ON STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS IN QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY (original) (raw)
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Quantum key distribution and cryptography: a survey
Dagstuhl Seminar Proceedings, 2010
This document is the fruit of a collaborative effort initiated within the FP6 Trust and Security European integrated project SECOQC (IST-2002-506813). It is based for a large part on the SECOQC Crypto White Paper [1] that had been released in 2007.
An Emphasis on Quantum Cryptography and Quantum Key Distribution
Cryptography - Recent Advances and Future Developments, 2021
The application of internet has spiked up in the present-day scenario, as the exchange of information made between two parties happens in public environment. Hence privacy of information plays an important role in our day to day life. There have been incredible developments made in the field of cryptography resulting in modern cryptography at its zenith. Quantum computers are one among them creating fear into security agencies across the world. Solving the complex mathematical calculations is uncomplicated using quantum computers which results in breaking the keys of modern cryptography, which cannot be broken using classical computers. The concept of quantum physics, into the cryptographic world has resulted in the advancement of quantum cryptography. This technique utilizes the idea of key generation by photons, and communicates between peer entities by secured channel. Quantum cryptography adapts quantum mechanical principles like Heisenberg Uncertainty principle and photon polar...
SECOQC White Paper on Quantum Key Distribution and Cryptography
2007
The SECOQC White Paper on Quantum Key Distribution and Cryptography is the outcome on a thorough consultation and discussion among the participants of the European project SECOQC (www.secoqc.net). This paper is a review article that attempts to position Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) in terms of cryptographic applications. A detailed comparison of QKD with the solutions currently in use to solve the key distribution problem, based on classical cryptography, is provided. We also detail how the work on QKD networks lead within SECOQC will allow the deployment of long-distance secure communication infrastructures based on quantum cryptography. The purpose of the White Paper is finally to promote closer collaboration between classical and quantum cryptographers. We believe that very fruitful research, involving both communities, could emerge in the future years and try to sketch what may be the next challenges in this direction.
A Prospective Study of Information -Theoretic and Practical Quantum Key Distribution
Most modern cryptographic mechanisms are often based on the key distribution schemes, the security of which depends on the computational complexity and the power used to break the encryption. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is gaining popularity as a panacea to the issue of secure key distribution due to its ability to show secret keys' information-theoretic protection that is already suitable for commercialization. The goal is to generate a secret key between trusted parties connected through a quantum channel and an authenticated classical channel. The technology promises unconditional secure communication based on the principles of quantum mechanics without limiting the power of an eavesdropper. The first three sections provide a contemporary review of the Quantum Key Distribution in a nutshell. The remaining part of the paper deals with the key parameters and implementations that have been developed to assess the security of the leading experimental platforms and the challeng...
Quantum Cryptography–A Theoretical Overview
Journal of Quantum Computing, 2021
Quantum Key Distribution seems very promising as it offers unconditional security, that's why it is being implemented by the tech giants of the networking industry and government. Having quantum phenomenon as a backbone, QKD protocols become indecipherable. Here we have focused on the complexities of quantum key distribution and how this technology has contributed to secure key communication. This article gives an updated overview of this technology and can serve as a guide to get familiar with the current trends of quantum cryptography.
