Work

Amplitude-boosting attack against practical discrete-modulated continuous-variable quantum key distribution

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Discrete-modulated continuous-variable quantum key distribution offers significant practical deployment advantages due to its straightforward state preparation and high compatibility with coherent optical communication systems. However, security analysis and parameter estimation of discrete-modulated protocol are different with Gaussian-modulated protocols, which could cause different practical security problems. Herein, we investigate the amplitude-boosting attack against discrete-modulated continuous-variable quantum key distribution systems and assess its impact on system performance. Our findings reveal that this attack could cause overestimation of secret key rate perceived by Alice and Bob, thereby opening a security loophole, and the vulnerability could be severer than Gaussian modulation. Additionally, we summarize defensive countermeasures, marking a crucial step towards enhancing the practical security of discrete-modulated continuous-variable quantum key distribution.

Source: Optics Express

DOI: 10.1364/oe.532431

Authors: Mingze Wu, Yiming Bian, Junhui Li, Song Yu, Yichen Zhang

Institution: Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications

Language: English

Topic: Quantum Information and Cryptography

Subfield: Artificial Intelligence

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,270

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities