3,153 research outputs found
Free-Space Quantum Key Distribution
Based on the firm laws of physics rather than unproven foundations of
mathematical complexity, quantum cryptography provides a radically different
solution for encryption and promises unconditional security. Quantum
cryptography systems are typically built between two nodes connected to each
other through fiber optic. This chapter focuses on quantum cryptography systems
operating over free-space optical channels as a cost-effective and license-free
alternative to fiber optic counterparts. It provides an overview of the
different parts of an experimental free-space quantum communication link
developed in the Spanish National Research Council (Madrid, Spain).Comment: 22 pages, 15 figure
A brief review on the impossibility of quantum bit commitment
The desire to obtain an unconditionally secure bit commitment protocol in
quantum cryptography was expressed for the first time thirteen years ago. Bit
commitment is sufficient in quantum cryptography to realize a variety of
applications with unconditional security. In 1993, a quantum bit commitment
protocol was proposed together with a security proof. However, a basic flaw in
the protocol was discovered by Mayers in 1995 and subsequently by Lo and Chau.
Later the result was generalized by Mayers who showed that unconditionally
secure bit commitment is impossible. A brief review on quantum bit commitment
which focuses on the general impossibility theorem and on recent attempts to
bypass this result is provided.Comment: 11 page
Role of causality in ensuring unconditional security of relativistic quantum cryptography
The problem of unconditional security of quantum cryptography (i.e. the
security which is guaranteed by the fundamental laws of nature rather than by
technical limitations) is one of the central points in quantum information
theory. We propose a relativistic quantum cryptosystem and prove its
unconditional security against any eavesdropping attempts. Relativistic
causality arguments allow to demonstrate the security of the system in a simple
way. Since the proposed protocol does not employ collective measurements and
quantum codes, the cryptosystem can be experimentally realized with the present
state-of-art in fiber optics technologies. The proposed cryptosystem employs
only the individual measurements and classical codes and, in addition, the key
distribution problem allows to postpone the choice of the state encoding scheme
until after the states are already received instead of choosing it before
sending the states into the communication channel (i.e. to employ a sort of
``antedate'' coding).Comment: 9 page
Physical-Layer Security, Quantum Key Distribution and Post-quantum Cryptography
The growth of data-driven technologies, 5G, and the Internet place enormous pressure on underlying information infrastructure. There exist numerous proposals on how to deal with the possible capacity crunch. However, the security of both optical and wireless networks lags behind reliable and spectrally efficient transmission. Significant achievements have been made recently in the quantum computing arena. Because most conventional cryptography systems rely on computational security, which guarantees the security against an efficient eavesdropper for a limited time, with the advancement in quantum computing this security can be compromised. To solve these problems, various schemes providing perfect/unconditional security have been proposed including physical-layer security (PLS), quantum key distribution (QKD), and post-quantum cryptography. Unfortunately, it is still not clear how to integrate those different proposals with higher level cryptography schemes. So the purpose of the Special Issue entitled “Physical-Layer Security, Quantum Key Distribution and Post-quantum Cryptography” was to integrate these various approaches and enable the next generation of cryptography systems whose security cannot be broken by quantum computers. This book represents the reprint of the papers accepted for publication in the Special Issue
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