Quantum Cryptography Systems Research Articles

On the security of fiber optic quantum cryptography systems without the control of the intensity of quasi-single-photon coherent states

Internal losses in systems of quantum cryptography can be used at attacks by an eavesdropper. As a result, the security of keys cannot be ensured for a number of protocols. This problem can be solved by using geometrically uniform coherent states with a larger number of bases. The security of keys at the number of bases Nb/2 = 4 and the number of states Nb = 8 can be guaranteed even without the control of the intensity of input states.

FPGA-Based Emulation of a Synchronous Phase-Coded Quantum Cryptography System

We present FPGA-based emulation of a synchronous phase-coded quantum cryptography system. Several of the emulated subsystems are used for implementation in a free space demonstrative QPSK scheme for quantum key distribution with continuous variables (CV-QKD) using a base and optical phase synchronization. The CV-QKD systems are commonly implemented using QPSK modulation with switched or simultaneous detection. In this paper we only make use of one base of the QPSK system in order to get a simpler modulation (BPSK) scheme, used for demonstrative purposes. The reported results from the emulation and the experiment in terms of Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER) and mutual information for different values of the number of photons per bit are in good agreement.

Implementation of Positive Operator-Valued Measure in Passive Faraday Mirror Attack* *Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 61472446, U1204602, and National High Technology Research and Development Program of China under Grant No. 2011AA010803, and the Open Project Program of the State Key Laboratory of Mathematical Engineering and Advanced Computing under Grant No. 2013A14

Passive Faraday-mirror (PFM) attack is based on imperfect Faraday mirrors in practical quantum cryptography systems and a set of three-dimensional Positive Operator-Valued Measure (POVM) operators plays an important role in this attack. In this paper, we propose a simple scheme to implement the POVM in PFM attack on an Faraday–Michelson quantum cryptography system. Since the POVM can not be implemented directly with previous methods, in this scheme it needs to expand the states sent by Alice and the POVM operators in the attack into four-dimensional Hilbert space first, without changing the attacking effect by calculation. Based on the methods proposed by Ahnert and Payne, the linear-optical setup for implementing the POVM operators is derived. At last, the complete setup for realizing the PFM attack is presented with all parameters. Furthermore, our scheme can also be applied to realize PFM attack on a plug-and-play system by changing the parameters in the setup.

Wavefunctions of a prolate spheroid and multiplexing in relativistic quantum cryptography on orthogonal states

Relativistic quantum cryptography involves not only the geometric properties of the state vectors of a quantum system in the Hilbert space but also the properties of carriers of quantum states in the Minkowski spacetime. A physical type of quantum object carrying information with extremely high velocity in spacetime is of fundamental importance. The structure of spacetime, more precisely, irreducible representations of the Poincare group, in the Hilbert space is responsible for the existence of massless particles, photons. In this sense, the structure of spacetime is in fact used in relativistic quantum cryptography systems for cryptographic key distribution. This makes it possible to guarantee the security of keys even with the use of orthogonal states.

Determining influence of four-wave mixing effect on quantum key distribution

We consider the possibility of multiplexing the classical and quantum signals in a quantum cryptography system with optical fiber used as a transmission medium. If the quantum signal is located at a frequency close to the frequency of classical signals, a set of nonlinear effects such as FWM (four-wave mixing) and Raman scattering is observed. The impact of four-wave mixing (FWM) effect on error level is described and analyzed in this work in case of large frequency diversity between classical and quantum signals. It is shown that the influence of FWM is negligible for convenient quantum key distribution.

Implementation of multiplexing in a subcarrier-wave quantum cryptography system

Quantum cryptography allows distributing secure keys in a way that any eavesdropping in the channel is inevitably detected. This work is dedicated to introducing wavelength division multiplexing in a subcarrier-wave quantum cryptography system. Compared to other existing schemes, the resulting device is able to achieve higher bitrates (up to 2.26 Mbit/s at 20 km), is robust against external conditions and compatible with standard telecommunication fibres in multi-user environment.

