Enhanced Lightweight Quantum Key Distribution Protocol for Improved Efficiency and Security
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) provides secure communication by leveraging quantum mechanics, with the BB84 protocol being one of its most widely adopted implementations. However, the classical post-processing steps in BB84, such as sifting, error correction, and key verification, often result in si...
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IEEE
2025-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10839014/ |
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| author | Ashutosh Bhatia Sainath Bitragunta Kamlesh Tiwari |
| author_facet | Ashutosh Bhatia Sainath Bitragunta Kamlesh Tiwari |
| author_sort | Ashutosh Bhatia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) provides secure communication by leveraging quantum mechanics, with the BB84 protocol being one of its most widely adopted implementations. However, the classical post-processing steps in BB84, such as sifting, error correction, and key verification, often result in significant communication overhead, limiting its efficiency and scalability. In this work, we propose three key optimizations for BB84: (1) PRNG-based predetermined key bit positioning, which eliminates redundant bit exchanges during sifting, (2) hash-based subsequence comparison, enabling lightweight and efficient key verification, and (3) adaptive basis reconciliation, which minimizes the communication costs associated with basis matching. The proposed optimizations achieve a 50% reduction in communication overhead for large key sizes compared to traditional QKD protocols, as demonstrated through rigorous performance analysis. While the focus of this work is on the BB84 protocol, these optimizations are also directly applicable to a broader class of Discrete-Variable QKD (DV-QKD) protocols, such as six-state, B92, and E91, which share a fundamentally similar post-processing structure. This generality highlights the modularity and adaptability of the proposed methods across diverse QKD implementations. The proposed optimizations enhance post-processing efficiency and scalability, enabling practical deployment in bandwidth-limited environments like IoT networks, secure financial systems, and defense communications, thereby supporting broader adoption of quantum communication systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-031f22edefcd483b8e93a6187f42756e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2644-125X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-031f22edefcd483b8e93a6187f42756e2025-01-31T23:05:26ZengIEEEIEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society2644-125X2025-01-01692694310.1109/OJCOMS.2025.352871810839014Enhanced Lightweight Quantum Key Distribution Protocol for Improved Efficiency and SecurityAshutosh Bhatia0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3576-0275Sainath Bitragunta1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0187-7528Kamlesh Tiwari2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8866-9192Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (Pilani), Pilani, IndiaElectrical and Electronic Engineering Department, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (Pilani), Pilani, IndiaDepartment of Computer Science and Information Systems, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (Pilani), Pilani, IndiaQuantum Key Distribution (QKD) provides secure communication by leveraging quantum mechanics, with the BB84 protocol being one of its most widely adopted implementations. However, the classical post-processing steps in BB84, such as sifting, error correction, and key verification, often result in significant communication overhead, limiting its efficiency and scalability. In this work, we propose three key optimizations for BB84: (1) PRNG-based predetermined key bit positioning, which eliminates redundant bit exchanges during sifting, (2) hash-based subsequence comparison, enabling lightweight and efficient key verification, and (3) adaptive basis reconciliation, which minimizes the communication costs associated with basis matching. The proposed optimizations achieve a 50% reduction in communication overhead for large key sizes compared to traditional QKD protocols, as demonstrated through rigorous performance analysis. While the focus of this work is on the BB84 protocol, these optimizations are also directly applicable to a broader class of Discrete-Variable QKD (DV-QKD) protocols, such as six-state, B92, and E91, which share a fundamentally similar post-processing structure. This generality highlights the modularity and adaptability of the proposed methods across diverse QKD implementations. The proposed optimizations enhance post-processing efficiency and scalability, enabling practical deployment in bandwidth-limited environments like IoT networks, secure financial systems, and defense communications, thereby supporting broader adoption of quantum communication systems.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10839014/Quantum key distributionpseudorandom-number generatorBB84 protocolhash-based functionsquantum superpositionentanglement |
| spellingShingle | Ashutosh Bhatia Sainath Bitragunta Kamlesh Tiwari Enhanced Lightweight Quantum Key Distribution Protocol for Improved Efficiency and Security IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society Quantum key distribution pseudorandom-number generator BB84 protocol hash-based functions quantum superposition entanglement |
| title | Enhanced Lightweight Quantum Key Distribution Protocol for Improved Efficiency and Security |
| title_full | Enhanced Lightweight Quantum Key Distribution Protocol for Improved Efficiency and Security |
| title_fullStr | Enhanced Lightweight Quantum Key Distribution Protocol for Improved Efficiency and Security |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhanced Lightweight Quantum Key Distribution Protocol for Improved Efficiency and Security |
| title_short | Enhanced Lightweight Quantum Key Distribution Protocol for Improved Efficiency and Security |
| title_sort | enhanced lightweight quantum key distribution protocol for improved efficiency and security |
| topic | Quantum key distribution pseudorandom-number generator BB84 protocol hash-based functions quantum superposition entanglement |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10839014/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ashutoshbhatia enhancedlightweightquantumkeydistributionprotocolforimprovedefficiencyandsecurity AT sainathbitragunta enhancedlightweightquantumkeydistributionprotocolforimprovedefficiencyandsecurity AT kamleshtiwari enhancedlightweightquantumkeydistributionprotocolforimprovedefficiencyandsecurity |