2,547 research outputs found
Post-processing procedure for industrial quantum key distribution systems
We present algorithmic solutions aimed on post-processing for industrial
quantum key distribution systems with hardware sifting. The main steps of the
procedure are error correction, parameter estimation, and privacy
amplification. Authentication of a classical public communication channel is
also considered.Comment: 5 pages; presented at the 3rd International School and Conference
"Saint-Petersburg OPEN 2016" (Saint-Petersburg, March 28-30, 2016
Quantum-secured blockchain
Blockchain is a distributed database which is cryptographically protected
against malicious modifications. While promising for a wide range of
applications, current blockchain platforms rely on digital signatures, which
are vulnerable to attacks by means of quantum computers. The same, albeit to a
lesser extent, applies to cryptographic hash functions that are used in
preparing new blocks, so parties with access to quantum computation would have
unfair advantage in procuring mining rewards. Here we propose a possible
solution to the quantum era blockchain challenge and report an experimental
realization of a quantum-safe blockchain platform that utilizes quantum key
distribution across an urban fiber network for information-theoretically secure
authentication. These results address important questions about realizability
and scalability of quantum-safe blockchains for commercial and governmental
applications.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures; published versio
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