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arXiv:2405.17008 · IEEE International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC)

Quantum-safe Edge Applications: How to Secure Computation in Distributed Computing Systems

Claudio Cicconetti, Dario Sabella, Pietro Noviello, Gennaro Davide Paduanelli

Published Sep 2, 2024• 6 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The advent of distributed computing systems will offer great flexibility for application workloads, while also imposing more attention to security, where the future advent and adoption of quantum technology can introduce new security threats. For this reason, the Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) working group at ETSI has recently started delving into security aspects, especially motivated by the upcoming reality of the MEC federation, which involves services made of application instances belonging to different systems (thus, different trust domains). On the other side, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) can help strengthen the level of security by enabling the exchange of secure keys through an unconditionally secure protocol, e.g., to secure communication between REST clients and servers in distributed computing systems at the edge. In this paper, we propose a technical solution to achieve this goal, building on standard specifications, namely ETSI MEC and ETSI QKD, and discussing the gaps and limitations of current technology, which hamper full-fledged in-field deployment and mass adoption. Furthermore, we provide our look-ahead view on the future of secure distributed computing through the enticing option of federating edge computing domains.

DOI
10.1109/pimrc59610.2024.10817166

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•Dec 18, 2020•1 citation
The advent of distributed computing systems will offer great flexibility for application workloads, while also imposing more attention to security, where the future advent and adoption of quantum technology can introduce new security threats. For this reason, the Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) working group at ETSI has recently started delving into security aspects, especially motivated by the upcoming reality of the MEC federation, which involves services made of application instances belonging to different systems (thus, different trust domains). On the other side, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) can help strengthen the level of security by enabling the exchange of secure keys through an unconditionally secure protocol, e.g., to secure communication between REST clients and servers in distributed computing systems at the edge. In this paper, we propose a technical solution to achieve this goal, building on standard specifications, namely ETSI MEC and ETSI QKD, and discussing the gaps and limitations of current technology, which hamper full-fledged in-field deployment and mass adoption. Furthermore, we provide our look-ahead view on the future of secure distributed computing through the enticing option of federating edge computing domains.
Edge computing is a leading trend in the deployment of computation and networking infrastructures, where processing is done closer to the users, compared to more traditional cloud-based solutions relying on remote data centers. On the other hand, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technologies, offering unconditional security between the communicating parties, is expected to become affordable in the near future and it will unlock new opportunities, e.g., for applications with long-term confidentiality requirements. In this paper we study how to enable ETSI ISG QKD key delivery within an ETSI MEC edge computing scenario, in the practical use case of cloud-native applications based on Function-as-a-Service (FaaS). This work is part of the activities of the PON project “Development of quantum systems and technologies for IT security in communication networks” (QUANCOM) which aims to the realization of a metropolitan quantum communication network through the collaboration between universities, research centers and companies operating in the communication market area.
Many modern applications rely on the ability to offload computation-intensive tasks to edge or cloud infrastructures. While this is clearly beneficial from the point of view of the client, because of the decreased load and system requirements, such an approach entails frequent exchanges with the edge/cloud application, which may include sensitive data. The interconnection of the client and remote infrastructures through a Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) network makes it possible to exchange quantum-secure keys between the peer applications. In this paper we study how to achieve this ambitious goal with applications using the Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) programming model in the context of ETSI MEC and QKD standards, as demonstrated in the national project QUANCOM, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research.
In this demonstration, we showcase the realization of a prototype of an edge computing network, where the client and edge domains both host simulated Quantum Key Distribution devices, for a hospital use case. In particular, digital health applications using the Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) paradigm will invoke remote functions provided by an Apache OpenWhisk cluster deployed in the edge infrastructure, where the arguments and return value are encrypted using keys generated through an underlying simulated QKD point-to-point network. All the interactions in the control/management plane are handled through standard interfaces defined by the ETSI MEC and QKD industry study groups.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) enables secure communications via the exchange of cryptographic keys exploiting the properties of quantum mechanics. Nowadays the related technology is mature enough for production systems, thus field deployments of QKD networks are expected to appear in the near future, starting from local/metropolitan settings, where edge computing is already a thriving reality. In this paper, we investigate the interplay of resource allocation in the QKD network vs. edge nodes, which creates unique research challenges. After modeling mathematically the problem, we propose practical online policies for admitting edge application requests, which also select the edge node for processing and the path in the QKD network. Our simulation results provide initial insights into this emerging topic and lead the way to upcoming studies on the subject.
In order to establish new ICT technologies successfully on the market it is essential to build trust within any potential users. This is especially true for technologies which are based upon paradigms that are not yet familiar to these users, such as quantum technologies. Technical standards are an excellent means to offer a certain degree of legal reliability and technical interoperability that is required by industry for commercial take up. While such standards on the one hand must be clear enough to provide strict rules for implementers, on the other hand they also must remain flexible enough to not restrict progress in further research and development on the standardized technology. Hence such standards have to be produced by a wide variety of stakeholders taking into account all their different needs. The paper will provide some insight into the general mechanisms of standardization and their relation to quantum technologies. Alongside with the relevance of standardization as an enabler for certification of quantum based technologies it will explain its potential for securing intellectual property. In its first part paper will concentrate on the advantages of standardization and discuss fears some of the stakeholders share, in detail. The second part will focus on the technical work going on in ETSI in relation to quantum technologies. In 2008 ETSI created a standards work group on Quantum Key Distribution, the ETSI ISG QKD and more recently a group on Quantum-Safe Cryptography, the ETSI ISG QSC. A significant part of the technical work of these groups has already been published and will be introduced in the following. However a big share of work is still ongoing and lot more is planned for the future, as are continuous revisions and updates of the published specifications. This standardization work covers several levels: It starts of by problem statements in the form of use cases, from which technical requirements can be derived. These requirements then form the base upon which a reference architecture is created. Various different specifications describe in detail components, protocols and interfaces. An ontology is developed in order to guarantee common understanding of the technical terms used in standardization for quantum technologies. Special emphasis is provided to security proofs.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a rising field of research that aims at solving a very common problem in computer security: the problem of cryptographic key exchange. Nowadays, key distribution problem is solved leveraging algorithms that allow to dynamically generate common secrets starting from shared information. For these algorithms security lies in the difficulty for an adversary to compute mathematical operations needed to recover the generated secret. Nevertheless, advent of quantum computers represents a huge concern for classical security, since it has been proved capable of solving these operations in polynomial time. QKD represents a possible solution to this problem, since it allows to exchange keys between two distant parties in a way that is considered secure against both classical and quantum attacks. Recent studies focus their attention on protocols and technologies needed to improve QKD between two parties, with little attention to practical integration in real contexts. This work proposes a different approach: QKD is here used in a softwarised network in order to be accessed from different security services or applications that may need it. The goal of this work is to outline main challenges that need to be faced when distributing QKD as a service for multiple clients. A QKD simulator has been developed to understand limits and characteristics of different protocols in such an environment. On the top of it, QKD ETSI standard has been implemented in order to realise a key server capable of distributing quantum distributed keys to different clients. The proposed work provides a new perspective, in which QKD can be used in cloud environments without taking care about the implementation complexity that it carries with it. Moreover, it outlines criticalities and challenges that needs to be faced in order to integrate QKD in such a systems.