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International Conference on Optical Fiber Sensors (OFS)

Testing of Four Channel Stokes Polarimeter for intrusion detection in Quantum Key Distribution systems

Estera Pawlikowska, M. Życzkowski, Anna Pakuła, Paweł Marć

Published Jan 1, 2023• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We present the implementation of the Four-Channel Stokes Polarimeter for continuous monitoring of the state of polarization of light in QKD system, to detect disturbance of the fiber link integrity in the single photon regime.
DOI
10.1364/ofs.2023.tu3.32

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The most mature quantum key distribution systems available on the market is the class of prepare-and-measure systems which are vulnerable to eavesdropping attacks. Therefore, monitoring optical properties of such a system should be enhanced. This paper presents a measurement methodology, characterisation, and testing of a four-channel Stokes polarimeter implemented into the send-and-return quantum key distribution system with faint pulses. The developed polarimetric setup is a complete amplitude-division Stokes polarimeter, the main objective of which is to define changes in the polarization state of light pulses. The measurement method is based on intensity measurements of four selected polarization components. The four-channel Stokes polarimeter was characterised and its performance was compared with a commercial instrument. At this stage of the polarimeter development, different signal processing paths were proposed. The influence of fibre infringement was observed as a rapidly changing polarisation state and, as a result, intrusion threshold levels were determined for the analysed signals for the quantum key distribution fibre-optic link tested.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a potential defense against future quantum attacks that can break traditional encryption algorithms, such as RSA and ECC. The current work is based on the development of the BB84 protocol with the features of utilizing quantum mechanics and eavesdropping detection through signal disturbance. A simulation of the BB84 protocol was built using polarization encoding over a 10 km single-mode optical fiber using OptiSystem software. The system consists of standard telecom equipment, such as a continuous wave laser at a frequency of 193.1 THz, polarization controllers, and single-photon detectors. Both secure and insecure cases were simulated, where an attacker (Eve) had used an intercept-resend attack. The outcome showed significant Bit Error Rate (BER) and Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER) increases during attacks, thus proving the protocol's vulnerability to interference. In addition, a special intrusion detection system based on BER was used to identify such anomalies in real-time. The simulation illustrates the feasibility of using QKD in today's optical networks to secure communications.
We describe a layer-1-based intrusion detection system for fiber-optic–based networks. Layer-1-based intrusion detection represents a significant elevation in security as it prohibits an adversary from obtaining information in the first place (no cryptanalysis is possible). We describe the experimental setup of the intrusion detection system, which is based on monitoring the behavior of certain attributes of light both in unperturbed and perturbed optical fiber links. The system was tested with optical fiber links of various lengths and types, under different environmental conditions, and under changes in fiber geometry similar to what is experienced during tapping activity. Comparison of the results for perturbed and unperturbed links has shown that the state of polarization is more sensitive to intrusion activity than the degree of polarization or power of the received light. The testing was conducted in a simulated telecommunication network environment that included both underground and aerial links. The links were monitored for intrusion activity. Attempts to tap the link were easily detected with no apparent degradation in the visual quality of the real-time surveillance video.
We present the experimental results for a method used to perform polarimetry on ensembles of single photons. Our setup is based on a measurement method known to be optimal for estimating the state of two-level systems. The setup has no moving parts and is sensitive to weak sources (emitting single photons) of light as it relies on photon counting, and has potential applications in both classical polarization measurements and quantum communication scenarios. In our implementation, we are able to reconstruct the Stokes parameters of pure polarization states with an average fidelity of 99.9%.
Abstract We present the design and implementation of a state-of-polarization (SOP) management technique and two efficient synchronizing methods for quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. This is achieved following a wavelength-division multiplexing approach, where the classical synchronization signal and the quantum states are propagated in the same optical fiber. The employed frame synchronization method is based on the monitoring of the quantum bit error ratio (QBER) of the quantum channel, thus avoiding additional hardware and high computational resources. We evaluate the operation of SOP generation method through the assessment of the individual response of the waveplates that comprise the employed electronic polarization controller. Finally, the performance was assessed by computing the overall QBER and the QBER contributions of each of the four polarization states associated with the different qubits. The measurements, obtained during six hours, show a slight variation of the QBER values associated with the individual contributions, reaching an overall QBER of 0.75%. This demonstrates the capability of the presented methods to operate, stably, with very low QBER values, making its application in practical QKD systems reliable.