Quantum key distribution in an optical fiber at distances of up to 200 km and a bit rate of 180 bit/s

An experimental demonstration of a subcarrier-wave quantum cryptography system with superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) that distributes a secure key in a single-mode fiber at distance of 25 km with a bit rate of 800 kbit/s, a distance of 100 km with a bit rate of 19 kbit/s, and a distance of 200 km with a bit rate of 0.18 kbit/s is described.

양자키 교환과 AES를 이용한 비밀통신 연구

비밀통신의 발전은 아날로그 통신에서 디지털 통신으로 진보해 왔다. 디지털통신상의 비밀통신은 one-time pad의 안전성을 승계하여 주로 설계 되어 왔다. One-time pad의 안전성은 상호 보관하는 비밀키의 안전성에 기인하고 비밀키의 교환에 의한 상호 동기화가 가장 중요한 요소이다. 본 논문에서는 quantum cryptography system 중 BB84 알고리즘의 수학적 안전도를 살펴보고 이를 이용하여 양자 키 전송을 시행한다. 생성된 키는 개인의 각 단말에서 AES의 64번 라운드를 시행한 ciphertext을 상호 교환하는 One-time Pad 형 알고리즘을 제안한다. Secret communication has developed from analogue communication to digital one. Secret communication which is based on digital communication has been designed succeeding safety of one-time pad. One-time pad's safety is attributed to the security of secret key's mutual storage and mutual synchronization that is the key's interchange basis is one of the essential factors. This manuscript examines mathematical stability of BB84 algorithm which is one of the quantum cryptography system, and conducts transmission of quantum key. The created key suggests One-time Pad algorithm which interchanges ciphertext implemented AES's 64th round.

스마트 전자정부 구현을 위한 보안 알고리즘 응용 제안

ICT 생태계의 동인으로 전자정부는 그 형태의 변화를 가져온다. 이에 따라 스마트 전자정부 구현을 위해서 정부는 m-Gov 서비스를 활성화 하고, 이를 위해 기술정책을 수립할 필요가 있다. 따라서 본 논문에서 스마트 전자정부 구현 모형을 제시하고, 안전한 m-Gov의 인프라 구성을 위해 양자암호 시스템을 서버보안에 응용할 수 있는 정보보안 기술정책으로서 보안 알고리즘을 제안한다. 이것은 결국 보안성, 안전성, 경제성이 확보된 대국민 및 기업에 대한 스마트 전자정부 서비스를 제공하는 행정이념을 추구하는 것이다. As ICT Ecosystem does, electronic government changes in its form. Accordingly, in order to realize Smarter m-Gov, the governments need to vitalize m-Gov services and enact technology policy. Therefor, this manuscript suggests possible model of m-Gov realization and security algorithm as a technology policy which applies quantum cryptography system to server security for the construction of secured m-Gov's infrastructure. What the manuscript suggests seeks administrative ideas of Smarter m-Gov's services which contain security, stability, and economic feasibility for the benefits of nation and enterprises.

Appliance of Neuron Networks in Cryptographic Systems

This study is dedicated to the examination of a problem of postquantum encryption algorithms which are connected with a potential crisis in modern cryptography that is caused by appearance of quantum computers. General problem formulation is given as well as an example of danger from the quantum algorithms against classical cryptosystems. Existing postquantum systems are analyzed and the complication of their realization and cryptosecurity are estimated. Among the others algorithms on the basis of neural networks are chosen as a starting point. The study demonstrates neuro cryptographic protocol based on a three-level neural network of the direct propagation. There was evaluated it's cryptosecurity and analyzed three types of this algorithm attack to show the reality of the hypothesis that neuro cryptography is currently one of the most promising post quantum cryptographic systems.

