Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Commodity Security Protocols: Introduction and Integration

TL;DR

This paper reviews quantum key distribution (QKD) and common security protocols, proposing an integration framework with a support layer to enhance security applications like IPsec and TLS.

Contribution

It introduces a support layer for integrating QKD into existing security protocols, facilitating quantum-enhanced secure communications.

Findings

Proposed a support layer for QKD integration

Outlined how QKD can be incorporated into IPsec and TLS

Provided an overview of QKD and commodity security protocols

Abstract

We present an overview of quantum key distribution (QKD), a secure key exchange method based on the quantum laws of physics rather than computational complexity. We also provide an overview of the two most widely used commodity security protocols, IPsec and TLS. Pursuing a key exchange model, we propose how QKD could be integrated into these security applications. For such a QKD integration we propose a support layer that provides a set of common QKD services between the QKD protocol and the security applications