Quantum Key Distribution for Secure Encryption in Underwater Networks
Jacopo Lazzarin, Filippo Campagnaro, Matteo Padovan, Edoardo Rossi, Ilektra Karakosta-Amarantidou, Francesco Picciariello, Francesco Vedovato, Giuseppe Vallone, Paolo Villoresi, Michele Zorzi
Security is a crucial aspect of underwater acoustic networks, that are often used in mission critical scenarios, such as coastal surveillance, rapid environmental assessment and mine countermeasure applications. The broadcast nature of the acoustic channel makes it vulnerable to a variety of attacks, such as spoofing, men-in-the-middle and jamming. Moreover, the lack of a standardized key distribution system makes data confidentiality challenging. In this paper we investigate the use of quantum key distribution (QKD) in underwater networks, in order to ensure confidentiality and integrity of the communication. While in the terrestrial domain the use of the one-time-pad protocol (requiring the key length to be equal to the message length) is limited by the low rate of the QKD rate compared to the bitrate of radio transmissions, in the underwater domain the limited bandwidth of the acoustic channel makes QKD a valid approach also for the one-time-pad protocol. The system is tested both with an emulator and a field test: results show that QKD can be a valuable system to secure underwater acoustic networks.
Security is a crucial aspect of underwater acoustic networks, that are often used in mission critical scenarios, such as coastal surveillance, rapid environmental assessment and mine countermeasure applications. The broadcast nature of the acoustic channel makes it vulnerable to a variety of attacks, such as spoofing, men-in-the-middle and jamming. Moreover, the lack of a standardized key distribution system makes data confidentiality challenging. In this paper we investigate the use of quantum key distribution (QKD) in underwater networks, in order to ensure confidentiality and integrity of the communication. While in the terrestrial domain the use of the one-time-pad protocol (requiring the key length to be equal to the message length) is limited by the low rate of the QKD rate compared to the bitrate of radio transmissions, in the underwater domain the limited bandwidth of the acoustic channel makes QKD a valid approach also for the one-time-pad protocol. The system is tested both with an emulator and a field test: results show that QKD can be a valuable system to secure underwater acoustic networks.
The growing importance of Underwater Networks (UNs) in mission-critical activities at sea enforces the need for secure Underwater Communications (UCs). Classical encryption techniques can be used to achieve secure data exchange in UNs. However, the advent of Quantum Computing will pose threats to classical cryptography, thus challenging also UCs. Currently, underwater crypto-systems mostly adopt symmetric ciphers, which are considered computationally quantum-robust, but pose the challenge of distributing the secret key upfront. Post-Quantum Public-Key (PQPK) protocols promise to overcome the key distribution problem. The security of PQPK protocols, however, only relies on the assumed computational complexity of some underlying mathematical problems. Moreover, the use of resource hungry PQPK algorithms in resource-constrained environments such as UNs can require non-trivial hardware/software optimization efforts. An alternative approach is underwater Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), which promises unconditional security built upon the physical principles of Quantum Mechanics. This tutorial provides a basic introduction to free-space Underwater QKD (UQKD). At first, the basic concepts of QKD are presented, based on a fully worked out QKD example. A thorough state-of-the-art analysis of UQKD is carried out. The paper subsequently provides a theoretical analysis of the QKD performance through free-space underwater channels, and its dependence on the key optical parameters of the system and seawater. Finally, open challenges, points of strength and perspectives of UQKD are identified and discussed.
The growing importance of Underwater Networks (UNs) in mission-critical activities at sea enforces the need for secure Underwater Communications (UCs). Classical encryption techniques can be used to achieve secure data exchange in UNs. However, the advent of Quantum Computing will pose threats to classical cryptography, thus challenging also UCs. Currently, underwater crypto-systems mostly adopt symmetric ciphers, which are considered computationally quantum-robust, but pose the challenge of distributing the secret key upfront. Post-Quantum Public-Key (PQPK) protocols promise to overcome the key distribution problem. The security of PQPK protocols, however, only relies on the assumed computational complexity of some underlying mathematical problems. Moreover, the use of resource hungry PQPK algorithms in resource-constrained environments such as UNs can require non-trivial hardware/software optimization efforts. An alternative approach is underwater Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), which promises unconditional security built upon the physical principles of Quantum Mechanics. This tutorial provides a basic introduction to free-space Underwater QKD (UQKD). At first, the basic concepts of QKD are presented, based on a fully worked out QKD example. A thorough state-of-the-art analysis of UQKD is carried out. The paper subsequently provides a theoretical analysis of the QKD performance through free-space underwater channels, and its dependence on the key optical parameters of the system and seawater. Finally, open challenges, points of strength and perspectives of UQKD are identified and discussed.
