55,952 research outputs found
Low Cost and Compact Quantum Cryptography
We present the design of a novel free-space quantum cryptography system,
complete with purpose-built software, that can operate in daylight conditions.
The transmitter and receiver modules are built using inexpensive off-the-shelf
components. Both modules are compact allowing the generation of renewed shared
secrets on demand over a short range of a few metres. An analysis of the
software is shown as well as results of error rates and therefore shared secret
yields at varying background light levels. As the system is designed to
eventually work in short-range consumer applications, we also present a use
scenario where the consumer can regularly 'top up' a store of secrets for use
in a variety of one-time-pad and authentication protocols.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, to be published in New Journal of Physic
Systematizing Decentralization and Privacy: Lessons from 15 Years of Research and Deployments
Decentralized systems are a subset of distributed systems where multiple
authorities control different components and no authority is fully trusted by
all. This implies that any component in a decentralized system is potentially
adversarial. We revise fifteen years of research on decentralization and
privacy, and provide an overview of key systems, as well as key insights for
designers of future systems. We show that decentralized designs can enhance
privacy, integrity, and availability but also require careful trade-offs in
terms of system complexity, properties provided, and degree of
decentralization. These trade-offs need to be understood and navigated by
designers. We argue that a combination of insights from cryptography,
distributed systems, and mechanism design, aligned with the development of
adequate incentives, are necessary to build scalable and successful
privacy-preserving decentralized systems
A Talk on Quantum Cryptography, or How Alice Outwits Eve
Alice and Bob wish to communicate without the archvillainess Eve
eavesdropping on their conversation. Alice, decides to take two college
courses, one in cryptography, the other in quantum mechanics. During the
courses, she discovers she can use what she has just learned to devise a
cryptographic communication system that automatically detects whether or not
Eve is up to her villainous eavesdropping. Some of the topics discussed are
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, the Vernam cipher, the BB84 and B92
cryptographic protocols. The talk ends with a discussion of some of Eve's
possible eavesdropping strategies, opaque eavesdropping, translucent
eavesdropping, and translucent eavesdropping with entanglement.Comment: 31 pages, 8 figures. Revised version of a paper published in "Coding
Theory, and Cryptography: From Geheimscheimschreiber and Enigma to Quantum
Theory," (edited by David Joyner), Springer-Verlag, 1999 (pp. 144-174). To be
published with the permission of Springer-Verlag in an AMS PSAPM Short Course
volume entitled "Quantum Computation.
Lex Informatica: The Formulation of Information Policy Rules through Technology
Historically, law and government regulation have established default rules for information policy, including constitutional rules on freedom of expression and statutory rights of ownership of information. This Article will show that for network environments and the Information Society, however, law and government regulation are not the only source of rule-making. Technological capabilities and system design choices impose rules on participants. The creation and implementation of information policy are embedded in network designs and standards as well as in system configurations. Even user preferences and technical choices create overarching, local default rules. This Article argues, in essence, that the set of rules for information flows imposed by technology and communication networks form a âLex Informaticaâ that policymakers must understand, consciously recognize, and encourage
- âŠ