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Híradástechnika/Infocommunications journal

A Survey on Quantum Key Distribution

László Gyöngyösi, László Bacsárdi, Sándor Imre

Published Jan 1, 2019• 71 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols represent an important practical application of quantum information theory. QKD schemes enable legal parties to establish unconditionally secret communication by exploiting the fundamental attributes of quantum mechanics. Here we present an overview of QKD rotocols. We review the principles of QKD systems, the implementation basis, and the application of QKD protocols in the standard Internet and the quantum Internet.

DOI
10.36244/icj.2019.2.2

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Quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols represent an important practical application of quantum information theory. QKD schemes enable legal parties to establish unconditionally secret communication by exploiting the fundamental attributes of quantum mechanics. Here we present an overview of QKD rotocols. We review the principles of QKD systems, the implementation basis, and the application of QKD protocols in the standard Internet and the quantum Internet.
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With the rapid development of information technology, the traditional encryption technology has gradually become fragile. Quantum key distribution (QKD) is based on the principle of quantum mechanics and has absolute security in theory, so it has attracted much attention. This paper emphasizes the importance of QKD in the field of information security. After briefly introducing the principle and practical application process of QKD technology, the differences and application scenarios of classical protocols are compared and analyzed. The applications of QKD in the fields of finance, energy and communication are summarized. In addition, it explores the potential future applications of QKD in healthcare and smart cities, providing valuable insights into the study of QKD technology and its applications.
Abstract Most modern cryptographic mechanisms are often based on the key distribution schemes, the security of which depends on the computational complexity and the power used to break the encryption. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is gaining popularity as a panacea to the issue of secure key distribution due to its ability to show secret keys' information-theoretic protection that is already suitable for commercialization. The goal is to generate a secret key between trusted parties connected through a quantum channel and an authenticated classical channel. The technology promises unconditional secure communication based on the principles of quantum mechanics without limiting the power of an eavesdropper. The first three sections provide a contemporary review of the Quantum Key Distribution in a nutshell. The remaining part of the paper deals with the key parameters and implementations that have been developed to assess the security of the leading experimental platforms and the challenges with respect to the development of this technology such as optimally overlaying the logic gates via quantum-dot cellular automata, which also creates possible avenues for research in the cryptographic domain.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) supports the negotiation and sharing of private keys with unconditional security between authorized parties. Over the years, theoretical advances and experimental demonstrations have successfully transitioned QKD from laboratory research to commercial applications. As QKD expands its reach globally, it encounters challenges such as performance limitations, cost, and practical security concerns. Nonetheless, innovations in satellite-based QKD and the development of new protocols are paving the way towards a worldwide network. In this review, we provide an overview of QKD implementations, with a focus on protocols, devices, and quantum channels. We discuss the challenges of practical QKD and explore long-haul QKD. Additionally, we highlight the future research directions that are expected to significantly advance the realization of a global QKD network.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is one of the best-known examples of an application of quantum mechanics to cryptography.This article serves as a resource letter, a brief description to the introduction of QKD is provided before surveying the most prominent QKD protocols present in the literature from theoretical initialization by Wiesner to the attempts at practical implementations.We have also given an overview of the different security proofs proposed, for the variations in protocols and highlighted their significance.
The security strength of key distribution of most conventional cryptography is relied on mathematical complexity and the irrational time needed to break the algorithm. But it will be ineffective if the secret key distribution procedure is weak. In 1994 Peter Shor proposed an algorithm that can factorize great integer number efficiently by using principle of quantum computer, this algorithm poses a threat to some of the conventional cryptography. Recently, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is drawing much attention of researcher as a solution of that problem of key distribution. Theoretically, QKD have been proven can be provide unconditionally secure communication based on quantum mechanics laws. In this article we survey the QKD protocols. Also, we present a little experiment of some QKD protocols that we discussed on this paper.