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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Sensing intruders using entanglement: a photonic quantum fence

Travis S. Humble, Ryan S. Bennink, Warren P. Grice, Israel J. Owens

Published Mar 24, 2009• 9 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We describe the use of quantum-mechanically entangled photons for sensing intrusions across a physical perimeter. Our approach to intrusion detection uses the no-cloning principle of quantum information science as protection against an intruder's ability to spoof a sensor receiver using a 'classical' intercept-resend attack. Moreover, we employ the correlated measurement outcomes from polarization-entangled photons to protect against 'quantum' intercept-resend attacks, i.e., attacks using quantum teleportation. We explore the bounds on detection using quantum detection and estimation theory, and we experimentally demonstrate the underlying principle of entanglement-based detection using the visibility derived from polarization-correlation measurements.

DOI
10.1117/12.820221

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We describe the use of quantum-mechanically entangled photons for sensing intrusions across a physical perimeter. Our approach to intrusion detection uses the no-cloning principle of quantum information science as protection against an intruder's ability to spoof a sensor receiver using a 'classical' intercept-resend attack. Moreover, we employ the correlated measurement outcomes from polarization-entangled photons to protect against 'quantum' intercept-resend attacks, i.e., attacks using quantum teleportation. We explore the bounds on detection using quantum detection and estimation theory, and we experimentally demonstrate the underlying principle of entanglement-based detection using the visibility derived from polarization-correlation measurements.
We describe the use of quantum-mechanically entangled photons for sensing intrusions across a physical perimeter. Our approach to intrusion detection uses the no-cloning principle of quantum information science as protection against an intruder’s ability to spoof a sensor receiver using a ‘classical ’ intercept-resend attack. We explore the bounds on detection using quantum detection and estimation theory, and we experimentally demonstrate the underlying principle of entanglement-based detection using the visibility derived from polarization-correlation measurements.
This paper proposes a perimeter detection scheme based on the quantum physical properties of photons. Existing perimeter intrusion detection schemes, if using light, rely on the classical properties of light only. Our quantum sensor network uses the quantum property of spatial superposition of photons, meaning that a photon can simultaneously follow two different paths after going through a beam splitter. Using multiple Mach-Zehnder interferometers, an entire web of paths can be generated, such that one single photon occupies them all. If an intruder violates this web in some arbitrary point, the entire photon superposition is destroyed, the photon does not self-interfere any more and this event is detected by measurements. For one single photon, the intruder detection probability is limited theoretically but can be increased arbitrarily with the usage of a sequence of photons. We show both theoretical bounds as well as practical results of the proposed schemes. The practical results are obtained by simulation experiments on IBM Quantum platforms. The benefits of our quantum approach are: low power, invisibility to potential intruders, scalability and easy practical implementation.
Abstract Quantum time transfer has emerged as a powerful technique, offering sub-picosecond precision and inherent security through the nonlocal temporal correlation property of energy-time entangled biphoton sources. In this paper, we demonstrate the inherent security advantage of quantum time transfer, and the utilization in detecting potential intercept-resend attacks. By investigating the impact of these attacks on the nonlocality identifier associated with nonlocal dispersion cancellation of energy-time entanglement, we establish a security threshold model for detecting intercept-resend attacks. Experimental verification on a 102 km fiber-optic link confirms that even a malicious delay as small as 25 ps can be identified. This investigation serves as a compelling illustration of secure two-way time transfer, safeguarding against intercept-resend attacks, and showcasing its potential applications in fields reliant on authentic time distribution between remote parties.
Verifying the integrity of a tamper-indicating seal is crucial in surveillance and containment technologies, as an intruder may try to hide a breach. Seals based on the no-cloning principle of quantum mechanics offer an unprecedented level of security. By monitoring the entanglement of transmitted photon pairs, the authors detect intrusion attempts with 99.99% probability, and just a 10−9{}^{-9}−9 chance for a false alarm. In contrast, any conventional optical system would fail this test completely.
Polarization-sensitive receivers for single photons are of crucial importance in various applications within the fields of quantum communication and quantum sensing, and are more commonly implemented in free-space optics rather than in optical fibers. This is primarily due to the unpredictable and varying birefringence in single-mode optical fibers. We present a method for birefringence compensation in an all-fiber detection setup that relies solely on coincidence measurements of a polarization-entangled state, or known correlations in a prepare-andmeasure scenario. We define coincidence entropies as functions of the measured coincidence counts. These quantify the randomness of measurement outcomes, remain independent of the transmitted Bell state, and serve as indicators of the degree of entanglement. By leveraging coincidence entropy as a cost function in a gradient descent algorithm, we are able to align the polarization bases between two distinct polarization-sensitive receivers. Additionally, coincidence entropies can be employed to monitor the quality of entanglement transmission, thereby enhancing the system’s ability to detect potential eavesdropping attempts, such as intercept-resend quantum attacks.