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IEEE Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM)

Security Analysis of BB84 and E91 QKD Protocols Using Unified Security Framework

Kanwalinderjit Kaur, Pablo Rodriguez Quinonez

Published May 18, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher
DOI
10.1109/infocom59046.2026.11571723

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This paper focuses on the implementation and comparative analysis of two widely studied QKD protocols. The BB84 and E91 protocols are security measures that were devised back in the 1980s and 90s by experts like Charles Bennett and Ekaterina S. Ekert. This paper demonstrates with Qiskit protocol implementation documentation and simulation results together with extensive security analysis how BB84 and E91 protocols can be utilized through an open-source quantum computing framework developed by IBM. This paper aims to examine the BB84 and E91 protocol resistance to eavesdropping invasions while testing their performance across different communication ranges. We utilize quantum superposition to encode information into qubits during BB84 protocol implementation which allows us to simulate an intercept-resend attack to determine its vulnerability. Research shows that BB84 provides simpler execution yet suffers from more eavesdropping attacks especially at extended distances through increased error rates from interception methods. E91 protocol achieves detection of eavesdropping by distributing entangled qubits between two parties so measurements of those qubits reveal tampering through their outcome correlations. Our experimental findings confirm that E91 delivers enhanced security capabilities through its ability to keep errors minimal across longer distances thus demonstrating resistance against distance-related threats. The comparative analysis underscores the strengths and limitations of each protocol. BB84, despite its simplicity and ease of implementation, shows diminished security over longer distances. E91, which uses the non-local properties of entangled qubits, offers enhanced protection for long-distance communication, making it a more practical choice for robust QKD systems.

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Abstract Purpose : Practical quantum key distribution (QKD) deployments remain constrainedby finite-key effects, hardware noise, and limited adversarial attackmodeling. This work aims to close the gap between theoretical composable securityguarantees and realistic hardware performance by developing noise-resilient,multi-basis QKD protocols with provable finite-key security bounds. Methods : A generalized multi-basis BB84 protocol (MB-BB84) and a phaseengineeredE91 entanglement-based scheme (PE-E91) are developed with composablesecurity guarantees under depolarizing and amplitude-damping noisechannels. Finite-key security bounds are derived using the smooth min-entropyframework. Zero-noise extrapolation (ZNE) error mitigation is integrated intothe composable security analysis. Experimental validation is performed usinghardware-calibrated noise models derived from superconducting quantum processors. Results : The 3-basis MB-BB84 achieves a composable finite-key rate 7.4%higher than standard BB84 at a block size of one million signals, while increasingintercept-resend eavesdropper detection probability from 75.0% to 83.3%.PE-E91 improves the CHSH Bell parameter by 4.2% over standard E91. ZNE mitigationextends the practical security threshold by 30–40% in terms of maximumtolerable gate error rate on superconducting hardware. All analytical predictionsare confirmed within 3–5% of semidefinite-programming-computed key ratebounds. Conclusion : The proposed unified framework bridges theoretical composablesecurity and practical hardware constraints, providing explicit design guidelinesfor scalable, noise-resilient QKD architectures suitable for next-generationquantum communication networks.

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ABSTRACT Quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols are techniques that use the laws of quantum physics to safely distribute cryptographic keys. QKD protocols are able to identify attempts at eavesdropping during the distribution of keys, possibly providing a better level of security than traditional encryption. We present a comparative evaluation of the three QKD protocols, namely, BB84, E91 and an enhanced BB84 (EBB84) with the goal of identifying the best balance between security and efficiency for practical quantum communication systems. Motivated by the growing need for quantum‐resistant cryptography, extensive simulations in the Qiskit framework under both ideal and plausible noisy conditions is conducted, including depolarising, thermal relaxation, Pauli, amplitude damping and phase damping noise models. For each protocol, key lengths are varied from 200 to 3000 bits and, where relevant, simulated intercept–resend attacks to assess resilience against eavesdropping. The key performance metrics, QBER for BB84/EBB84 and the CHSH inequality parameter for E91 are computed over 50 iterations per scenario to ensure statistical robustness. The analysis reveals distinct trade‐offs: EBB84 achieves superior early eavesdropper detection at short key lengths, whereas differences between BB84 and EBB84 diminishes as key lengths increases; E91 maintains strong entanglement‐based security but is more sensitive to certain noise types. Regression analysis confirms that depolarising and amplitude damping noise most strongly influence QBER and CHSH degradation, whereas key length has a secondary effect. These findings mark the importance of adaptive key management and noise mitigation strategies and offer guidelines for integrating QKD into emerging network architectures such as SDN, 5G, and 6G.

