Securing QKD against Fault Attacks

Hua Dai, Xin Sun, Yining Mao +5 more

This work proposes a key security product and a dynamic threshold detection method to detect replay attacks during the delivery of quantum keys under non-quantum cryptography. This work discusses the security challenges of quantum key distribution (QKD) in wireless public communication networks, focusing on the need for robust measures against both quantum and non-quantum threats. QKD, based on the principles of quantum mechanics, provides a theoretically unconditionally secure method for key exchange due to the non-clonability of quantum states. Despite its potential for future communication security, QKD in wireless networks faces vulnerabilities, particularly to denial of service (DoS) attacks and eavesdropping. We focus on the openness of wireless communication, which makes QKD susceptible to interference and destruction during transmission, with DoS attacks capable of disrupting the QKD system's normal operation by consuming bandwidth with spurious signals or requests. Eavesdropping is a more nuanced threat, where an attacker may intercept wireless signals for gaining key information. To address these issues, we propose a security testing architecture and method for QKD networks. By simulating various network conditions and attacks, we analyze the changes of the detection indicator to assess network security according to an evaluation model. A dynamic threshold method based on the quantum key security protocol (QKSP) is introduced to identify network attacks, with optimal fault detection rates achieved at an eavesdropping ratio of 30% and n = 1. This work concludes by presenting a detection metric for fault detection rates to determine the system's security environment, providing a basis for judging the security of the quantum key transmission process.

Meret Kristen, Juergen Mottok

Yi Luo, Haokun Mao, Qiong Li

Quantum key distribution (QKD) networks is expected to provide information-theoretical secured (ITS) communication over long distances. QKD networks based trusted relay architecture are now the most widely used scheme in practice. However, it is an unrealistic assumption that all relays are fully trustable in complex networks. In the past, only a few studies have theoretically analyzed the case of passive eavesdropping attack by dishonest relays and corresponding defense method. However, we have found that active attacks by dishonest relays can be more threatening. With the consideration of passive and active attacks, we treat dishonest relays as Byzantine nodes and analyzes the upper limit of Byzantine nodes that the QKD network can accommodate. In this paper, we propose an ITS Byzantine-fault tolerance (BFT) QKD network scheme to achieve end-to-end key distribution based on point-to-point QKD links. To ensure consistency and provide BFT ability in the QKD network, we design an ITSBFT-consensus protocol for this network scheme. To ensure the information-theoretic security of consensus, we design a temporary signature scheme based on point-to-point QKD link keys. To prevent Byzantine nodes from disrupting the execution process of key distribution, we design an end-to-end key distribution scheme combined with consensus. We theoretically analyze proposed ITSBFT-QKD network scheme from four aspects: QKD key distribution security, temporary signature security, consensus security, and leader election fairness. The simulation result proved the feasibility and demonstrate the performance.

Gansel, Antoine, Krämer, Juliane, Lefterovice, Andreea +1 more

Pratik Raj, Syed Majed Ashraf, Arzad Alam Kherani +1 more

Next-generation networks rely on edge computing for low-latency, distributed processing, yet face critical security vulnerabilities (e.g., eavesdropping) and fault tolerance challenges. To address these limitations, we propose a quantumedge computing framework integrating Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) with classical edge architecture enhanced by quantum teleportation and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) pair management for secure, distributed processing. QKD enables information-theoretically secure key exchange by leveraging quantum principles like no-cloning and entanglement, while quantum error correction enhances resilience against node failures. Our hybrid approach combines edge computing’s efficiency with quantum security, ensuring robust operation in adversarial environments. For the validation we have simulated hybrid network topology consisting of 6 different nodes acting as edge and user equipments. Data is being exchanged between nodes in the form of key pairs. To evaluate fault tolerance and security resilience, we simulated 3 scenarios: 1) Normal operating state, 2) Induce fault state and 3) Security breach state. The Simulations demonstrate significant improvements: 10× faster attack detection, 25× faster recovery, and 1.85× higher task success under simultaneous failure and attack. Overall, the quantum-edge framework achieves a 2.88× performance boost, offering a 3× advantage over classical systems.

Stefan Schauer