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Письма в журнал технической физики

Исследование уязвимости систем квантового распределения ключей от атак с лазерным повреждением оптических компонентов на основе устройства с разрушающимся зеркалом

S. V. Alferov, Kirill E. Bugai, И.А. Паргачёв, Ю.В. Иванова

Published Jan 1, 2023• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

An attack on equipment with laser damage of optical components called "laser damage attack", can allow the eavesdropper to reduce the attenuation of optical elements and compromise distributed keys. A method of protection against this attack based on a device with a collapsing mirror has been considered. The conclusion based on experimental data about the effectiveness of the proposed method of protection has been made.

DOI
10.21883/pjtf.2023.05.54671.19399

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES•Dec 15, 2022•0 citations
An attack on equipment with laser damage of optical components called "laser damage attack", can allow the eavesdropper to reduce the attenuation of optical elements and compromise distributed keys. A method of protection against this attack based on a device with a collapsing mirror has been considered. The conclusion based on experimental data about the effectiveness of the proposed method of protection has been made.
An attack on equipment with laser damage of optical components called " laser damage attack", can allow the eavesdropper to reduce the attenuation of optical elements and compromise distributed keys. A method of protection against this attack based on a device with a collapsing mirror has been considered. The conclusion based on experimental data about the effectiveness of the proposed method of protection has been made.. Keywords: quantum key distribution, laser damage attack, eavesdropper, symmetric cryptography.
Quantum key distribution systems are accessible to an eavesdropper; i.e., the eavesdropper can attack not only quantum states but also the equipment. In the former case, vulnerabilities are removed by fundamental constraints (e.g., no-cloning theorem) or theoretical foundations for their removal exist. In the latter case, vulnerability is determined by the practical implementation of equipment. An attack with laser damage of optical components called laser damage attack can allow the eavesdropper to reduce the attenuation of optical elements and compromise distributed keys. In this work, a method based on neutral optical filters has been described for protection from laser damage attack against optical components. A scheme imitating actions of the eavesdropper in the process of laser damage attack has been presented. An approach has been proposed to calculate the parameters of optical elements after the attack. Processes occurring in samples exposed to intense laser radiation have been analyzed. The analysis of experimental data has indicated the stability and constraints of neutral optical filters used in quantum key distribution systems for protection from laser damage attack.
Many quantum key distribution systems employ a laser followed by an optical attenuator to prepare weak coherent states in the source. Their mean photon number must be precalibrated to guarantee the security of key distribution. Here we experimentally show that this calibration can be broken with a high-power laser attack. We test four fiber-optic attenuator types used in quantum key distribution systems, and find that two of them exhibit a permanent decrease in attenuation after laser damage. This results in higher mean photon numbers in the prepared states and may allow an eavesdropper to compromise the key.
A well-protected and characterized source in a quantum key distribution system is needed for its security.Unfortunately, the source is vulnerable to light-injection attacks, such as Trojan-horse, laser-seeding, and laser-damage attacks, in which an eavesdropper actively injects bright light to hack the source unit.The hacking laser could be a high-power one that can modify properties of components via the laserdamage attack and also further help the Trojan-horse and other light-injection attacks.Here we propose a countermeasure against the light-injection attacks, consisting of an additional sacrificial component placed at the exit of the source.This component should either withstand high-power incoming light while attenuating it to a safe level that cannot modify the rest of the source, or get destroyed into a permanent high-attenuation state that breaks up the line.We demonstrate experimentally that off-the-shelf fiberoptic isolators and circulators have these desired properties, at least under attack by a continuous-wave high-power laser.
Потребность в обеспечении безопасности для конечных пользователей привела к установке квантового распределения ключей (Quantum Key Distribution ― QKD) в сетях доступа «один ко многим», таких как пассивные оптические сети. В сетях наличие оптических разветвителей мощности делает вопросы безопасной скорости передачи ключей более важными. Однако исследования QKD в сетях доступа в основном были сосредоточены на вопросах реализации, а не на разработке протокола для повышения ключевой скорости. Поскольку безопасная ключевая скорость теоретически ограничена протоколом, исследования без разработки протокола не могут преодолеть предел безопасной ключевой скорости, заданный протоколом. Это вызывает необходимость исследований для разработки протокола. В этой статье предлагается новый подход, который обеспечивает безопасное повышение скорости передачи ключей по сравнению с обычным протоколом. В частности, предлагается формула безопасной ключевой скорости в пассивной оптической сети, расширяя формулу безопасной ключевой скорости на основе протокола BB84 с состоянием приманки. Для пассивной оптической сети предлагается способ, который включает сотрудничество между конечными пользователями. Затем мы показываем, что этот способ может смягчить атаку разделения числа фотонов (Photon Number Splitting - PNS), которая имеет решающее значение в известном протоколе- ловушке BB84. В частности, предлагаемая схема позволяет многофотонным состояниям служить безопасными ключами, в отличие от обычного протокола- ловушки BB84. Численное моделирование показывает, что предложенная нами схема превосходит протокол-приманку BB84 по скорости безопасного ключа.