Entropy 2015, 17(5), 3194-3204; https://doi.org/10.3390/e17053194
Quantum Data Locking for Secure Communication against an Eavesdropper with Time-Limited Storage
Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Received: 6 April 2015 / Revised: 6 May 2015 / Accepted: 7 May 2015 / Published: 13 May 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantum Cryptography)
Abstract
Quantum cryptography allows for unconditionally secure communication against an eavesdropper endowed with unlimited computational power and perfect technologies, who is only constrained by the laws of physics. We review recent results showing that, under the assumption that the eavesdropper can store quantum information only for a limited time, it is possible to enhance the performance of quantum key distribution in both a quantitative and qualitative fashion. We consider quantum data locking as a cryptographic primitive and discuss secure communication and key distribution protocols. For the case of a lossy optical channel, this yields the theoretical possibility of generating secret key at a constant rate of 1 bit per mode at arbitrarily long communication distances. View Full-Text
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