Quantum-secured imaging

TL;DR

This paper presents a quantum-secured imaging system that uses quantum properties of photons to detect and prevent jamming attacks, ensuring secure imaging even against interception and modification attempts.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel quantum imaging method that incorporates polarization-based security to detect and counteract jamming attacks.

Findings

The system can detect jamming attempts through statistical errors.

Quantum security features prevent successful interception and modification.

Imaging quality remains high despite security measures.

Abstract

We have built an imaging system that uses a photon's position or time-of-flight information to image an object, while using the photon's polarization for security. This ability allows us to obtain an image which is secure against an attack in which the object being imaged intercepts and resends the imaging photons with modified information. Popularly known as "jamming," this type of attack is commonly directed at active imaging systems such as radar. In order to jam our imaging system, the object must disturb the delicate quantum state of the imaging photons, thus introducing statistical errors that reveal its activity.