Method of the balancing of Mach-Zehnder fiber-optic interferometers in single-pass quantum cryptography

A distributed balancing method for single-pass quantum cryptographic systems with phase encoding has been proposed. This method allows completely automated balancing, is quite universal, and can be used in other optical experiments.

Intrinsic imperfection of self-differencing single-photon detectors harms the security of high-speed quantum cryptography systems

Thanks to the high-speed self-differencing single-photon detector (SD-SPD), the secret key rate of quantum key distribution (QKD), which can, in principle, offer unconditionally secure private communications between two users (Alice and Bob), can exceed 1 Mbit/s. However, the SD-SPD may contain loopholes, which can be exploited by an eavesdropper (Eve) to hack into the unconditional security of the high-speed QKD systems. In this paper, we analyze the fact that the SD-SPD can be remotely controlled by Eve in order to spy on full information without being discovered, then proof-of-principle experiments are demonstrated. Here, we point out that this loophole is introduced directly by the operating principle of the SD-SPD, thus, it cannot be removed, except for the fact that some active countermeasures are applied by the legitimate parties.

Efficient separation of the orbital angular momentum eigenstates of light

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light is an attractive degree of freedom for fundamental studies in quantum mechanics. In addition, the discrete unbounded state-space of OAM has been used to enhance classical and quantum communications. Unambiguous measurement of OAM is a key part of all such experiments. However, state-of-the-art methods for separating single photons carrying a large number of different OAM values are limited to a theoretical separation efficiency of about 77%. Here we demonstrate a method which uses a series of unitary optical transformations to enable the measurement of light's OAM with an experimental separation efficiency of >92%. Furthermore, we demonstrate the separation of modes in the angular position basis, which is mutually unbiased with respect to the OAM basis. The high degree of certainty achieved by our method makes it particularly attractive for enhancing the information capacity of multi-level quantum cryptography systems.

Effect of imperfect Faraday mirrors on the security of a Faraday–Michelson quantum cryptography system

The one-way Faraday–Michelson system is a very useful practical quantum cryptography system where Faraday mirrors (FMs) play an important role. In this paper we analyze the security of this system against imperfect FMs. We consider the security loophole caused by imperfect FMs in Alice’s and Bob’s security zones. Then we implement a passive FM attack in this system. By changing the values of the imperfection parameters of Alice’s FMs, we calculate the quantum bit error rate between Alice and Bob induced by Eve and the probability that Eve obtains outcomes successfully. It is shown that the imperfection of one of Alice’s two FMs makes the system sensitive to an attack. Finally we give a modified key rate as a function of the FM imperfections. The security analysis indicates that both Alice’s and Bob’s imperfect FMs can compromise the secure key.

이중광자 전송을 통한 양자비밀통신

본 논문에서는 양자암호 시스템을 개선하여 이중 광자전송을 이용한 사용자 비밀 평문 교환을 구현하는 알고리즘을 설계하였다. 기존 양자암호 알고리즘에서는 주로 키전송 프로토콜로써의 양자 암호 시스템을 사용하였으나 본고에서는 이를 보다 개선하여 이중 광자 전송 방식을 통한 양자 평문 전송 알고리즘을 재안한다. In this paper, we improve the quantum cryptography system using a dual photon transmission plaintext user password algorithmwas designed to implementthe exchange. Existing quantum cryptographic key transport protocols, algorithms, mainly as a quantum cryptography system using the paper, but it improved the way the dual photon transmission through the quantum algorithm re not getting transmitted plaintext.

On the quantum-mechanical bound on the loss of information through side channels in quantum cryptography

The security of cryptographic keys in quantum cryptography systems is guaranteed by fundamental quantum mechanical exclusion principles. A quantum channel through which quantum states are transferred is not controlled and an eavesdropper can perform any modifications with it. The security of quantum key distribution protocols has already been proved [M. Tomamichel et al., Nature Commun. 3, 634 (2011); S. N. Molotkov, J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 115, 969 (2012)], including the realistic case of a finite length of transmitted sequences. It is always assumed that the eavesdropper has neither direct nor indirect access to the transmitting and receiving equipment. The real situation is somewhat different. The preparation and detection of quantum states occur according to random sequences that are generated on the transmitter and receiver sides. Detecting electromagnetic radiation generated in these processes, the eavesdropper can obtain additional information on a key. The upper quantum-mechanical bound on the amount of information of the eavesdropper on the key that can be obtained through a side channel has been determined.

