Quantum Key Distribution is a mechanism for obtaining a symmetric key that has been proved to be completely secure against quantum attacks. However, QKD technology is highly dependent on the low level implementation of the vendor. This work proposes the use of QKD-derived key material using high level standard interfaces to transparently protect services based on extending the protection of Virtual Private Networks to possible attacks based on quantum computing.
Quantum Key Distribution is a mechanism for obtaining a symmetric key that has been proved to be completely secure against quantum attacks. However, QKD technology is highly dependent on the low level implementation of the vendor. This work proposes the use of QKD-derived key material using high level standard interfaces to transparently protect services based on extending the protection of Virtual Private Networks to possible attacks based on quantum computing.
Quantum physics has a major influence on modern computer science and communications. New quantum-based solutions continue to be proposed by researchers. However, only a few techniques are possible to implement in practice. One of them is quantum key distribution, which ensures the confidentiality of digital data. This article introduces a new concept: quantum distribution of pre-shared keys. This approach provides end-users with very secure authentication, impossible to achieve using currently-available techniques. Secure authentication is a key requirement in virtual private networks (VPN)—popular protection in computer networks. The authors simulated quantum-based distribution of a shared secret in a typical VPN connection. Using a dedicated simulator, all individual steps of the quantum key distribution process were presented. Based on the created secret, a secure IPsec tunnel in a StrongSwan environment was established between AGH (Poland) and VSB (Czech Republic). It allows end-users to communicate at very high security levels.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is one of the major cryptographic solutions to tackle the security threats associated to future computational advances, in particular those coming from quantum computing. At the most simple level, QKD can be seen as a highly secure source of symmetric secret keys in two separated places. Nonetheless, the lack of standardization and the strong requirements from the physical layer makes this technology very difficult to integrate in existing infrastructure.However, the success of QKD networks radically depends on the degree in which they can be adopted in the existing infrastructure, and it is a must that it happens via standard protocols and interfaces. The flexibility of novel network paradigms, like Software-Defined Networking (SDN), allows for a faster adoption of new concepts, hardware and services in telecommunications networks. This paradigm can be used for quantum communications, allowing for a fast and scalable deployment of quantum technologies and services in the telecommunications network to a degree that was simply impossible in previous schemes, where the different network devices and their connections should be modified, one by one, to create a quantum communications channel.This tutorial provides an introduction to existing QKD technologies and networks, followed by a descriptive explanation on how SDN principles can be utilized to abstract and integrate QKD systems as part of the network management. This will help to reduce the time-to-market for quantum technologies, and also will make quantum cryptography available as a service to be capitalized by the network operators.
There is a great attention to quantum technologies in the ICT environment. In particular, when dealing with security matters, the most prominent quantum technology is Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). QKD allows the sharing of symmetric keys with information theoretic security (ITS, i.e. independently of the computational power of the attacker) between two remote network nodes. QKD is the only known method to share a key able to reach ITS. During the last two decades, there has been a tremendous technological progress in QKD research, that has led to the availability of QKD network demonstrators.Software Defined Networks (SDN) enables the automation of service provisioning within network operator infrastructures. With the advent of web-scale services and dynamic network requirements, operators can not anymore deploy their services based on manual intervention or using proprietary vendor solutions. Programmability is key in the next-generation network infrastructure and any new technology must be integrated with this paradigm. Let us highlight that this requirement is even more important with virtual environments, where a Virtual Network Function (VNF) can be deployed in any point-of-presence of the operator. The new 5G deployments will enable operators to have edge computing services supporting different capabilities, thus increasing even more the complexity to deliver services without any automation.In spite of the high potential of QKD, this technology has not yet found its path to wide adoption, commercialization and deployment. QKD is a physical technology that requires the existence of a quantum channel, a physical connection able to transmit quantum bits without perturbation, making hard its integration in networks. The aim of this document is to present how QKD can be deployed in next generation infrastructures, based on realistic scenarios. To do so, this paper describes the technological components of the solutions, as well as the use cases that motivate such effort. These use cases are described from a telecommunication provider's point of view, as they are the actors in charge of deploying QKD systems in their networks.
The paper aims to highlight how symmetric cryptographic key generation via Quantum Key Distribution-based technology can be used to secure protected communications within a private network. Within a testbed of the 5G network installed in the campus of the Technical University of Ostrava, the quantum key distribution (QKD) technology and encryptors are implemented to demonstrate secure 5G network concepts such as network function virtualization (NFV) and network management software-defined networking (SDN). Specifically, two APIs are programmed with all the necessary steps for two Secure Application Entities to secure a new symmetric key that is in turn generated by two Key Manager Entities via a protocol called "Coherent One-Way".
Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is an emerging networking paradigm that decouples the control and data plane in order to enable programmable and flexible networks, optimizing its applications and advancing computer systems. It does so through its architecture, a key part of which is a centralized network management through open interfaces that revolutionizes the way in which networks are designed and makes them more agile and versatile to the evolving needs of modern and future applications services. This also means, however, that there is now a centralized point of attack that is a major vulnerability, threatening the security of the entire network. With such an advanced network paradigm, it requires a security system that will mitigate these risks and warrant long-term security. In attempts to allow secure communications within the network, this research proposes the implementation of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), leveraging quantum mechanics to secure the network against any computational advancements in the future. QKD is a recent cryptographic system that includes a traditional-computational channel and a physical-quantum channel to generate and distribute keys between parties. It uses the principles of quantum mechanics including entanglement and superposition to ensure that the physical layer cannot be compromised computationally. QKD provides confidentiality and privacy of information and communication. Moreover, it is resistant to technological advancements. The implications of QKD significantly enhance SDN security through its protection against attacks, efficient key distribution, reliable network orchestration, and data integrity, creating an architecture that establishes stable communication channels that are resistant to cyber threats.