Known key exchange schemes offering information-theoretic (unconditional) security are complex and costly to implement. Nonetheless, they remain the only known methods for achieving unconditional security in key exchange. Therefore, the explorations for simpler solutions for information-theoretic security are highly justified. Lin et al. [1] proposed an interesting hardware key distribution scheme that utilizes thermal-noise-free resistances and DC voltages. A crypto analysis of this system is presented. It is shown that, if Eve gains access to the initial shared secret at any time in the past or future, she can successfully crack all the generated keys in the past and future, even retroactively, using passively obtained and recorded voltages and currents. Therefore, the scheme is not a secure key exchanger, but it is rather a key expander with no more information entropy than the originally shared secret at the beginning. We also point out that the proposed defense methods against active attacks do not function when the original shared secret is compromised because then the communication cannot be efficiently authenticated. However, they do work when an unconditionally secure key exchanger is applied to enable the authenticated communication protocol.
Known key exchange schemes offering information-theoretic (unconditional) security are complex and costly to implement. Nonetheless, they remain the only known methods for achieving unconditional security in key exchange. Therefore, the explorations for simpler solutions for information-theoretic security are highly justified. Lin et al. [1] proposed an interesting hardware key distribution scheme that utilizes thermal-noise-free resistances and DC voltages. A crypto analysis of this system is presented. It is shown that, if Eve gains access to the initial shared secret at any time in the past or future, she can successfully crack all the generated keys in the past and future, even retroactively, using passively obtained and recorded voltages and currents. Therefore, the scheme is not a secure key exchanger, but it is rather a key expander with no more information entropy than the originally shared secret at the beginning. We also point out that the proposed defense methods against active attacks do not function when the original shared secret is compromised because then the communication cannot be efficiently authenticated. However, they do work when an unconditionally secure key exchanger is applied to enable the authenticated communication protocol.
The Flip-KLJN scheme, recently proposed as an enhancement to the Kirchhoff-Law-Johnson-Noise (KLJN) secure key exchange protocol, claims to enable secure bit exchange in the previously discarded LL and HH states by introducing a bit-flipping mechanism. We show this claim is invalid. Because the mean-square noise voltages of the LL and HH states are distinguishable, they uniquely reveal both parties' resistor choices. The proposed flip operation is a deterministic bit permutation, equivalent to a NOT gate, and therefore cannot generate new entropy. Once the HL/LH case-which holds the only true security-is cracked, the entire flip mapping is exposed, retroactively and prospectively. This means that the security of all LL and HH states depends solely on a single secret: the current mapping of the bit flip schedule. Should an attacker learn this mapping (even just once), every corresponding LL and HH bit-past and future-is immediately compromised, reducing the security of half the message to only a one-bit secret. Hence the scheme does not expand secrecy, only the key length, and functions as a poor deterministic key expander, similar to the LIJK "noise-free" system previously analyzed by Kish (2024). Flip-KLJN therefore fails to provide information-theoretic security and cannot serve as a true secure key exchanger.
A secure key distribution (exchange) scheme is unconditionally secure if it is unbreakable against arbitrary technological improvements of computing power and/or any development of new algorithms. There are only two families of experimentally realized and tested unconditionally secure key distribution technologies: quantum key distribution (QKD), the base of quantum cryptography, which utilizes quantum physical photonic features, and the Kirchhoff-Law–Johnson-Noise (KLJN) system that is based on classical statistical physics (fluctuation–dissipation theorem). The focus topic of this paper is the thermodynamical situation of the KLJN system. In all the original works, the proposed KLJN schemes required thermal equilibrium between the devices of the communicating parties to achieve perfect security. However, Vadai et al., in (Nature) Sci. Rep. 5, 13653 (2015) show a modified scheme, where there is a non-zero thermal noise energy flow between the parties, yet the system seems to resist all the known attack types. We introduce an attack type against their system. The attack utilizes coincidence events between the line current and voltages. We show that there is a non-zero information leak toward the Eavesdropper, even under idealized conditions. As soon as the thermal equilibrium is restored, the system becomes perfectly secure again. In conclusion, perfect unconditional security requires thermal equilibrium.
