Quantum cryptography: a practical information security perspective

Kenneth G.  Paterson; Fred Piper; Ruediger Schack

Paper 2004/156

Quantum cryptography: a practical information security perspective

Kenneth G. Paterson, Fred Piper, and Ruediger Schack

Abstract

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.

Note: This paper was originally posted with the title "Why quantum cryptography?" It was published in Quantum Communication and Security, Proceedings, NATO Advanced Research Workshop, edited by M. ˙Zukowski, S. Kilin and J. Kowalik, p. 175–180 (IOS Press, Amsterdam, 2007).

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF
Category: Applications
Publication info: Published elsewhere. Also available at quant-ph/0406147
Keywords: quantum cryptography
Contact author(s): kenny paterson @ rhul ac uk
History: 2009-08-11: last of 2 revisions; 2004-07-07: received; See all versions
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2004/156
License: CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2004/156,
      author = {Kenneth G.  Paterson and Fred Piper and Ruediger Schack},
      title = {Quantum cryptography: a practical information security perspective},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2004/156},
      year = {2004},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2004/156}
}