Abstract
We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method for generating and sharing a secret key using phase fluctuations in fiber optical links. The obtained key can be readily used to support secure communication between the parties. The security of our approach is based on a fundamental asymmetry associated with the optical physical layer: the sophistication of tools needed by an eavesdropping adversary to subvert the key establishment is significantly greater and more costly than the complexity needed by the legitimate parties to implement the scheme. In this sense, the method is similar to the classical asymmetric algorithms (Diffie-Hellman, RSA, etc.).
Highlights
Secret key distribution has always been a challenging problem in secure communications
Physical layer secret key establishment has been successfully demonstrated in the wireless domain [1, 2], where the channel reciprocity properties of the wireless fading channel provide the basis for key establishment
All hardware implementations of even flawless key distribution techniques, such as quantum cryptography, have a number of vulnerabilities connected with particular hardware realization, which may not distinguish between correct system operation and a smart intrusion into the system
Summary
Secret key distribution has always been a challenging problem in secure communications. Physical layer secret key establishment has been successfully demonstrated in the wireless domain [1, 2], where the channel reciprocity properties of the wireless fading channel provide the basis for key establishment These approaches are not applicable to large metro and long-haul networks, where the transmission medium is necessarily an optical fiber. Most of them, as will be discussed later, use naive assumptions that an adversary does not know a secret parameter or a code, used by the legitimate users; or even the assumption that Eve cannot implement a “complicated” method of data extraction used in the system These methods do not exploit any asymmetries associated with the physical layer itself. Having these two properties combined in the same system makes it advantageous with respect to previous approaches and efficient in terms of amount of work that legitimate parties must use in order to impose serious complications for an eavesdropping adversary
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