of QKD implementations. Our proposal has, however, one main requirement: the legitimate users of the system need to ensure that their labs do not leak any unwanted information to the outside. The security in the low-loss regime is guaranteed, while in the high-loss regime we already prove its robustness against some eavesdropping strategies.
Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) protocol has been demonstrated as a viable solution to detector side-channel attacks. Recently, to bridge the strong security of MDI-QKD with the high efficiency of conventional QKD, the detector-device-independent (DDI) QKD has been proposed. One crucial assumption made in DDI-QKD is that the untrusted Bell state measurement (BSM) located inside the receiver's laboratory cannot send any unwanted information to the outside. Here, we show that if the BSM is completely untrusted, a simple scheme would allow the BSM to send information to the outside. Combined with Trojan horse attacks, this scheme could allow an eavesdropper to gain information of the quantum key without being detected. To prevent the above attack, either countermeasures to Trojan horse attacks or some trustworthiness to the ``untrusted'' BSM device is required.
Cryptography is essential for secure communication in the digital era. Today, public-key cryptography is widely employed, and has provided an efficient method for encrypting content and ensuring both confidentiality and authenticity of electronic communications. However, the security of these systems is based on assumptions of computational hardness within the constraints of current computing capability. Thus, as quantum computing becomes a reality, public-key algorithms will be genuinely vulnerable to attack. By contrast, quantum cryptography, which is based on quantum physics instead of mathematical assumptions, is able to achieve information-theoretic security. \n \nAdvances in practical quantum cryptographic systems have not kept pace with theory, where an eavesdropper can relatively easily exploit loopholes in practical implementations to compromise theory-proved security. Bridging the gap between perfect theory and imperfect practice has become a priority for the growing field of quantum key distribution (QKD), which has strived to strengthen the practical security of QKD systems. Among all the countermeasures against quantum hacking, the measurement-device-independent (MDI) QKD protocol is promising because it is immune to all side-channel attacks on measurement devices. However, the MDI QKD protocol has some limitations that critically restrict its practical usefulness. Technically, the MDI scheme is not compatible with existing QKD systems, and produces a low key rate. In addition, the theory underlying MDI QKD security is based on the use of trusted source stations. Thus, this protocol is not a universal solution. This thesis further investigates the practical security of quantum cryptography in and beyond MDI quantum cryptography. \n \nTo overcome the technical limitations of MDI QKD, we first evaluate two other countermeasures against imperfect detections. The first is an industrial patch based on random detection efficiency, recently implemented by ID Quantique in the commercial Clavis2 QKD system. While powerful, experimental testing shows that this countermeasure is not sufficient to defeat the detector blinding attack. The second countermeasure aims to achieve a higher key rate than MDI QKD while maintaining the same security properties. However, our research shows that detector-device-independent (DDI) QKD security is not equivalent to that of MDI QKD and, further, that DDI QKD is insecure against detector side-channel attacks. \n \nWhile this initial work points to the superior performance of MDI QKD systems, core challenges remain. The fundamental security assumption adopted for MDI QKD systems, regarding the exclusive use of trustable source stations, cannot always be satisfied in practice. Our study revealed several side channels of source devices. The first is disclosed from the implementation of a decoy-state protocol, which is widely used in QKD systems with weak coherent sources. The pump-current-modulated intensities result in a timing mismatch between the signal and decoy states, violating the key assumption in the decoy-state QKD protocol. Moreover, an active Eve can break the basic assumption about photon numbers in the QKD system. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate a laser seeding attack on the laser source, which shows that Eve can increase the emission power of the laser diode. Furthermore, by shining a high-power laser into an optical attenuator, Eve can decrease the attenuation values. The increase in laser emission power and the decrease in attenuation leads to an increase in mean photon numbers. \n \nIn summary, MDI QKD is a milestone in quantum cryptography. However, this thesis indicates the importance of continued investigations into the practical security of MDI QKD. The analysis of practical security should be extended to other countermeasures against side-channel attacks and the source stations in MDI QKD systems. Practical quantum hacking and security analysis promote the development of quantum cryptographic systems, which will eventually achieve the unconditional security claimed in theory.
Compared with the traditional BB84 protocol, the counterfactual quantum key distribution (QKD) does not rely on any signal travelling in the quantum channel, and therefore can present a security advantage where Eve cannot fully access signal. However, the practical system may be damaged in a scenario where the devices are untrusted. In this paper, we analyze the security of counterfactual QKD in untrusted detectors scenario. We show that the requirement to disclose "which detector clicked" has become the main loophole in all counterfactual QKD versions. An eavesdropping scheme which is similar to the memory attack on device-independent QKD could break its security by exploiting detectors' imperfections. We consider two different counterfactual QKD protocols and analyze their security against this major loophole. One is a modified Noh09 protocol, which would be secure in untrusted detectors context. Another is a variant of counterfactual QKD with high efficiency (Phys. Rev. A 104 (2021) 022424) against a series of detectors side-channel attacks as well as against other attacks that exploit detectors imperfections.
Recently, to bridge the gap between security of Measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) and a high key rate, a novel protocol, the so-called detector-device-independent QKD (DDI-QKD), has been independently proposed by several groups and has attracted great interest. A higher key rate is obtained, since a single photon bell state measurement (BSM) setup is applied to DDI-QKD. Subsequently, Qi has proposed two attacks for this protocol. However, the first attack, in which Bob's BSM setup is assumed to be completely a "black box", is easily prevented by using some additional monitoring devices or by specifically characterizing the BSM. The second attack, which combines the blinding attack and the detector wavelength-dependent efficiency, is not explicitly discussed, and its feasibility is not experimentally confirmed. Here, we show that the second attack is not technically viable because of an intrinsically wavelength-dependent property of a realistic beam splitter, which is an essential component in DDI-QKD. Moreover, we propose a feasible attack that combines a well-known attack-detector blinding attack with intrinsic imperfections of single-photon detectors. The experimental measurement and proof-of-principle test results confirm that our attack can allow Eve to get a copy of quantum keys without being detected and that it is feasible with current technology.