Physical layer secret key generation for fiber-optical networks

Konstantin Kravtsov, Zhenxing Wang, Wade Trappe, Paul R. Prucnal
2013 Optics Express  
We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method for generating and sharing a secret key using phase fluctuations in fiber optical links. The obtained key can be readily used to support secure communication between the parties. The security of our approach is based on a fundamental asymmetry associated with the optical physical layer: the sophistication of tools needed by an eavesdropping adversary to subvert the key establishment is significantly greater and more costly than the complexity
more » ... eded by the legitimate parties to implement the scheme. In this sense, the method is similar to the classical asymmetric algorithms (Diffie-Hellman, RSA, etc.)
doi:10.1364/oe.21.023756 pmid:24104288 fatcat:kl2b4taatna2jfy7xlplap46vq