IET Quantum Communication•Jan 1, 2025•11 citations
This paper focuses on the implementation and comparative analysis of two widely studied QKD protocols. The BB84 and E91 protocols are security measures that were devised back in the 1980s and 90s by experts like Charles Bennett and Ekaterina S. Ekert. This paper demonstrates with Qiskit protocol implementation documentation and simulation results together with extensive security analysis how BB84 and E91 protocols can be utilized through an open-source quantum computing framework developed by IBM. This paper aims to examine the BB84 and E91 protocol resistance to eavesdropping invasions while testing their performance across different communication ranges. We utilize quantum superposition to encode information into qubits during BB84 protocol implementation which allows us to simulate an intercept-resend attack to determine its vulnerability. Research shows that BB84 provides simpler execution yet suffers from more eavesdropping attacks especially at extended distances through increased error rates from interception methods. E91 protocol achieves detection of eavesdropping by distributing entangled qubits between two parties so measurements of those qubits reveal tampering through their outcome correlations. Our experimental findings confirm that E91 delivers enhanced security capabilities through its ability to keep errors minimal across longer distances thus demonstrating resistance against distance-related threats. The comparative analysis underscores the strengths and limitations of each protocol. BB84, despite its simplicity and ease of implementation, shows diminished security over longer distances. E91, which uses the non-local properties of entangled qubits, offers enhanced protection for long-distance communication, making it a more practical choice for robust QKD systems.
Abstract Purpose : Practical quantum key distribution (QKD) deployments remain constrainedby finite-key effects, hardware noise, and limited adversarial attackmodeling. This work aims to close the gap between theoretical composable securityguarantees and realistic hardware performance by developing noise-resilient,multi-basis QKD protocols with provable finite-key security bounds. Methods : A generalized multi-basis BB84 protocol (MB-BB84) and a phaseengineeredE91 entanglement-based scheme (PE-E91) are developed with composablesecurity guarantees under depolarizing and amplitude-damping noisechannels. Finite-key security bounds are derived using the smooth min-entropyframework. Zero-noise extrapolation (ZNE) error mitigation is integrated intothe composable security analysis. Experimental validation is performed usinghardware-calibrated noise models derived from superconducting quantum processors. Results : The 3-basis MB-BB84 achieves a composable finite-key rate 7.4%higher than standard BB84 at a block size of one million signals, while increasingintercept-resend eavesdropper detection probability from 75.0% to 83.3%.PE-E91 improves the CHSH Bell parameter by 4.2% over standard E91. ZNE mitigationextends the practical security threshold by 30–40% in terms of maximumtolerable gate error rate on superconducting hardware. All analytical predictionsare confirmed within 3–5% of semidefinite-programming-computed key ratebounds. Conclusion : The proposed unified framework bridges theoretical composablesecurity and practical hardware constraints, providing explicit design guidelinesfor scalable, noise-resilient QKD architectures suitable for next-generationquantum communication networks.
ABSTRACT Quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols are techniques that use the laws of quantum physics to safely distribute cryptographic keys. QKD protocols are able to identify attempts at eavesdropping during the distribution of keys, possibly providing a better level of security than traditional encryption. We present a comparative evaluation of the three QKD protocols, namely, BB84, E91 and an enhanced BB84 (EBB84) with the goal of identifying the best balance between security and efficiency for practical quantum communication systems. Motivated by the growing need for quantum‐resistant cryptography, extensive simulations in the Qiskit framework under both ideal and plausible noisy conditions is conducted, including depolarising, thermal relaxation, Pauli, amplitude damping and phase damping noise models. For each protocol, key lengths are varied from 200 to 3000 bits and, where relevant, simulated intercept–resend attacks to assess resilience against eavesdropping. The key performance metrics, QBER for BB84/EBB84 and the CHSH inequality parameter for E91 are computed over 50 iterations per scenario to ensure statistical robustness. The analysis reveals distinct trade‐offs: EBB84 achieves superior early eavesdropper detection at short key lengths, whereas differences between BB84 and EBB84 diminishes as key lengths increases; E91 maintains strong entanglement‐based security but is more sensitive to certain noise types. Regression analysis confirms that depolarising and amplitude damping noise most strongly influence QBER and CHSH degradation, whereas key length has a secondary effect. These findings mark the importance of adaptive key management and noise mitigation strategies and offer guidelines for integrating QKD into emerging network architectures such as SDN, 5G, and 6G.