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International Conference on Security and Cryptography

Towards Secure Gigabit Passive Optical Networks - Signal Propagation based Key Establishment

Lukáš Malina, Petr Münster, Jan Hajný, Tomáš Horváth

Published Jan 1, 2015• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Nowadays, the Passive Optical Networks (PONs) technology is widely deployed in broadband access networks. This paper deals with the security issues of Gigabit PON (GPON) standardized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), namely, standard ITU-T G.984 that is widely implemented in Europe these days. We describe and analyze the security of this standard and show its security risks. In spite of that transmitted data are encrypted to provide their confidentiality on a multipoint fibre connection, session secret keys during their establishment can be observed by adversaries. To address this security flaw, we propose a key establishment protocol that securely sets the session secret keys between two communication parties in GPON. Furthermore, we provide the security analysis of the proposed protocol.

DOI
10.5220/0005559903490354

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Nowadays, the Passive Optical Networks (PONs) technology is widely deployed in broadband access networks. This paper deals with the security issues of Gigabit PON (GPON) standardized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), namely, standard ITU-T G.984 that is widely implemented in Europe these days. We describe and analyze the security of this standard and show its security risks. In spite of that transmitted data are encrypted to provide their confidentiality on a multipoint fibre connection, session secret keys during their establishment can be observed by adversaries. To address this security flaw, we propose a key establishment protocol that securely sets the session secret keys between two communication parties in GPON. Furthermore, we provide the security analysis of the proposed protocol.
Optical access networks connect multiple endpoints to a common network node via shared fibre infrastructure. They will play a vital role to scale up the number of users in quantum key distribution (QKD) networks. However, the presence of power splitters in the commonly used passive network architecture makes successful transmission of weak quantum signals challenging. This is especially true if QKD and data signals are multiplexed in the passive network. The splitter introduces an imbalance between quantum signal and Raman noise, which can prevent the recovery of the quantum signal completely. Here we introduce a method to overcome this limitation and demonstrate coexistence of multi-user QKD and full power data traffic from a gigabit passive optical network (GPON) for the first time. The dual feeder implementation is compatible with standard GPON architectures and can support up to 128 users, highlighting that quantum protected GPON networks could be commonplace in the future.
It is well known that optical access networks are able to provide high data rates over long distances and to a reasonable number of users. Security and privacy are always a challenge for public accessible network infrastructures. Especially in time-division multiplexing passive optical networks (TDM-PONs), in which the downstream signal is broadcasted to all users connected via the same wavelength channel in a shared fiber link, privacy can be a critical concern. Although encryption at the application layer can provide a high level of security, this can be achieved only if the encryption key distribution is perfectly save. On the other hand, encryption on the physical layer such as quantum cryptography or, more precisely, quantum key distribution (QKD) is a very promising approach to achieve secure communication. However, there remain several issues that have to be solved before the quantum cryptography reaches the maturity level needed for a cost effective implementation in practical networks. In this paper, we address quantum key distribution (QKD) over passive optical access networks, which is an enabling technology required to cost efficiently deploy practical quantum encrypted data communication in the access area. We study different methods to integrate QKD systems in conventional optical access networks and quantitatively evaluate their suitability for a potential implementation.
Abstract Passive Optical Networks (PON) are widely used to deliver fixed line communication due to their cost effectiveness and potential for high data transfer rates. However, due to the nature of their operation, every user on a PON system has access to every other user’s downstream data. Current progress in quantum computing means that the classical encryption algorithms currently used to secure communication data, including PON data, may not be sufficient in the future and so, for total information security another encryption solution, such as Quantum Key Distribution, must be found. This paper outlines the different variations of QKD on PON that have so far been proposed and summarises the current state of the art of experimental demonstrations of QKD on PON.
Quantum cryptography has been shown to be an effective technique for the secure distribution of cryptographic keys on point-to-point communication links. The authors describe adaptations of the existing quantum cryptography protocols and equipment configurations that allow secure key distribution to be performed on a variety of multiuser passive optical network (PON) architectures. These adaptations enable the network controller on the PON to distribute individual secret keys to each user on the network, and hence to securely encrypt and authenticate subsequent data transmissions broadcast on the network.
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