The growing importance of Underwater Networks (UNs) in mission-critical activities at sea enforces the need for secure Underwater Communications (UCs). Classical encryption techniques can be used to achieve secure data exchange in UNs. However, the advent of Quantum Computing will pose threats to classical cryptography, thus challenging also UCs. Currently, underwater crypto-systems mostly adopt symmetric ciphers, which are considered computationally quantum-robust, but pose the challenge of distributing the secret key upfront. Post-Quantum Public-Key (PQPK) protocols promise to overcome the key distribution problem. The security of PQPK protocols, however, only relies on the assumed computational complexity of some underlying mathematical problems. Moreover, the use of resource hungry PQPK algorithms in resource-constrained environments such as UNs can require non-trivial hardware/software optimization efforts. An alternative approach is underwater Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), which promises unconditional security built upon the physical principles of Quantum Mechanics. This tutorial provides a basic introduction to free-space Underwater QKD (UQKD). At first, the basic concepts of QKD are presented, based on a fully worked out QKD example. A thorough state-of-the-art analysis of UQKD is carried out. The paper subsequently provides a theoretical analysis of the QKD performance through free-space underwater channels, and its dependence on the key optical parameters of the system and seawater. Finally, open challenges, points of strength and perspectives of UQKD are identified and discussed.
The growing importance of Underwater Networks (UNs) in mission-critical activities at sea enforces the need for secure Underwater Communications (UCs). Classical encryption techniques can be used to achieve secure data exchange in UNs. However, the advent of Quantum Computing will pose threats to classical cryptography, thus challenging also UCs. Currently, underwater crypto-systems mostly adopt symmetric ciphers, which are considered computationally quantum-robust, but pose the challenge of distributing the secret key upfront. A promising approach to overcome the key distribution problem is based on Post-Quantum Public-Key (PQPK) protocols. The security of PQPK protocols, however, only relies on the assumed computational complexity of some underlying mathematical problems. Moreover, the use of resource hungry PQPK algorithms in resource-constrained environments such as UNs can require non-trivial hardware/software optimization efforts. An alternative approach is underwater Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), which promises unconditional security built upon the physical principles of Quantum Mechanics. This tutorial provides a basic introduction to free-space Underwater QKD (UQKD). At first, the basic concepts of QKD are presented, based on a fully worked out QKD example. A thorough state-of-the-art analysis of UQKD is carried out. The paper subsequently provides a theoretical analysis of the QKD performance through free-space underwater channels, and its dependence on the key optical parameters of the system and seawater. Finally, open challenges, points of strength and perspectives of UQKD are identified and discussed.
The growing importance of underwater networks (UNs) in mission-critical activities at sea enforces the need for secure underwater communications (UCs). Classical encryption techniques can be used to achieve secure data exchange in UNs. However, the advent of quantum computing will pose threats to classical cryptography, thus challenging UCs. Currently, underwater cryptosystems mostly adopt symmetric ciphers, which are considered computationally quantum robust but pose the challenge of distributing the secret key upfront. Post-quantum public-key (PQPK) protocols promise to overcome the key distribution problem. The security of PQPK protocols, however, only relies on the assumed computational complexity of some underlying mathematical problems. Moreover, the use of resource-hungry PQPK algorithms in resource-constrained environments such as UNs can require nontrivial hardware/software optimization efforts. An alternative approach is underwater quantum key distribution (QKD), which promises unconditional security built upon the physical principles of quantum mechanics (QM). This tutorial provides a basic introduction to free-space underwater QKD (UQKD). At first, the basic concepts of QKD are presented, based on a fully worked out QKD example. A thorough state-of-the-art analysis of UQKD is carried out. The paper subsequently provides a theoretical analysis of the QKD performance through free-space underwater channels and its dependence on the key optical parameters of the system and seawater. Finally, open challenges, points of strength, and perspectives of UQKD are identified and discussed.
Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) function as essential systems which support naval defence operations, environmental monitoring, offshore industrial work and sea-depth exploration activities. These networks experience major performance problems along with security-related issues. The communication distance of acoustic links extends far, but their data transfer speed remains slow, while they experience high latency and get disrupted by noise, multipath fading and interference. The dual nature of underwater communication systems creates a permanent conflict between achieving fast data transfer rates and extending network coverage. The current technical barriers in UWSNs become more challenging because standard encryption methods fail to protect against quantum computer attacks; which enable eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks. The Quantum-Assisted Keying-Underwater Wireless Sensor Network (QuAKey-UWSN) system uses Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) with adaptive acoustic-optical communication to create a new hybrid framework that addresses current network limitations. QKD is used to develop unbreakable encryption through physical laws, which detect bugging, overhearing, secret spying attacks, while the versatile fusion planner chooses between acoustic and optical channels for instant quantum key distribution and passing data exchange, depending on the acoustic channels for long range communication. The system uses MATLAB, NS-3 and Qiskit for simulation testing to demonstrate its operational success. The system produces secure keys at more than 3.5 kbps while maintaining 99% packet delivery ratio and 10.5 ms average latency. In this analysis QuAKey-UWSN has shown effective performance with strong robustness and wide-ranging capabilities, making it suitable for underwater operations that require dependable and secure communication systems.