Quantum Key Distribution together with its intrinsic security represent the more promising technology to meet the challenging requests of novel generation communication protocols. Beyond its relevant commercial interests, QKD is currently and deeply investigated in research fields as quantum information and quantum mechanics foundations, in order to push over the limits of the actual resources needed to ensure the security of quantum communication. Aim of the paper is to contribute to this open debate presenting our last experimental implementations concerning two novel quantum cryptographic schemes which do not require some of the most widely accepted conditions for realizing QKD. The first is Goldenberg-Vaidman1,2 protocol, in which even if only orthogonal states (that in principle can be cloned without altering the quantum state) are used, any eavesdropping attempt is detectable. The second is N093 protocol which, being based on the quantum counterfactual effect, does not even require any actual photon transmission in the quantum channel between the parties for the communication. The good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results represent a proof of principle of the experimental feasibility of the novel protocols.
Quantum Key Distribution together with its intrinsic security represent the more promising technology to meet the challenging requests of novel generation communication protocols. Beyond its relevant commercial interests, QKD is currently and deeply investigated in research fields as quantum information and quantum mechanics foundations, in order to push over the limits of the actual resources needed to ensure the security of quantum communication. Aim of the paper is to contribute to this open debate presenting our last experimental implementations concerning two novel quantum cryptographic schemes which do not require some of the most widely accepted conditions for realizing QKD. The first is Goldenberg-Vaidman1,2 protocol, in which even if only orthogonal states (that in principle can be cloned without altering the quantum state) are used, any eavesdropping attempt is detectable. The second is N093 protocol which, being based on the quantum counterfactual effect, does not even require any actual photon transmission in the quantum channel between the parties for the communication. The good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results represent a proof of principle of the experimental feasibility of the novel protocols.
In recent years Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) has emerged as the most paradigmatic example of Quantum technology allowing the realization of intrinsically secure communication links over hundreds of kilometers. Beyond its commercial interest QKD also has high conceptual relevance in the study of quantum information theory and the foundations of quantum mechanics. In particular, the discussion on the minimal resources needed in order to obtain absolutely secure quantum communication is yet to be concluded. Here we present an overview on our last experimental results concerning two novel quantum cryptographic schemes which do not require some of the most widely accepted conditions for realizing QKD. The first is Goldenberg-Vaidman protocol \cite{v}, in which even if only orthogonal states (that in general can be cloned without altering the state) are used, any eavesdropping attempt is detectable. The second is N09 protocol \cite{no} which, being based on the quantum counterfactual effect, does not even require any actual photon transmission in the quantum channel between the parties for the communication.
We report on our experimental implementation of QKD with orthogonal states. Since, in general, non-orthogonal states cannot be cloned, any eavesdropping attempt in a Quantum Communication scheme using non-orthogonal states as carriers of information introduces some errors in the transmission, leading to the possibility of detecting the spy. Usually, orthogonal states are not used in Quantum Cryptography schemes since they can be faithfully cloned without altering the transmitted data. Nevertheless, L. Goldberg and L. Vaidman proposed a protocol in which, even if the data exchange is realized using two orthogonal states, any attempt to eavesdrop is detectable by the legal users. In this scheme the orthogonal states are superpositions of two localized wave packets travelling along separate channels. Here we describe in detail the first experimental realization of a quantum cryptography system based on orthogonal states and the measures of the main parameters that quantify the quality of the system. Our results demonstrate the possibility of achieving a QKD transmission based on orthogonal state with a Quantum Bit Error Rate comparable with more common secure QKD systems. Therefore, it provides a significant hint to the discussion on the minimal quantum resources necessary for the implementation of quantum tasks overcoming classical limits.
Quantum computing poses significant threats to conventional cryptographic techniques such as RSA and AES, motivating the need for quantum secure communication methods. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) offers information theoretic security based on fundamental quantum principles. This paper presents a simulation-based analysis of well-known QKD protocols, namely BB84, B92, and E91, using the IBM Qiskit framework. Realistic quantum channel effects, including noise, decoherence, and eavesdropping, are modeled to evaluate protocol performance. Key metrics such as error rate, secret key generation, and security characteristics are analyzed and compared. The study highlights practical challenges in QKD implementation, including hardware limitations and channel losses, and discusses insights toward scalable and robust quantum communication systems. The results support the feasibility of QKD as a promising solution for secure communication in the quantum era.
In contrast to classical public-key cryptosystems, where the security of encoded messages relies on on computational assumptions, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) enables two distant parties to establish a shared secret key that, when combined with a one-time pad, provides information-theoretically secure encryption, provided that the QKD protocol is supported by a rigorous security proof. In the last decades, security proofs robust against a wide range of eavesdropping strategies have established the theoretical soundness of several QKD protocols. However, most proofs are based on idealized models of the physical systems involved in such protocols and often include assumptions that are not satisfied in practical implementations. This mismatch creates a gap between theoretical security guarantees and actual experimental realizations, making QKD protocols vulnerable to attacks. To ensure the security of real-world QKD systems, it is therefore essential to account for imperfections in security analyses. In this article, we present an overview of recent analytical and numerical developments in QKD security proofs, which provide a versatile approach for incorporating imperfections and re-establishing the security of quantum communication protocols under realistic conditions.
Abstract Most modern cryptographic mechanisms are often based on the key distribution schemes, the security of which depends on the computational complexity and the power used to break the encryption. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is gaining popularity as a panacea to the issue of secure key distribution due to its ability to show secret keys' information-theoretic protection that is already suitable for commercialization. The goal is to generate a secret key between trusted parties connected through a quantum channel and an authenticated classical channel. The technology promises unconditional secure communication based on the principles of quantum mechanics without limiting the power of an eavesdropper. The first three sections provide a contemporary review of the Quantum Key Distribution in a nutshell. The remaining part of the paper deals with the key parameters and implementations that have been developed to assess the security of the leading experimental platforms and the challenges with respect to the development of this technology such as optimally overlaying the logic gates via quantum-dot cellular automata, which also creates possible avenues for research in the cryptographic domain.
In majority of protocols of secure quantum communication (such as, BB84, B92, etc.), the unconditional security of the protocols are obtained by using conjugate coding (two or more mutually unbiased bases (MUBs)). Initially, all the conjugate-coding-based protocols of secure quantum communication were restricted to quantum key distribution (QKD), but later on they were extended to other cryptographic tasks (such as, secure direct quantum communication and quantum key agreement). In contrast to the conjugate-coding-based protocols, a few completely orthogonal-state-based protocols of unconditionally secure QKD (such as, Goldenberg–Vaidman and N09) were also proposed. However, till the recent past, orthogonal-state-based protocols were only a theoretical concept and were limited to QKD. Only recently, orthogonal-state-based protocols of QKD are experimentally realized and extended to cryptographic tasks beyond QKD. This paper aims to briefly review the orthogonal-state-based protocols of secure quantum communication that are recently introduced by our group and other researchers.