Quantum key distribution and cryptography: a survey
Romain Alléaume, Norbert Lütkenhaus, Renato Renner, Philippe Grangier, Thierry Debuisschert, G. Ribordy, Nicolas Gisin, Philippe Painchault, Thomas Pornin, Slavail, Louis, Michel Riguidel, Shilds, Andrew, Länger, Thomas, Momtchil Peev, Mehrdad Dianati, Anthony Leverrier, Andreas Poppe, Jan Bouda, Cyril Branciard, M. S. Godfrey, John Rarity, Harald Weinfurter, Anton Zeilinger, Christian Monyk
I will try to partially answer, based on a review on recent work, the following question: Can QKD and more generally quantum information be useful to cover some practical security requirements in current (and future) IT infrastructures ? I will in particular cover the following topics - practical performances of QKD - QKD network deployment - SECOQC project - Capabilities of QKD as a cryptographic primitive - comparative advantage with other solution, in order to cover practical security requirements - Quantum information and Side-channels - QKD security assurance - Thoughts about "real" Post-Quantum Cryptography
I will try to partially answer, based on a review on recent work, the following question: Can QKD and more generally quantum information be useful to cover some practical security requirements in current (and future) IT infrastructures ? I will in particular cover the following topics - practical performances of QKD - QKD network deployment - SECOQC project - Capabilities of QKD as a cryptographic primitive - comparative advantage with other solution, in order to cover practical security requirements - Quantum information and Side-channels - QKD security assurance - Thoughts about "real" Post-Quantum Cryptography
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is currently being discussed as a technology to safeguard communication in a future where quantum computers compromise traditional public-key cryptosystems. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive security evaluation of QKD-based solutions, focusing on real-world use cases sourced from academic literature and industry reports. We analyze these use cases, assess their security and identify the possible advantages of deploying QKD-based solutions. We further compare QKD-based solutions with Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC), the alternative approach to achieving security when quantum computers compromise traditional public-key cryptosystems, evaluating their respective suitability for each scenario. Based on this comparative analysis, we critically discuss and comment on which use cases QKD is suited for, considering factors such as implementation complexity, scalability, and long-term security. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the role QKD could play in future cryptographic infrastructures and offer guidance to decision-makers considering the deployment of QKD.
The thesis presents the basics of Quantum Key Distribution, a survey of the present techniques, a look at the possible future, and finally a comparison to the alternative technique of using public key or manual distribution of keys. Techniques to integrate QKD with the existing telecom fiber infrastructure have been studied, and so has the EU-funded project SECOQC. Last the security and efficiency of QKD have been examined, with focus on what level of security that is required, existing security solutions have been used as a comparison.
With the ever-growing concern for internet security, the field of quantum cryptography emerges as a promising solution for enhancing the security of networking systems. In this paper, 20 notable papers from leading conferences and journals are reviewed and categorized based on their focus on various aspects of quantum cryptography, including key distribution, quantum bit commitment, post-quantum cryptography, and counterfactual quantum key distribution. The paper explores the motivations and challenges of employing quantum cryptography, addressing security and privacy concerns along with existing solutions. Secure key distribution, a critical component in ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of transmitted information over a network, is emphasized in the discussion. The survey examines the potential of quantum cryptography to enable secure key exchange between parties, even when faced with eavesdropping, and other applications of quantum cryptography. Additionally, the paper analyzes the methodologies, findings, and limitations of each reviewed study, pinpointing trends such as the increasing focus on practical implementation of quantum cryptography protocols and the growing interest in post-quantum cryptography research. Furthermore, the survey identifies challenges and open research questions, including the need for more efficient quantum repeater networks, improved security proofs for continuous variable quantum key distribution, and the development of quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms, showing future directions for the field of quantum cryptography.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a mechanism for ensuring secure key exchange based on the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. It has evolved significantly over the past four decades. QKD networks have evolved from experiments to large-scale deployments, enabling longer transmission distances and enhanced security performance. Existing information security relies on modern cryptographic primitives such as Elliptic Curve Diffie–Hellman (ECDH), RSA, and AES. Although AES-256 is considered quantum-resistant, ECDH and RSA cannot withstand attacks by a specific quantum computer. Specifically, with enough quantum bits, Shor’s and Grover’s algorithms can break RSA and ECDH through rapid integer factorization and quantum search capabilities, respectively. Consequently, QKD offers a promising method towards information-theoretic security, using trusted nodes, optical routers, and future quantum repeaters. However, completely replacing current infrastructure with QKD systems is both costly and impractical. Thus, existing QKD can be integrated into current infrastructure, including dark fiber and satellite systems. Previous surveys have primarily focused on isolated aspects such as fiber-based QKD, free-space QKD, or theoretical Internet architectures. There is a lack of a comprehensive survey that simultaneously presents fundamentals, QKD protocols and security, network implementations, and experimental advances. This makes it difficult for readers to grasp the full scope of the field. This survey focuses on QKD from the ground up, covering the essential foundations of QKD, exploring various QKD protocols, concerning different types of attacks, reviewing real-world QKD network deployments, and highlighting challenges and future directions.
The information society that presides today is dependent on the communication industry to facilitate unintelligible data transfers between authenticated parties. Such requirements have, to date, taken advantage of security based on the mathematical complexities of certain algorithms. However, the advancement of computing power and the advent of the quantum computer together with the vulnerability of this scheme to mathematical progress have prompted the introduction of quantum cryptography. This process, through the laws of quantum physics, ensures provably secure data communication. Quantum cryptography provides physical protection to individual bits of information thus providing a hardware implemented solution. The implementation of this theoretical concept requires much practical innovation for transparent deployment into current cryptographic solutions. This thesis introduces the concept of quantum cryptography in a practical perspective. It raises a few core concerns with the present quantum cryptographic technology and provides some solutions towards the practical deployment of commercially feasible quantum cryptographic systems. The thesis commences with an introduction to classical cryptography focussing on key management protocols. This is followed by the presentation of the basic concepts of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) together with an explanation of some QKD protocols and parameter required to classify such protocols. Chapter 2 discusses the theoretical and practical aspects of quantum channels in particular optical fibre. The primary challenges of transferring classical and quantum data along these channels are mentioned together with some solutions. A description of experimental usage with present QKD solutions is presented in Chapter 3. An investigation into highly efficient QKD protocols follows illustrating effective post-distribution processing for increasing the efficiency of the BB84 protocol. Chapter 4 begins with the limitations of present day QKD systems and explicates Quantum Networks as a possible solution. An introduction to classical networking theory is first presented after which some quantum network architectures based on passive optical networks are illustrated. Finally the proposed Quantum City project in conjunction with the eThekwini Municipality is explained. The realization of this project is intended to be complete by the third quarter of 2008 effectively making Durban into the first Quantum City in the world.