Security of decoy-state protocols for general photon-number-splitting attacks

Decoy-state protocols provide a way to defeat photon-number splitting attacks in quantum cryptography implemented with weak coherent pulses. We point out that previous security analyses of such protocols relied on assumptions about eavesdropping attacks that considered treating each pulse equally and independently. We give an example to demonstrate that, without such assumptions, the security parameters of previous decoy-state implementations could be worse than the ones claimed. Next we consider more general photon-number splitting attacks, which correlate different pulses, and give an estimation procedure for the number of single photon signals with rigorous security statements. The impact of our result is that previous analyses of the number of times a decoy-state quantum cryptographic system can be reused before it makes a weak key must be revised.

Model checking quantum Markov chains

Although security of quantum cryptography is provable based on principles of quantum mechanics, it can be compromised by flaws in the design of quantum protocols. So, it is indispensable to develop techniques for verifying and debugging quantum cryptographic systems. Model-checking has proved to be effective in the verification of classical cryptographic protocols, but an essential difficulty arises when it is applied to quantum systems: the state space of a quantum system is always a continuum even when its dimension is finite. To overcome this difficulty, we introduce a novel notion of quantum Markov chain, especially suited for modelling quantum cryptographic protocols, in which quantum effects are encoded as super-operators labelling transitions, leaving the location information (nodes) being classical. Then we define a quantum extension of probabilistic computation tree logic (PCTL) and develop a model-checking algorithm for quantum Markov chains.

Higher-Dimensional Quantum Cryptography

We report on a high-speed quantum cryptography system with simultaneous entanglement in polarization and “time-bins”. We use multiple degrees of freedom and multiple spots on the downconversion cone to achieve 14 Mbits/s of secure key.

Bisimulation for Quantum Processes

Quantum cryptographic systems have been commercially available, with a striking advantage over classical systems that their security and ability to detect the presence of eavesdropping are provable based on the principles of quantum mechanics. On the other hand, quantum protocol designers may commit more faults than classical protocol designers since human intuition is poorly adapted to the quantum world. To offer formal techniques for modeling and verification of quantum protocols, several quantum extensions of process algebra have been proposed. An important issue in quantum process algebra is to discover a quantum generalization of bisimulation preserved by various process constructs, in particular, parallel composition, where one of the major differences between classical and quantum systems, namely quantum entanglement, is present. Quite a few versions of bisimulation have been defined for quantum processes in the literature, but in the best case they are only proved to be preserved by parallel composition of purely quantum processes where no classical communication is involved. Many quantum cryptographic protocols, however, employ the LOCC (Local Operations and Classical Communication) scheme, where classical communication must be explicitly specified. So, a notion of bisimulation preserved by parallel composition in the circumstance of both classical and quantum communication is crucial for process algebra approach to verification of quantum cryptographic protocols. In this article we introduce novel notions of strong bisimulation and weak bisimulation for quantum processes, and prove that they are congruent with respect to various process algebra combinators including parallel composition even when both classical and quantum communication are present. We also establish some basic algebraic laws for these bisimulations. In particular, we show the uniqueness of the solutions to recursive equations of quantum processes, which proves useful in verifying complex quantum protocols. To capture the idea that a quantum process approximately implements its specification, and provide techniques and tools for approximate reasoning, a quantified version of strong bisimulation, which defines for each pair of quantum processes a bisimulation-based distance characterizing the extent to which they are strongly bisimilar, is also introduced.