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ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review

Quantum-noise

Eric Corndorf, Chuang Liang, Gregory S. Kanter, Prem Kumar, Horace P. Yuen

Published Oct 15, 2004• 11 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate high data-rate quantum-noise{protected data encryption through optical fibers using coherent states of light. Specifically, we demonstrate 650Mbps data encryption through a 10Gbps data-bearing, in-line amplified 200km-long line. In our protocol, legitimate users (who share a short secret-key) communicate using an M-ry signal set while an attacker (who does not share the secret-key) is forced to contend with the fundamental and irreducible quantum-measurement noise of coherent states. Implementations of our protocol using both polarization-encoded signal sets as well as polarization-insensitive phase-keyed signal sets are experimentally and theoretically evaluated. Different from the performance criteria of the cryptographic objective of key generation (quantum key generation), the performance criteria of data encryption are established and carefully considered.

DOI
10.1145/1039111.1039119

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We demonstrate high data-rate quantum-noise{protected data encryption through optical fibers using coherent states of light. Specifically, we demonstrate 650Mbps data encryption through a 10Gbps data-bearing, in-line amplified 200km-long line. In our protocol, legitimate users (who share a short secret-key) communicate using an M-ry signal set while an attacker (who does not share the secret-key) is forced to contend with the fundamental and irreducible quantum-measurement noise of coherent states. Implementations of our protocol using both polarization-encoded signal sets as well as polarization-insensitive phase-keyed signal sets are experimentally and theoretically evaluated. Different from the performance criteria of the cryptographic objective of key generation (quantum key generation), the performance criteria of data encryption are established and carefully considered.
We demonstrate high-rate randomized data-encryption through optical fibers using the inherent quantum-measurement noise of coherent states of light. Specifically, we demonstrate 650Mbit∕s650\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{Mbit}∕\mathrm{s}650Mbit∕s data encryption through a 10Gbit∕s10\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{Gbit}∕\mathrm{s}10Gbit∕s data-bearing, in-line amplified 200-km-long line. In our protocol, legitimate users (who share a short secret key) communicate using an MMM-ry signal set while an attacker (who does not share the secret key) is forced to contend with the fundamental and irreducible quantum-measurement noise of coherent states. Implementations of our protocol using both polarization-encoded signal sets as well as polarization-insensitive phase-keyed signal sets are experimentally and theoretically evaluated. Different from the performance criteria for the cryptographic objective of key generation (quantum key-generation), one possible set of performance criteria for the cryptographic objective of data encryption is established and carefully considered.
We demonstrate quantum-noise protected data encryption over a 200km-long inline optically-amplified fiber line at 650Mbps rate using off-the-shelf components. In contrast to our previous implementation, this demonstration uses phase-encoded coherent states, resulting in a polarization independent system that is compatible with the existing WDM infrastructure. Security calculations are presented for individual attacks on both the encrypted data as well as the secret key. This demonstration paves the way for widespread deployment of quantum cryptography in WDM networks.
Keeping in mind the ubiquitous standard optical fiber for long‐distance transmission and the widespread availability of efficient active and passive fiber devices, we have been developing telecom‐band resources for practical quantum communication and cryptography in wave‐division‐multiplexed (WDM) optical networks. In this talk I present our recent results on two fronts: i) telecom‐band in‐fiber entanglement generation, storage, and long‐distance distribution and ii) quantum‐noise protected high‐speed data encryption through an optically‐amplified WDM line. Along the first front, with our in‐fiber entanglement source all four Bell states can be readily produced and we have demonstrated violation of Bell’s inequalities by up to 10 standard deviations of measurement uncertainty. With such a source we have demonstrated storage of entanglement for up to 1/8 of a millisecond. Furthermore, when each photon of the entangled pair is propagated in separate 25km‐long standard fibers, high visibility quantum interference is still observed, demonstrating that this system is capable of long‐distance (> 50 km) entanglement distribution. Along the second front, we have implemented a new quantum cryptographic scheme, based on Yuen’s KCQ protocol, in which the inherent quantum noise of coherent states of light is used to perform the cryptographic service of data encryption. In this scheme a legitimate receiver, with use of a short, shared, secret‐key, executes a simple binary decision rule on every transmitted bit. An eavesdropper, on the other hand, who does not possess the secret‐key, is subjected to an irreducible quantum uncertainty in each measurement, even with the use of ideal detectors. We have implemented this scheme to demonstrate quantum‐noise‐protected data encryption at 650 Mbps through a 200 km, in‐line amplified, WDM line. The line simultaneously carried two 10 Gbps standard data channels, 100 GHz on either side of the encrypted channel, which shows that this scheme is compatible with the widely deployed WDM fiber‐optic infrastructure.
Data security plays an increasingly important role in modern telecommunications. The advent of quantum computational processors presents a significant threat to today's widely employed public key encryption algorithms, necessitating the adoption of new approaches to data encryption. Whilst quantum key distribution guarantees unconditional security for cryptographic key exchange in optical communication networks, the data rate is slow (Mbit/s), especially when compared to conventional optical communication. Here we present a highly secure encryption approach in which the encryption key, generated by quantum key distribution at a rate of up to 2.9 Mbit/s, was used to seed physical layer encryption performed using time domain spectral phase encoding (TDSPE). This allowed us to demonstrate encrypted 40 Gbit/s quadrature phase shift keyed data communications over 52.3 km of installed optical fiber, which cannot be eavesdropped using brute force computational attacks. Any attempt to eavesdrop the encrypted signal in the physical layer is highly time-sensitive – the phase states must be measured and decrypted prior to optical signal attenuation, which means that the attack procedure typically needs to be completed within a few milliseconds. This work represents the first example of quantum-enhanced physical layer encryption at realistic optical data rates that is fully secure from brute force computational attacks and the first demonstration of TDSPE using continuous-wave laser source and quadrature phase shift key modulation.
We describe an emerging method of encryption suitable for high-speed optical communication networks. This encryption protocol combines traditional electronic cryptographic algorithms with the physical effect of optical noise of quantum origin to create a highly secure method of secret communications. The resulting optical signal is compatible with today's high speed fiber optic infrastructure including optical amplification and add/drop multiplexing. Systems implementing this protocol can be constructed with common commercially available components. We describe experimental results obtained with a 2.5 Gb/s system. The encrypted signal is shown to travel error-free through >500 km of optical fiber. Simulations show that reaches and data rates consistent with modern long haul optical networks are attainable.