Secure quantum key distribution
Nature Photonics, 2014
Secure communication plays a crucial role in the Internet Age. Quantum mechanics may revolutionise cryptography as we know it today. In this Review Article, we introduce the motivation and the current state of the art of research in quantum cryptography. In particular, we discuss the present security model together with its assumptions, strengths and weaknesses. After a brief introduction to recent experimental progress and challenges, we survey the latest developments in quantum hacking and countermeasures against it. With the rise of the Internet, the importance of cryptography is growing every day. Each time we make an on-line purchase with our credit cards, or we conduct financial transactions using Internet banking, we should be concerned with secure communication. Unfortunately, the security of conventional cryptography is often based on computational assumptions. For instance, the security of the RSA scheme [1], the most widely used public-key encryption scheme, is based on the presumed hardness of factoring. Consequently, conventional cryptography is vulnerable to unanticipated advances in hardware and algorithms, as well as to quantum code-breaking such as Shor's efficient algorithm [2] for factoring. Government and trade secrets are kept for decades. An eavesdropper, Eve, may simply save communications sent in 2014 and wait for technological advances. If she is able to factorise large integers in say 2100, she could retroactively break the security of data sent in 2014. In contrast, quantum key distribution (QKD), the best-known application of quantum cryptography, promises to achieve the Holy Grail of cryptographyunconditional security in communication. By unconditional security or, more precisely,-security, as it will be explained shortly (see section discussing the security model of QKD), Eve is not restricted by computational assumptions but she is only limited by the laws of physics. QKD is a remarkable solution to long-term security since, in principle, it offers security for eternity. Unlike conventional cryptography, which allows Eve to store a classical transcript of communications, in QKD, once a quantum transmission is done, there is no classical transcript for Eve to store. See Box 1 for background information on secure communication and QKD. Box 1 | Secure communication and QKD. Secure Communication: Suppose a sender, Alice, would like to send a secret message to a receiver, Bob, through an open communication channel. Encryption is needed. If they share a common string of secret bits, called a key, Alice can use her key to transform a plain-text into a cipher-text, which is unintelligible to Eve. In contrast, Bob, with his key, can decrypt the cipher-text and recover the plain-text. In cryptography, the security of a crypto-system should rely solely on the secrecy of the key. The question is: how to distribute a key securely? In conventional cryptography, this is often done by trusted couriers. Unfortunately, in classical physics, couriers may be brided or compromised without the users noticing it. This motivates the development of quantum key distribution (QKD). Quantum Key Distribution: The best-known QKD protocol (BB84) was published by Bennett and Brassard in 1984 [3]. Alice sends Bob a sequence of photons prepared in different polarisation states, which are chosen at random from two conjugate bases. For each photon, Bob selects randomly one of the two conjugate bases and performs a measurement. He records the outcome of his measurement and the basis choice. Through an authenticated channel, Alice and Bob broadcast their measurement bases. They discard all polarisation data sent and received in different bases and use the remaining data to generate a sifted key. To test for tampering they compute the quantum bit error rate (QBER) of a randomly selected subset of data and verify that the QBER is below a certain threshold value. By applying classical post-processing protocols such as error correction and privacy amplification, they generate a secure key. This key can be used to make the communication unconditionally secure by using a one-time-pad protocol [4].
The security of practical quantum key distribution
Reviews of Modern Physics, 2009
Quantum key distribution ͑QKD͒ is the first quantum information task to reach the level of mature technology, already fit for commercialization. It aims at the creation of a secret key between authorized partners connected by a quantum channel and a classical authenticated channel. The security of the key can in principle be guaranteed without putting any restriction on an eavesdropper's power. This article provides a concise up-to-date review of QKD, biased toward the practical side. Essential theoretical tools that have been developed to assess the security of the main experimental platforms are presented ͑discrete-variable, continuous-variable, and distributed-phase-reference protocols͒.
Quantum Cryptography: Quantum Key Distribution, a Non-technical Approach
Cornell University - arXiv, 2022
With the rapid development of quantum computers the currently secure cryptographic protocols may not stay that way. Quantum mechanics provides means to create an inherently secure communication channel that is protected by the laws of physics and not by the computational hardness of certain mathematical problems. This paper is a non-technical overview of quantum key distribution, one of the most well-known application of quantum cryptography, a type of cryptography poised to exploit the laws of quantum mechanics directly.
Introduction to Quantum Key Distribution
2017
Quantum Key Distribution is a cryptographic primitive that allows for exponential growing of an initial key, shared among the end-points of a quantum channel: a communications channel over which quantum signals can be transmitted. Its security can be derived from the laws of quantum mechanics, which allow to prove the Information Theoretic Security of QKD . In this entry the process and specific characteristics of QKD are discussed. This includes the meaning of the “absolute security” character that is usually ascribed to QKD, its limitations and practical implementation. keywords: security, cryptography, cyphering, symmetric key, quantum key distribution, quantum safe cryptography.
Journal of Discrete Mathematical Sciences and Cryptography, 2019
Facts say that practical cryptographic systems are now within the range. Quantum cryptography generally gives the solution which uses the various methods of polarization to leave the transmitted data undisturbed. In this work we try to improve the data security by increase the key size shared between parties involved used in quantum cryptography. Quantum cryptography uses storing the split particles involved and then measuring them and creating what they use, eliminating the problem of unsafe storage.