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arXiv:2003.12225

Asymptotically Secure Network Code for Active Attacks and its Application to Network Quantum Key Distribution

Masahito Hayashi, Ning Cai

Published Mar 27, 2020• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

When there exists a malicious attacker in the network, we need to be careful of eavesdropping and contamination. This problem is crucial for network communication when the network is realized by a partially trusted relay of quantum key distribution. We discuss the asymptotic rate in a linear network with the secrecy and robustness conditions when the above type of attacker exists. Also, under the same setting, we discuss the asymptotic rate in a linear network when we impose the secrecy condition alone. Then, we apply these results to the network composed of a partially trusted relay of quantum key distribution, which enables us to realize secure long-distance communication via short-distance quantum key distribution.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2003.12225

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When there exists a malicious attacker in the network, we need to be careful of eavesdropping and contamination. This problem is crucial for network communication when the network is realized by a partially trusted relay of quantum key distribution. We discuss the asymptotic rate in a linear network with the secrecy and robustness conditions when the above type of attacker exists. Also, under the same setting, we discuss the asymptotic rate in a linear network when we impose the secrecy condition alone. Then, we apply these results to the network composed of a partially trusted relay of quantum key distribution, which enables us to realize secure long-distance communication via short-distance quantum key distribution.
When there exists a malicious attacker in the network, we need to be careful of eavesdropping and contamination. This problem is crucial for network communication when the network is realized by a partially trusted relay of quantum key distribution. We discuss the asymptotic rate in a linear network with the secrecy and robustness conditions when the above type of attacker exists. Also, under the same setting, we discuss the asymptotic rate in a linear network when we impose the secrecy condition alone.
In network coding, we discuss the effect of sequential error injection on information leakage. We show that there is no improvement when the operations in the network are linear operations. However, when the operations in the network contains non-linear operations, we find a counterexample to improve Eve's obtained information. Furthermore, we discuss the asymptotic rate in a linear network under the secrecy and robustness conditions as well as under the secrecy condition alone. Finally, we apply our results to network quantum key distribution, which clarifies the type of network that enables us to realize secure long distance communication via short distance quantum key distribution.
As a promising application of quantum information technology, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) can provide information-theoretically secure key exchange for adjacent communication parties. To achieve long-distance secure communication and scale expansion against inherent channel loss, trusted relays, which are assumed to be absolutely secure, are introduced into QKD networks. However, in practice, trusted relays may be compromised by attacks from ubiquitous eavesdroppers even protected by powerful hardware. Thus, how to ensure the security of end-to-end key distribution in partially-trusted relay QKD networks with the coexistence of trusted relays and untrusted relays becomes a challenging but urgent problem to be solved. To address this critical problem, in this article, we design a segment-based multipath key distribution method. The basic idea of the method is to maximize the security of the end-to-end key distribution through the segment-based multipath key distribution. Under the premise of security level requirements, we further propose a flexible key reconstruction scheme to improve the efficiency of key distribution and obtain available secret keys as many as possible. The extensive simulations are conducted and the results reveal that our method significantly outperforms the traditional multipath QKD method in terms of both security and efficiency.
The long-distance transmission of quantum secret key is a challenge for quantum communication. As far as the current relay technology is concerned, the trusted relay technology is a more practical scheme. However, the trusted relay technology requires every relay node to be trusted, but in practical applications, the security of some relay nodes cannot be guaranteed. How to overcome the security problem of trusted relay technology and realize the security key distribution of remote quantum network has become a new problem. Therefore, in this paper, a method of quantum key distribution in ring network is proposed under the condition of the coexistence of trusted and untrusted repeaters, and proposes a partially-trusted based routing algorithm (PT-RA). This scheme effectively solves the security problem of key distribution in ring backbone network. And simulation results show that PT-RA can significantly improve key distribution success rate compared with the original trusted relay technology.
We consider the secure quantum communication over a network with the presence of a malicious adversary who can eavesdrop and contaminate the states. The network consists of noiseless quantum channels with the unit capacity and the nodes which applies noiseless quantum operations. As the main result, when the maximum number m1of the attacked channels over the entire network uses is less than a half of the network transmission rate m0(i.e., m10/2), our code implements secret and correctable quantum communication of the rate m0- 2m1by using the network asymptotic number of times. Our code is universal in the sense that the code is constructed without the knowledge of the specific node operations and the network topology, but instead, every node operation is constrained to the application of an invertible matrix to the basis states. Moreover, our code requires no classical communication. Our code can be thought of as a generalization of the quantum secret sharing.
Abstract Secure key distribution is crucial for maintaining communication confidentiality in networks with multiple communicating partners. Asymmetric key algorithms are vulnerable to quantum attacks because of the computational advantage offered by quantum computers, whereas symmetric key algorithms with sufficiently large keys remain comparatively more resistant. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) has emerged as a promising quantum-secure key distribution technique based on the principles of quantum physics. However, practical QKD networks often rely on relay nodes to extend communication distance, and malicious relay nodes can compromise quantum keys during the relaying process. This study proposes a secure key relaying approach based on Shamir's Secret Sharing to mitigate this vulnerability. The proposed method uses a probabilistic behavioural model to assess relay nodes according to their curiosity and collaboration tendencies. By splitting a quantum key into multiple shares and routing them through paths with minimum compromise risk, the approach reduces exposure to malicious or colluding relay nodes. The proposed algorithm assigns risk to network paths by evaluating node-level curiosity and collaboration potential, determines the appropriate number of shares, and selects secure routing paths to minimise key compromise. The study further analyses the parameters influencing the ideal number of shares for a given network, thereby offering a resilient mechanism for quantum-safe communication in QKD networks with malicious relay nodes.