Countermeasure against blinding attacks on low-noise detectors with a background-noise-cancellation scheme

Min Soo Lee, Byung Kwon Park, Min Ki Woo, Chang Hoon Park, Yong-Su Kim, Sang-Wook Han, and Sung Moon
Phys. Rev. A 94, 062321 – Published 19 December 2016

Abstract

We developed a countermeasure against blinding attacks on low-noise detectors with a background-noise-cancellation scheme in quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. Background-noise cancellation includes self-differencing and balanced avalanche photon diode (APD) schemes and is considered a promising solution for low-noise APDs, which are critical components in high-performance QKD systems. However, its vulnerability to blinding attacks has been recently reported. In this work, we propose a countermeasure that prevents this potential security loophole from being used in detector blinding attacks. An experimental QKD setup is implemented and various tests are conducted to verify the feasibility and performance of the proposed method. The obtained measurement results show that the proposed scheme successfully detects occurring blinding-attack-based hacking attempts.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
4 More
  • Received 26 September 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.94.062321

©2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Quantum Information, Science & Technology

Authors & Affiliations

Min Soo Lee1,2,*, Byung Kwon Park1,2,†, Min Ki Woo1,‡, Chang Hoon Park1,3,§, Yong-Su Kim1,‖, Sang-Wook Han1,¶, and Sung Moon1,**

  • 1Center for Quantum Information, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 136-791, Korea
  • 2Department of Nanomaterials Science and Engineering, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 305-350, Korea
  • 3Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Ajou, Suwon 443-749, Korea

  • *lms0408@kist.re.kr
  • bkpark@kist.re.kr
  • 022685@kist.re.kr
  • §originalpch@kist.re.kr
  • yong-su.kim@kist.re.kr
  • swhan@kist.re.kr
  • **s.moon@kist.re.kr

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 94, Iss. 6 — December 2016

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review A

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×