Secure operation of a passive optical network is demonstrated using a quantum cryptographic key distribution system operating at a wavelength of 1.3 /spl mu/m. In conclusion we have used quantum cryptography to perform the first verifiably-secure transmission of information over a shared-access PON. The implications of quantum cryptography as a radical new approach for the protection of sensitive information are only just beginning to emerge.
Secure operation of a passive optical network is demonstrated using a quantum cryptographic key distribution system operating at a wavelength of 1.3 /spl mu/m. In conclusion we have used quantum cryptography to perform the first verifiably-secure transmission of information over a shared-access PON. The implications of quantum cryptography as a radical new approach for the protection of sensitive information are only just beginning to emerge.
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.
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.
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.
The access network portion of a telecommunications system in the last years demands ever-increasing bandwidth to serve not only residential and commercial customers but also other telecommunications operators, as is the case with back-haul in mobile infrastructure.To achieve this, technologies using fiber optics as a transmission medium are being developed.Passive Optical Network (PON) protocols such as ITU-T G.9804.1 provides new schemes of multiplexing that improve higher speed offered both in the downstream channel (operator to user) and in the upstream channel (user to operator).In some cases a symmetrical optical link is required to support new services, applications and terminals from users side because their profiles and demands has changed in the last decade with new challenges to maintain network parameters within the established contracted values.On the other hand, information security has also been a topic of interest in recent years, so quantum cryptography offers an alternative to increase robustness compared to the mechanisms available in electronic systems that could be vulnerable to the development of quantum computing.Although quantum cryptography protocols were defined in the last century, their application is of interest today, as they can exploit the properties of photons to make it more difficult for an intruder to obtain the private key of an information system that uses optical fiber as a transmission medium.This work shows the computational application of the BB84 quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol on an operating model of a 50G passive optical network, demonstrating both the cryptography performance and network quality parameters such as the bit error rate (BER) and the eye diagram.
Quantum cryptography (QC) is currently under investigation to build highly secure optical communication networks. QC requires distribution of quantum keys (also called "secret" keys) on separate wavelength channels than those used to transmit the encrypted data. Hence, we propose a quantum-secured passive optical network (QS-PON) that supports both i) the traditional wavelength channels for secured data transmission, and ii) a quantum key distribution network (QKDN) running on separate dedicated wavelengths. The QKDN generates and stores secret keys that are then assigned to users' demands served on traditional PON channels. To generate secret keys, quantum transmitters at the optical network units (ONUs) exchange qubits with a quantum receiver at the optical line terminal (OLT). Then, the generated secret keys are stored in quantum key pools (QKPs) installed at both OLT and the ONUs and assigned to users' demands. Point-to-multipoint QKD systems have been experimentally demonstrated over various forms of quantum access networks (QANs), showing that an efficient mechanism to generate and assign quantum keys based on traffic requests is a critical component of QANs. In this study, we present a new QS-PON architecture, and we propose a dynamic secret-key provisioning (DSKP) algorithm that effectively generates and assigns secret keys from users' demands. Our proposed DSKP algorithm features two phases, the lowest-first secret-key generation (LF-SKG) phase and the hierarchical-clustering secret-key consumption (HC-SKC) phase. In this study, we also provide an analytical model that describes how secret keys are generated and consumed in QKPs. In our illustrative numerical evaluation, we compare our algorithm for secret-key provisioning with a baseline IPACT-based solution in terms of service-rejection ratio, time-slot utilization, and guard- and relay-time saving. Results show that DSKP reduces service-rejection ratio and guard- and relay-time of about 16% and 39.54%, respectively.
Future communications networks not only should enable massive exchange of classical bits, but also the transmission of quantum bits on which many quantum applications rely. This will be the key to offering quantum technologies in a cost-efficient way, and it should encompass the integration of quantum and classical networks at the core of existing optical communications networks, as well as at the access end of such networks. In this work, we cover a range of proposals that enable such an integration for one of the imminent applications of quantum technologies, i.e., quantum key distribution (QKD), by which users can securely exchange a secret key for their cryptographic needs. This will include using wavelength division multiplexing techniques to send quantum and classical data on the same fiber as well as wireless access for QKD users to passive optical networks. In each case, we explore optimal arrangements to find the best way forward for an amicable coexistence.