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OSA Advanced Photonics Congress

Polarization Mode Dispersion-Based Physical Layer Key Generation for Optical Fiber Link Security

Imam Uz Zaman, Anthony Bahadir Lopez, Mohammad Abdullah Al Faruque, Ozdal Boyraz

Published Jan 1, 2017• 18 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A novel physical layer secret key generation technique for point-to-point optical fiber link security is proposed. It can efficiently generate high entropy symmetric cryptographic keys based on Polarization Mode Dispersion in optical fiber links.
DOI
10.1364/iprsn.2017.jtu4a.20

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We present a symmetric physical layer based secret key generation scheme for Point-to-Point Optical Link (PPOL) communication by exploiting Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD) as a random and inimitable channel characteristic. The randomness and security strength of generated cryptographic keys based on PMD is significantly high. In this paper, we present that random modulation of a probe signal caused by PMD in a high-speed data communication network (40Gb/s and 60Gb/s) is reciprocal with average Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.862, despite the presence of optical nonlinearities, dispersion, and noise in the system. 128-bit symmetric cryptographic key has been successfully generated using the proposed scheme. Moreover, PMD based encryption keys passed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) tests. We have shown through simulations with a 50km link that, with optimal key generation settings, symmetric keys can be generated with high randomness (high P-values for NIST randomness tests) and with sufficient generation rates (>50%). Furthermore, we considered an attack model of a non-invasive adversary intercepting at 10km into the link and found that the generated keys have high average key bit mismatch rates (>40%).
Point to Point Optical Link (PPOL) and Inter Vehicular Visible Light Communications (IVVLC) as susceptible to many security threats including jamming, eavesdropping, interception and physical infrastructure attack. To address this problem, researchers have recently proposed to generate secret keys from the randomness of the physical environment such as wireless communication channel fading characteristics, phase fluctuation inside optical fiber and polarization mode dispersion in a long-haul network. In this thesis, I presented a novel symmetric physical layer based secret key generation schemes for both PPOL and IVVLC. Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD) of long optical fiber links and intensity variations due to road surface roughness along with driving behavior are exploited as a random channel characteristic to generate cryptographic keys for PPOL and IVVLC, respectively. It has been demonstrated, modulation of a probe signal caused by PMD in a high speed PPOL (40Gb/s and 60Gb/s) is reciprocal with average Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.862, despite the presence of optical nonlinearities, dispersion, and noise in the system. 128-bit symmetric cryptographic key has been successfully generated using the proposed scheme. Moreover, PMD based encryption keys passed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) tests. It is proved through simulations of a 50km link that, with optimal key generation settings, symmetric keys can be generated with high randomness (high P-values for NIST randomness tests) and with sufficient generation rates (>50%). Furthermore, this key generation algorithm successfully generated, with extremely low error, high entropy, secret keys with lengths up to 128-bits using a 1kbps probe signal with the proposed scheme. It is also found that the vehicular visible light channels have high entropy (e.g., 12-14 bits for 5000 samples) and that separate channels are highly uncorrelated to one another (e.g., Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.32). These results prove that physical communication channel can be exploited to generate symmetric cryptographic keys.
We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method for generating and sharing a secret key using phase fluctuations in fiber optical links. The obtained key can be readily used to support secure communication between the parties. The security of our approach is based on a fundamental asymmetry associated with the optical physical layer: the sophistication of tools needed by an eavesdropping adversary to subvert the key establishment is significantly greater and more costly than the complexity needed by the legitimate parties to implement the scheme. In this sense, the method is similar to the classical asymmetric algorithms (Diffie-Hellman, RSA, etc.).
Dynamic properties of optical signals in fiber channel provide a unique, random and reciprocal source for physical-layer secure key generation and distribution (SKGD). In this paper, an inherent physical-layer SKGD scheme is proposed and demonstrated, where the random source is originated from the dynamic fluctuation of the instant state of polarization (SOP) of optical signals in fiber. Due to the channel reciprocity, highly-correlated fluctuation of Stokes parameter of SOP is shared between the legal partners, where an error-free key generation rate (KGR) of 196-bit/s is successfully demonstrated over 25-km standard single-mode fiber (SSMF). In addition, an active polarization scrambler is deployed in fiber to increase the KGR, where an error-free KGR of 200-kbit/s is achieved.