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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Quantum key management

Patent ·
OSTI ID:1333682

Innovations for quantum key management harness quantum communications to form a cryptography system within a public key infrastructure framework. In example implementations, the quantum key management innovations combine quantum key distribution and a quantum identification protocol with a Merkle signature scheme (using Winternitz one-time digital signatures or other one-time digital signatures, and Merkle hash trees) to constitute a cryptography system. More generally, the quantum key management innovations combine quantum key distribution and a quantum identification protocol with a hash-based signature scheme. This provides a secure way to identify, authenticate, verify, and exchange secret cryptographic keys. Features of the quantum key management innovations further include secure enrollment of users with a registration authority, as well as credential checking and revocation with a certificate authority, where the registration authority and/or certificate authority can be part of the same system as a trusted authority for quantum key distribution.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
Assignee:
LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL SECURITY, LLC (Los Alamos, NM)
Patent Number(s):
9,509,506
Application Number:
13/599,816
OSTI ID:
1333682
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (15)

Quantum Coin-Flipping-Based Authentication conference June 2009
New hash functions and their use in authentication and set equality journal June 1981
Long-Distance Decoy-State Quantum Key Distribution in Optical Fiber journal January 2007
Secure communications using quantum cryptography conference July 1997
Custom hardware to eliminate bottlenecks in QKD throughput performance conference September 2007
Quantum Cryptography over Underground Optical Fibers book January 1996
Experimental investigation of quantum key distribution through transparent optical switch elements journal November 2003
Practical Free-Space Quantum Key Distribution over 1 km journal October 1998
Present and future free-space quantum key distribution conference April 2002
Progress toward quantum communications networks: opportunities and challenges conference February 2007
Quantum secret sharing journal March 1999
New Efficient Three-Party Quantum Key Distribution Protocols journal January 2009
Free-space quantum-key distribution journal April 1998
Secure Identification and QKD in the Bounded-Quantum-Storage Model book January 2007
Quantum key distribution at telecom wavelengths with noise-free detectors journal January 2006

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