Mitigating the source-side channel vulnerability by characterization of photon statistics

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Sharma, Tanya, Biswas, Ayan, Ramakrishnan, Jayanth, Chandravanshi, Pooja, Singh, Ravindra P.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Sharma, Tanya
Biswas, Ayan
Ramakrishnan, Jayanth
Chandravanshi, Pooja
Singh, Ravindra P.
author_facet Sharma, Tanya
Biswas, Ayan
Ramakrishnan, Jayanth
Chandravanshi, Pooja
Singh, Ravindra P.
contents Quantum key distribution (QKD) theoretically offers unconditional security. Unfortunately, the gap between theory and practice threatens side-channel attacks on practical QKD systems. Many well-known QKD protocols use weak coherent laser pulses to encode the quantum information. These sources differ from ideal single photon sources and follow Poisson statistics. Many protocols, such as decoy state and coincidence detection protocols, rely on monitoring the photon statistics to detect any information leakage. The accurate measurement and characterization of photon statistics enable the detection of adversarial attacks and the estimation of secure key rates, strengthening the overall security of the QKD system. We have rigorously characterized our source to estimate the mean photon number employing multiple detectors for comparison against measurements made with a single detector. Furthermore, we have also studied intensity fluctuations to help identify and mitigate any potential information leakage due to state preparation flaws. We aim to bridge the gap between theory and practice to achieve information-theoretic security.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2308_14402
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Mitigating the source-side channel vulnerability by characterization of photon statistics
Sharma, Tanya
Biswas, Ayan
Ramakrishnan, Jayanth
Chandravanshi, Pooja
Singh, Ravindra P.
Quantum Physics
Quantum key distribution (QKD) theoretically offers unconditional security. Unfortunately, the gap between theory and practice threatens side-channel attacks on practical QKD systems. Many well-known QKD protocols use weak coherent laser pulses to encode the quantum information. These sources differ from ideal single photon sources and follow Poisson statistics. Many protocols, such as decoy state and coincidence detection protocols, rely on monitoring the photon statistics to detect any information leakage. The accurate measurement and characterization of photon statistics enable the detection of adversarial attacks and the estimation of secure key rates, strengthening the overall security of the QKD system. We have rigorously characterized our source to estimate the mean photon number employing multiple detectors for comparison against measurements made with a single detector. Furthermore, we have also studied intensity fluctuations to help identify and mitigate any potential information leakage due to state preparation flaws. We aim to bridge the gap between theory and practice to achieve information-theoretic security.
title Mitigating the source-side channel vulnerability by characterization of photon statistics
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.14402