Quantum communications at ITMO University - a project for unbreakable data transmission systems
Quantum Communications Enterprise creates encryption key distribution systems. Their main feature is the impossibility of "wiretapping".
Rama / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA
Data is considered protected if its decryption time significantly exceeds the “shelf life”. Today it becomes more difficult to fulfill this condition - the development of supercomputers is to blame. A few years ago, a cluster of 80 computers based on Pentium 4 was “mastered” ( page 6 in the article ) 1024-bit RSA encryption in just 104 hours.
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On a supercomputer, this time will be significantly less, but one of the solutions to the problem could be an “absolutely strong cipher”, the concept of which was proposed by Shannon. In such systems, keys are generated for each message, which increases the risk of their interception.
This is where new-type communication lines come to the rescue - quantum networks transmitting data (cryptographic keys) using single photons. When you try to intercept the signal, these photons are destroyed, which serves as a sign of channel intrusion. Such a data transmission system is created by a small innovative enterprise of the ITMO University - “Quantum Communications”. At the helm are Arthur Glame, head of the laboratory of quantum informatics, and Sergei Kozlov, director of the International Institute of Photonics and Optical Informatics.
It is based on the method of quantum communication at the side frequencies. Its peculiarity is that single photons are not emitted directly by the source. They are brought to the side frequencies as a result of the phase modulation of classical pulses. The interval between the carrier frequency and sub-frequencies is approximately 10–20 pm. This approach allows broadcasting a quantum signal to 200 meters at a speed of 400 Mbit / s.
It works as follows: a special laser generates a pulse with a wavelength of 1550 nm and sends it to an electro-optical phase modulator. After modulation, there are two side frequencies that differ from the carrier by the amount of the modulating radio signal.
Further, using phase shifts, the signal is bit-encoded and transmitted to the receiving side. When it reaches the receiver, the spectral filter extracts the sideband signal (using a photon detector), re-modulates the phase, and decrypts the data.
The exchange of information necessary to establish a secure connection is performed over an open channel. The raw key is generated simultaneously in the transmitting and receiving modules. An error rate is calculated for it, which indicates whether there was an attempt to wiretap the network. If everything is in order, then the errors are corrected, and a secret cryptographic key is generated in the sending and receiving modules.
PxHere / PD
Despite the theoretical “non-breaking” quantum networks, so far they are not an absolute cryptographic protection. Equipment has a strong impact on safety. A few years ago, a group of engineers from the University of Waterloo discovered a vulnerability that could intercept data in a quantum network. It was associated with the possibility of "blinding" the photo detector. If you send a bright light to the detector, it is saturated and stops registering photons. Then, changing the intensity of the light, you can control the sensor and deceive the system.
To solve this problem will have to change the principles of the receivers. There is already a scheme of protected equipment that is insensitive to attacks on detectors - there are simply no such detectors in it. But such solutions increase the cost of introducing quantum systems and have not yet gone beyond the laboratories.
More and more domestic companies are interested in quantum solutions. Only Quantum Communications LLC supplies five data transmission systems to customers annually. One set of equipment, depending on the range (from 10 to 200 km), costs 10–12 million rubles. The price is comparable with foreign counterparts with more modest operating parameters.
This year, Quantum Communications received an investment of one hundred million rubles. This money will help the company to bring the product to the international market. Some of them will go to the development of third-party projects. In particular, the creation of quantum control systems for distributed data centers. The team relies on modular systems that can be integrated into the existing IT infrastructure.
In the future, quantum data transmission systems will become the basis of a new type of infrastructure. There will appear SDN networks that use quantum key distribution systems for data protection together with traditional encryption.
Mathematical cryptography will continue to be used to protect information with a limited period of confidentiality, and quantum methods will find their niche in areas where more robust data protection is required.
In our blog on Habré:
Rama / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA
Why do quantum networks do
Data is considered protected if its decryption time significantly exceeds the “shelf life”. Today it becomes more difficult to fulfill this condition - the development of supercomputers is to blame. A few years ago, a cluster of 80 computers based on Pentium 4 was “mastered” ( page 6 in the article ) 1024-bit RSA encryption in just 104 hours.
')
On a supercomputer, this time will be significantly less, but one of the solutions to the problem could be an “absolutely strong cipher”, the concept of which was proposed by Shannon. In such systems, keys are generated for each message, which increases the risk of their interception.
This is where new-type communication lines come to the rescue - quantum networks transmitting data (cryptographic keys) using single photons. When you try to intercept the signal, these photons are destroyed, which serves as a sign of channel intrusion. Such a data transmission system is created by a small innovative enterprise of the ITMO University - “Quantum Communications”. At the helm are Arthur Glame, head of the laboratory of quantum informatics, and Sergei Kozlov, director of the International Institute of Photonics and Optical Informatics.
How technology works
It is based on the method of quantum communication at the side frequencies. Its peculiarity is that single photons are not emitted directly by the source. They are brought to the side frequencies as a result of the phase modulation of classical pulses. The interval between the carrier frequency and sub-frequencies is approximately 10–20 pm. This approach allows broadcasting a quantum signal to 200 meters at a speed of 400 Mbit / s.
It works as follows: a special laser generates a pulse with a wavelength of 1550 nm and sends it to an electro-optical phase modulator. After modulation, there are two side frequencies that differ from the carrier by the amount of the modulating radio signal.
Further, using phase shifts, the signal is bit-encoded and transmitted to the receiving side. When it reaches the receiver, the spectral filter extracts the sideband signal (using a photon detector), re-modulates the phase, and decrypts the data.
The exchange of information necessary to establish a secure connection is performed over an open channel. The raw key is generated simultaneously in the transmitting and receiving modules. An error rate is calculated for it, which indicates whether there was an attempt to wiretap the network. If everything is in order, then the errors are corrected, and a secret cryptographic key is generated in the sending and receiving modules.
PxHere / PD
What remains to be done
Despite the theoretical “non-breaking” quantum networks, so far they are not an absolute cryptographic protection. Equipment has a strong impact on safety. A few years ago, a group of engineers from the University of Waterloo discovered a vulnerability that could intercept data in a quantum network. It was associated with the possibility of "blinding" the photo detector. If you send a bright light to the detector, it is saturated and stops registering photons. Then, changing the intensity of the light, you can control the sensor and deceive the system.
To solve this problem will have to change the principles of the receivers. There is already a scheme of protected equipment that is insensitive to attacks on detectors - there are simply no such detectors in it. But such solutions increase the cost of introducing quantum systems and have not yet gone beyond the laboratories.
“Our team is also working in this direction. We cooperate with Canadian experts and other foreign and Russian groups. If it turns out to close the vulnerabilities at the level of iron, then quantum networks will become widespread and will become a testing ground for developing new technologies, ”says Arthur Glame.
Perspectives
More and more domestic companies are interested in quantum solutions. Only Quantum Communications LLC supplies five data transmission systems to customers annually. One set of equipment, depending on the range (from 10 to 200 km), costs 10–12 million rubles. The price is comparable with foreign counterparts with more modest operating parameters.
This year, Quantum Communications received an investment of one hundred million rubles. This money will help the company to bring the product to the international market. Some of them will go to the development of third-party projects. In particular, the creation of quantum control systems for distributed data centers. The team relies on modular systems that can be integrated into the existing IT infrastructure.
In the future, quantum data transmission systems will become the basis of a new type of infrastructure. There will appear SDN networks that use quantum key distribution systems for data protection together with traditional encryption.
Mathematical cryptography will continue to be used to protect information with a limited period of confidentiality, and quantum methods will find their niche in areas where more robust data protection is required.
In our blog on Habré:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/447956/
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