QKD | UCS

Nationale Konferenz IT-Sicherheitsforschung 2025

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

UCS will present the results of the DemoQuanDT research project in a poster session at the “National Conference IT Security Research 2025 - IT Security and Democracy” in Berlin, which is being hosted by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The presentation will be based on a poster entitled “Confidential and authenticated key forwarding in QKD networks,” which has been accepted for the poster pitch on March 18, 2025. The central inquiry concerns the extent to which security and performance can be assured for key forwarding in extensive, interconnected QKD networks. The technology is poised to facilitate secure transmission of messages, that is, confidentiality and authentication. In contradistinction to the asymmetric cryptographic approaches currently employed, the security of the QKD system is expected to withstand the threat posed by quantum computers.

The poster was authored by Johanna Henrich. Her research focuses on key establishment in QKD networks and the potential for integrating QKD and PQC to ensure quantum-safe and high-performance communication. The research is conducted in close collaboration with the danet research group led by Prof. Dr Martin Stiemerling.

Image ©: National Conference IT Security Research 2025

SATURN

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The SATURN project addresses critical security challenges in Quantum Key Distribution Networks (QKDN). With the development of quantum computers, the threat to classical cryptography is growing, making quantum-safe alternatives essential. Particularly critical are ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ attacks, where encrypted data is stored today to be decrypted later by quantum computers. While QKD enables secure key exchange from an information-theoretic point of view, its practical implementation in networks poses major challenges. Current QKD modules over optical fibre are limited to distances of about 150 km. For longer distances, intermediate nodes must be used, which raises new security issues.

The SATURN project will develop secure and efficient protocols for key forwarding in QKDNs. A hybrid approach will be pursued, combining QKD with post-quantum cryptography (PQC). Existing protocols will be formally analysed, new security models will be developed, and practical implementation guidelines will be produced. The results should provide an informed decision-making framework for the use of QKDNs, taking into account both security and practical aspects such as performance, scalability and crypto-agility.

Contact

Johanna Henrich

IETF Meeting 121 in Dublin

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

UCS took part in the 121st meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in Dublin from 2.-8. November 2024. The IETF develops standards and best practices for the Internet and thus has a significant influence on its design.

Among other things, Johanna Henrich led a project group together with the danet research group of Prof. Dr. Martin Stiemerling. The project was part of the Hackathon, which took place from 2.-3. November. The aim was to find out how the interfaces in Quantum Key Distribution Networks (QKDN) can be designed and how quantum-resistant protection of their communication can be achieved. Read more in our final presentation.

In addition, Johanna Henrich participated in various IETF and IRTF working group sessions throughout the week to answer questions such as how post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and QKD, individually and in hybrid form, can be integrated into the existing Internet infrastructure.

Image ©: Johanna Henrich

Rump Session at ECOC 2024

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

On 24 September 2024, Johanna Henrich accepted an invitation to take part in a rump session at the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC) 2024. The session dealt with the pros and cons of post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution, and the extent to which they can be used in combination to reliably protect us from future attacks by quantum computers.

ECOC is Europe’s leading conference on optical communications with representatives from science and research. It consists of a broad exhibition and a parallel conference and took place this year from 22 to 26 September in Frankfurt am Main.

Image ©: ECOC 2024 IMPRESSIONS

Best Poster Award at EICC 2023

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Our poster contribution to the EICC2023 titled “Crytpo-agile Design and Testbed for QKD-Networks” by Johanna Henrich, Andreas Heinemann, Martin Stiemerling & Fabian Seidl was honored with the best poster award.

Group photo

Johanna

👏👏

Crypto-Agile Design and Testbed for QKD-Networks

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

EICC ‘23 Poster

DemoQuanDT

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

DemoQuanDT is an application-oriented research project to demonstrate and investigate quantum communication networks by establishing an entire QKD route within the German telecommunication network. Connecting Berlin and Bonn over a link distance of 923 km, the project includes all necessary components, systems, and processes for carrier-grade quantum key distribution.

The project addresses the growing threat that quantum computers pose to asymmetric cryptography used in everyday internet protocols. It investigates how to profitably combine Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) with Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and how to integrate both into existing communication protocols such as TLS. The overall objective is to develop reliable and usable protection against quantum computers, especially for critical infrastructures.

Partners

Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).