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arXiv:quant-ph/0311085 · Quantum Information and Computation

A quantum cryptographic protocol with detection of compromised server

D. Richard Kuhn

Published Nov 1, 2005• 6 citations
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Abstract

This paper presents a server-based hybrid cryptographic protocol, using quantum and classical resources, to generate a key for authentication and optionally for encryption in a network. A novel feature of the protocol is that it can detect a compromised server. Additional advantages are that it avoids the requirement for timestamps used in classical protocols, guarantees that the trusted server cannot know the authentication key, can provide resistance to multiple photon attacks, and can be used with BB84 or other quantum key distribution protocols. Each resource shares a previously distributed secret key with the trusted server, and resources can communicate with the server using both classical and quantum channels. Resources do not share secret keys with each other, so that the key distribution problem for the network is reduced from O(n^2) to O(n).

DOI
10.26421/qic5.7-3

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This paper presents a server-based hybrid cryptographic protocol, using quantum and classical resources, to generate a key for authentication and optionally for encryption in a network. A novel feature of the protocol is that it can detect a compromised server. Additional advantages are that it avoids the requirement for timestamps used in classical protocols, guarantees that the trusted server cannot know the authentication key, can provide resistance to multiple photon attacks, and can be used with BB84 or other quantum key distribution protocols. Each resource shares a previously distributed secret key with the trusted server, and resources can communicate with the server using both classical and quantum channels. Resources do not share secret keys with each other, so that the key distribution problem for the network is reduced from O(n^2) to O(n).
This paper presents a hybrid cryptographic protocol, using quantum and classical resources, for authentication and authorization in a network. One or more trusted servers distribute streams of entangled photons to individual resources that seek to communicate. It is assumed that each resource shares a previously distributed secret key with the trusted server, and that resources can communicate with the server using both classical and quantum channels. Resources do not share secret keys with each other, so that the key distribution problem for the network is reduced from O(n^2) to O(n). Some advantages of the protocol are that it avoids the requirement for timestamps used in classical protocols, guarantees that the trusted server cannot know the authentication key, can provide resistance to multiple photon splitting attacks and can be used with BB84 or other quantum key distribution protocols.
The main purpose of the sharing schemes based on trusted servers is to obtain a password. The threshold cryptography aims the secret cryptographic protection, and is based on the distribution of the key on several servers, with the purpose to tolerate the attacks. In this work I will present a quantum version of the password sharing protocol, using a number n of trustful servers, to assure its security. The model I propose approaches the issue of the distribution of the authentication key between a client and n-1 servers.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a method using some properties of quantum mechanics to create a secret shared cryptographic key even if an eavesdropper has access to unlimited computational power. All QKD protocols require that the parties have access to an authentic channel. Otherwise, QKD is vulnerable to man-in-themiddle attacks. This paper studies QKD from this point of view, emphasizing the necessity and sufficiency of using unconditionally secure authentication in QKD. In this work, a hybrid unconditionally secure authentication strategy is proposed for QKD protocols. It is based on a mixture of normal application of authentication codes and the so-called "counter-based" authentication method such that to achieve a better trade off between security and efficiency (in terms of the required size of initially shared secret data). Based on this strategy, a complete authenticated QKD protocol is described for a specific implementation of the well-known BB84 protocol. Some advantages of our protocol in comparison to other proposals are also highlighted.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a method using some properties of quantum mechanics to create a secret shared cryptographic key even if an eavesdropper has access to unlimited computational power. All QKD protocols require that the parties have access to an authentic channel. Otherwise, QKD is vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. This paper studies QKD from this point of view, emphasizing the necessity and sufficiency of using unconditionally secure authentication in QKD. In this work, a new technique of using unconditionally secure authentication is proposed for quantum cryptosystems. This technique is based on a hybrid of normal application of authentication codes and the so-called “counter-based” authentication method such that to achieve a better trade-off between security and efficiency (in terms of the required size of initially shared secret data). Based on this strategy, an authenticated version of a typical QKD protocol (the well-known BB84 protocol) is described. Some advantages of our protocol in comparison to other proposals are also highlighted.
A theoretical scheme for multi-user quantum authentication and key distribution in a network is proposed. Similar to the authentication architecture of the netw ork in classical cryptography, a distributed client/server architecture with the shared Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen(EPR) entangled pairs between each user and his t rusted server used for the authentication and key distribution is proposed. Base d on this architecture, any-to-any multi-user quantum authentication and key dis tribution is realized. The trusted server only provides the authentication betwe en users and swaps the entanglement between the particles so as to entangle the particles of the two users who want to communicate secretly. The key generation is performed by the requesting user. Each user in a network only shares Einstein -Podolsky-Rosen entangled pairs with the trusted server and communicates with th e trusted server through the classical channel and quantum channel. Users need n ot share EPR entangled pairs with each other so that the number of EPR pairs in the network is reduced from O(n2) to O(n).
The emergence of quantum computing poses a threat to classical cryptography algorithms, necessitating a shift to quantum secure cryptography. Hybrid protocols combining at least one classical and one quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithm are becoming the standard for securing communications. In this work, we present our novel solution for integrating three different cryptographic assumptions (two of them quantumresistant) into hybrid network security protocols, ensuring that three different cryptographic assumptions must be broken before the protocol becomes vulnerable. Our solution allows for a seamless integration of classical and post-quantum (PQ) cryptography, and quantum key distribution (QKD) into existing network security protocols (e.g., TLS, IPsec) without any major modifications to the protocols themselves. This crypto-agility ensures the mitigation of some of the most well known challenges of both PQ cryptography and QKD. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of such triple-hybrid network security protocols, showing non-substantial decrease in performance and almost no added packet overhead compared to state of the art protocols. In exchange, we pave the way towards next generation networks where the potential of new quantum-resistant cryptographic schemes can be leveraged in a dynamic and agile fashion, thus fostering a new era of unbreakable communication systems.