Recently, Bennett and Riedel (BR) (http://arxiv.org/abs/1303.7435v1) argued that thermodynamics is not essential in the Kirchhoff-law-Johnson-noise (KLJN) classical physical cryptographic exchange method in an effort to disprove the security of the KLJN scheme. They attempted to demonstrate this by introducing a dissipation-free deterministic key exchange method with two batteries and two switches. In the present paper, we first show that BR's scheme is unphysical and that some elements of its assumptions violate basic protocols of secure communication. All our analyses are based on a technically unlimited Eve with infinitely accurate and fast measurements limited only by the laws of physics and statistics. For non-ideal situations and at active (invasive) attacks, the uncertainly principle between measurement duration and statistical errors makes it impossible for Eve to extract the key regardless of the accuracy or speed of her measurements. To show that thermodynamics and noise are essential for the security, we crack the BR system with 100% success via passive attacks, in ten different ways, and demonstrate that the same cracking methods do not function for the KLJN scheme that employs Johnson noise to provide security underpinned by the Second Law of Thermodynamics. We also present a critical analysis of some other claims by BR; for example, we prove that their equations for describing zero security do not apply to the KLJN scheme. Finally we give mathematical security proofs for each BR-attack against the KLJN scheme and conclude that the information theoretic (unconditional) security of the KLJN method has not been successfully challenged.
The Kirchhoff-Law-Johnson-Noise unconditionally secure key exchanger is a promising, surprisingly simple, very low cost and efficient electronic alternative to quantum key distribution. A few resistors, switches, and interconnecting cables can provide unconditionally secure data transmission in the ideal case by utilizing the thermal noise of the resistors. The key problems regarding practical realizations are related to the resistance tolerance, finite cable resistance, and other non-ideal properties that can cause information leak. In this paper, we present robust protection from cable resistance and resistance mismatch attacks against the system. Our theoretical results show that all resistive inaccuracies, parasitic resistances, cable resistance, and temperature dependence can be compensated; therefore, the practical implementation becomes much easier. The generalized method provides inherent protection against the so-called second law attack as well.
Unconditionally secure physical key distribution schemes are very slow, and it is practically impossible to use a one-time-pad based cipher to guarantee unconditional security for the encryption of data because using the key bits more than once gives out statistical information, for example via the known-plain-text-attack or by utilizing known components of the protocol and language statistics. Here, we outline a protocol that reduces this speed problem and allows almost-one-time-pad based communication with an unconditionally secure physical key of finite length. The physical, unconditionally secure key is not used for data encryption but is employed in order to generate and share a new software-based key without any known-plain-text component. The software-only-based key distribution is then changed from computationally secure to unconditionally secure, because the communicated key-exchange data (algorithm parameters, one-way functions of random numbers, etc.) are encrypted in an unconditionally secure way with a one-time-pad. For practical applications, this combined physical/software key distribution based communication looks favorable compared to the software-only and physical-only key distribution based communication whenever the speed of the physical key distribution is much lower than that of the software-based key distribution. A mathematical security proof of this new scheme remains an open problem.
The unconditionally (that is, information theoretically) secure Kirchhoff-law-Johnson-noise (KLJN) key exchanger operates with two pairs of resistors, one at Alice's side and another one at Bob's end.Whenever the cable resistance is not negligible, the original scheme leaks information to the eavesdropper (Eve).The typical way to reduce this leak is treating the exchanged key by privacy amplification.In the present work our goal is to reduce the leak earlier, during the bit exchange level.So far, the common belief has been that the resistance values in Alice's/Bob's pairs should be very different for an easy separation of the bit values to yield low bit error probability in the key exchange.However, such situation is helping Eve during all the currently known types of attacks owing to higher information leak.We explore the possibility of enhancing the security by narrowing the difference between the resistance values.The impact on security and the cost of reduced communication speed are demonstrated for the Bergou-Scheuer-Yariv attack.