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Simulation of BB84 Quantum Key Exchange Protocol and Attack Analysis

Ilker Burak Adiyaman, İbrahim Soğukpınar

Published Sep 1, 2020• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The main purpose of quantum key distribution protocols is to provide a practical and secure transmission of the single-use key used in encryption at the sender and receiver side. In the classical method, both parties cannot be sure that the key has not been taken over by an attacker. Since the quantum key exchange method basically relies on quantum physics, it provides higher security than conventional key distribution methods. In this study, the first and most used BB84 protocol, which is one of the quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols, and the distribution of the key between the receiver and the sender in the simulation environment and the attempt of the attacker to achieve the key was performed in the simulation environment. The results obtained in the last section are analyzed and suggestions are made for future studies.

DOI
10.1109/ubmk50275.2020.9219514

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The main purpose of quantum key distribution protocols is to provide a practical and secure transmission of the single-use key used in encryption at the sender and receiver side. In the classical method, both parties cannot be sure that the key has not been taken over by an attacker. Since the quantum key exchange method basically relies on quantum physics, it provides higher security than conventional key distribution methods. In this study, the first and most used BB84 protocol, which is one of the quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols, and the distribution of the key between the receiver and the sender in the simulation environment and the attempt of the attacker to achieve the key was performed in the simulation environment. The results obtained in the last section are analyzed and suggestions are made for future studies.
One promising way to use quantum information to secure everyday communication is through the distribution of quantum keys. By exchanging a secret key, the Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) approach allows two parties to communicate securely.BB84 protocol is among the most well-known QKD protocols. In this protocol, qubits are exchanged via a quantum channel between the sender and the receiver. This enables them to produce a shared key that is impenetrable to eavesdroppers and illustrate the fundamental ideas of QKD using current simulations and implementations. The results of this study demonstrate that the BB84 protocol is a highly secure QKD technique that has been investigated in great detail and used in a variety of contexts. Additionally, over the enhancements made to the BB84 protocol such as the use of advanced error correction techniques and decoy states to increase its security and usability is discussed. With an emphasis on the BB84 protocol in secure communication technologies, this study offers an extensive analysis of QKD systems overall.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a technique that enables secure communication between two parties by sharing a secret key. One of the most well-known QKD protocols is the BB84 protocol, proposed by Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard in 1984. In this protocol, Alice and Bob use a quantum channel to exchange qubits, allowing them to generate a shared key that is resistant to eavesdropping. This paper presents a comparative study of existing QKD schemes, including the BB84 protocol, and highlights the advancements made in the BB84 protocol over the years. The study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the different QKD schemes and their strengths and weaknesses and demonstrate QKDs working principles through existing simulations and implementations. Through this study, we show that the BB84 protocol is a highly secure QKD scheme that has been extensively studied and implemented in various settings. Furthermore, we discuss the improvements made to the BB84 protocol to enhance its security and practicality, including the use of decoy states and advanced error correction techniques. Overall, this paper provides a comprehensive analysis of QKD schemes, focusing on the BB84 protocol in secure communication technologies.
Secure communication in cryptographic system, relies on secret key which must be exchanged between a sender and a receiver such that it avoids unauthorized access and can be used to encrypt the plain text and decrypt the cipher text. However, advancement in quantum computing raises concern on the security of information exchanged over the web. As the information on the web is made secure using classical cryptographic mechanisms that are only computationally secure and quantum computers with high computational capability can generate the secrete keys in a very short time. In order to make sure that quantum computers do not breach the security of the network, we need to develop some sort of quantum-resistant mechanisms. Quantum key distribution is one of the quantum-resistant-mechanisms which guarantee secure data communication. It leverages quantum mechanics principles by exchanging the key in quantum states called qubits and any attempt to access the key causes disturbance in the qubits yielding change in their behavior or state, hence signaling the presence of an intruder and making it impossible to be accessed. This paper presents a simulation to establish and exchange secrete keys in quantum environment using BB84 protocol and to determine the efficiency of the system, quantum bit error rate is measured and discussed.
All traditional cryptographic algorithms used in the network communication environments, relied on mathematical models and computational assumptions, are actually unsafe and apt by many attackers (quantum and man-in-the-middle attacks). Therefore, nowadays Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) promises a secure key agreement by using quantum mechanical systems. QKD becomes a significant trend of new cryptographic revolution. This paper explains how cryptography exploits the quantum mechanics in order to achieve an encryption/decryption process. Additionally, this paper provides a standard simulation for QKD-BB84 protocol and describes improvement key generation and key distribution mechanisms. Then, validation, results and efficiency of BB84 protocol are presented using different security configurations. Finally, our results indicated that the QKD is susceptible to corporate with different security applications and achieve the key availability for such applications. However, it suffers from the higher rate of authentication cost.
Quantum cryptography using the BB84 protocol is at the forefront of modern secure communication. This paper emphasizes on BB84 protocol and its role in secure key distribution utilizing the Qiskit libraries in Python to simulate Quantum Key distribution (QKD). This QKD is then applied to the One-Time Pad algorithm for message encryption and decryption. Ensuring data confidentiality and integrity and is difficult due to advanced cyber threats and the potential of quantum computing to undermine traditional cryptographic methods. Current encryption techniques are susceptible to quantum related attacks, risking the decryption of sensitive data. Alice (sender) and Bob (receiver) use classical encryption to communicate but eavesdropper Eve with quantum capabilities, can potentially decrypt their messages. This vulnerability affects critical data security in finance, healthcare, and national security, making robust cryptographic solutions essential for maintaining trust and safety in digital communications. Our work emphasis the utilization of the quantum key generated by employing the BB84 protocol with the help of Qiskit library in python as cipher text in the process of one time pad encryption and decryption. This encrypted data dispatched between the sender and receiver to ensure maximum security, confidentiality and integrity over the period of communication.
As the digital front becomes our new frontier, and digital data becomes increasingly vulnerable to highly sophisticated cyber attacks, conventional encryption approaches may no longer be sufficient to withstand a quantum attack. The focus of this work is to deploy a simulation of the BB84 protocol, one of the first Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocols developed by Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard in 1984. The simulation involves two communicating parties, Alice and Bob, with Bob creating a secret keys generated cryptographically and sending it reliably over to Alice using quantum bits, or qubits. By leveraging quantum mechanics, this protocol ensures that any interception can be identified, thus bolstering both the integrity and confidentiality of the key exchange through scientists' understanding of superposition and the no-cloning principle. In the simulation, the potential of quantum communication to achieve secure key distribution over an insecure channel is demonstrated. Differently from traditional encryption protocols, QKD guarantees security not on computational but on physical basis. The aim of this paper is to show the feasibility and robustness of the BB84 protocol for actual cryptographic applications. This models the protocol between Alice and Bob, which paves the way for quantum-proof encryption systems and is a relevant step towards next generation cyber security.