13,698 research outputs found
Using quantum key distribution for cryptographic purposes: a survey
The appealing feature of quantum key distribution (QKD), from a cryptographic
viewpoint, is the ability to prove the information-theoretic security (ITS) of
the established keys. As a key establishment primitive, QKD however does not
provide a standalone security service in its own: the secret keys established
by QKD are in general then used by a subsequent cryptographic applications for
which the requirements, the context of use and the security properties can
vary. It is therefore important, in the perspective of integrating QKD in
security infrastructures, to analyze how QKD can be combined with other
cryptographic primitives. The purpose of this survey article, which is mostly
centered on European research results, is to contribute to such an analysis. We
first review and compare the properties of the existing key establishment
techniques, QKD being one of them. We then study more specifically two generic
scenarios related to the practical use of QKD in cryptographic infrastructures:
1) using QKD as a key renewal technique for a symmetric cipher over a
point-to-point link; 2) using QKD in a network containing many users with the
objective of offering any-to-any key establishment service. We discuss the
constraints as well as the potential interest of using QKD in these contexts.
We finally give an overview of challenges relative to the development of QKD
technology that also constitute potential avenues for cryptographic research.Comment: Revised version of the SECOQC White Paper. Published in the special
issue on QKD of TCS, Theoretical Computer Science (2014), pp. 62-8
The Case for Quantum Key Distribution
Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises secure key agreement by using quantum
mechanical systems. We argue that QKD will be an important part of future
cryptographic infrastructures. It can provide long-term confidentiality for
encrypted information without reliance on computational assumptions. Although
QKD still requires authentication to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, it can
make use of either information-theoretically secure symmetric key
authentication or computationally secure public key authentication: even when
using public key authentication, we argue that QKD still offers stronger
security than classical key agreement.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure; to appear in proceedings of QuantumComm 2009
Workshop on Quantum and Classical Information Security; version 2 minor
content revision
Quantum cryptography: a practical information security perspective
Quantum Key Exchange (QKE, also known as Quantum Key Distribution or QKD)
allows communicating parties to securely establish cryptographic keys. It is a
well-established fact that all QKE protocols require that the parties have
access to an authentic channel. Without this authenticated link, QKE is
vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. Overlooking this fact results in
exaggerated claims and/or false expectations about the potential impact of QKE.
In this paper we present a systematic comparison of QKE with traditional key
establishment protocols in realistic secure communication systems.Comment: 5 pages, new title, published version, minor changes onl
Review on DNA Cryptography
Cryptography is the science that secures data and communication over the
network by applying mathematics and logic to design strong encryption methods.
In the modern era of e-business and e-commerce the protection of
confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA triad) of stored information
as well as of transmitted data is very crucial. DNA molecules, having the
capacity to store, process and transmit information, inspires the idea of DNA
cryptography. This combination of the chemical characteristics of biological
DNA sequences and classical cryptography ensures the non-vulnerable
transmission of data. In this paper we have reviewed the present state of art
of DNA cryptography.Comment: 31 pages, 12 figures, 6 table
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