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Dual-velocity protocol of hybrid QKD system and its security analysis

Li Yang, La Wu, SH Liu

Published Jan 1, 2002• 3 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Based on the hypothesis that the velocity of light in vacuum is the maximum velocity possible for any signal, we present a dual-velocity protocol for a hybrid quantum key distribution (QKD) system, and prove that its security is the same as that for the BB84 protocol. We show that this protocol can improve the efficiency of quantum key generation from 50% to 100%, and, at the same time, reduce Eve's information. Because it breaks the symmetry between Bob and Eve before open discussion, the dual-velocity protocol extends the concept of QKD and increases our choice of protocol bases. We present three application examples and analyze in detail their security under intercept/resend attacks.

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•Jan 1, 2008•0 citations
Based on the hypothesis that the velocity of light in vacuum is the maximum velocity possible for any signal, we present a dual-velocity protocol for a hybrid quantum key distribution (QKD) system, and prove that its security is the same as that for the BB84 protocol. We show that this protocol can improve the efficiency of quantum key generation from 50% to 100%, and, at the same time, reduce Eve's information. Because it breaks the symmetry between Bob and Eve before open discussion, the dual-velocity protocol extends the concept of QKD and increases our choice of protocol bases. We present three application examples and analyze in detail their security under intercept/resend attacks.
In order to enhance the quantum key distribution (QKD) security, a new protocol, “QKDPRB” based on random bases is proposed. It consists of using standard encoding bases moving circularly with a variable rotational angle [Formula: see text] which depends on angular velocity [Formula: see text]; thus, the traditional bases turn into relative ones. To prove the security and the efficiency of the protocol, we present a universal demonstration which proves a high level security of the proposed protocol, even in the presence of the intercept and resend attack. Finally, the QKDPRB may improve the security of QKD.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) offers a way for establishing information-theoretical secure communications. An important part of QKD technology is a high-quality random number generator for the quantum-state preparation and for post-processing procedures. In this work, we consider a class of prepare-and-measure QKD protocols, utilizing additional pseudorandomness in the preparation of quantum states. We study one of such protocols and analyze its security against the intercept-resend attack. We demonstrate that, for single-photon sources, the considered protocol gives better secret key rates than the BB84 and the asymmetric BB84 protocols. However, the protocol strongly requires single-photon sources.
The rapid progress of quantum computing demands secure communication protocols which are beyond classical cryptographic techniques. This necessity of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is met by providing security relying on the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics. In the work presented, the BB84 protocol is implemented using Qiskit platform provided by IBM. The performance is analyzed for both the ideal channel conditions and an intercept–resend eavesdropping scenario studying its security behavior and performance. 100% key agreement is observed with a QBER of 0% for the BB84 protocol executed under the ideal condition. When an eavesdropper is introduced, the QBER increases significantly, ranging from 16% to 38%, exceeding the acceptable security threshold of 11% and resulting in complete rejection of the generated key. Performance analysis carried out for key sizes between 100 and 1000 qubits shows that the execution time follows O(n) trend growing linearly. This simulation validates the correct operation of the BB84 protocol and demonstrates a detailed performance and security analysis of a QKD system using IBM Qiskit.
This dissertation presents three new quantum key distribution protocols over a dual quantum-channel to enhance the convergence speed of the key distribution process. The proposed protocols effectively use a dual-quantum channel between the communicating entities and, when combined with the proposed selection of the basis, improve the efficiency of the key distribution process as well as deter Eve. With the use of an initialization vector, one of the proposed protocols does not necessitate information exchange about the bases between Alice and Bob, and further eliminates the requirement of the availability of a two-way conventional channel. Simultaneously, it allows the detection of the presence of Eve in real time and proposes several effective defense mechanisms to frustrate Eve's attack.
The BB84 protocol is fundamental to quantum-secure communications, yet its extension to multi-receiver networks remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by implementing a dual-receiver BB84 framework in Qiskit to evaluate security against intercept–resend and photon-number-splitting (PNS) attacks. Our methodology incorporates weak coherent pulses and realistic channel imperfections. Key findings show that intercept–resend attacks induce a detectable (~25%) increase in QBER, while PNS attacks allow a 100% gain in eavesdropper information with less than 2.5% QBER—revealing a critical vulnerability, which highlights the importance of a true single-photon source. The findings emphasize the suitability of BB84 for multiparty QKD scenarios, either as a decoy-state mechanism for enhanced eavesdropping detection or as a direct secure communication protocol.
Quantum cryptography, or, more precisely, quantum key distribution (QKD) allows two distant parties, Alice and Bob, to expand a previously shared secret key by sending quantum states through a quantum channel. The goal here is for Alice and Bob to communicate securely in the presence of an eavesdropper, Eve. The most well-known QKD protocol is the Bennett-Brassard 1984 (BB84) protocol, which has been proved unconditionally secure against any attacks allowed by quantum mechanics. The main advantage of QKD over conventional cryptography is its absolute security. Thus, it is imperative to evaluate the security and performance of QKD protocols and realistic QKD systems. In this thesis, we study the security and performance aspects of QKD in four parts. In the first part, we study the Scarani-Acin-Ribordy-Gisin 2004 (SARG04) protocol. This protocol differs from the BB84 protocol only in the classical post-processing step and uses the same four quantum states as the BB84 protocol. We compared these two protocols and showed that in typical situations, the classical post-processing software for BB84 should be used in order to have a higher performance. In the second part, we prove the security of a three-state protocol. This protocol is similar to the BB84 protocol in that they share the same three qubit states. In the third part, we consider a practical Trojan horse attack on practical QKD systems implementing the BB84 protocol. The attack works by taking advantage of the finite response time of practical phase modulators to remap the states sent out by the legitimate user, Alice. We showed that if Alice and Bob are unaware of our attack, the final key shared between them can be compromised in some situations. In the fourth part, we consider another type of Trojan horse attack, which is based on mismatch between detection efficiencies of detectors. Practical detectors in QKD systems usually do not have identical efficiencies and an eavesdropper Eve may be able to exploit this efficiency mismatch to steal information about the final secret key. We analyze the security of the attack and show that it is possible for Eve to acquire some information on the final secret key if Alice and Bob are unaware of this attack.