Quantum Authenticated Key Expansion with Key Recycling

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantum authentication key expansion protocol that combines authentication and key expansion, enabling key recycling and demonstrating feasibility through experimental implementation.

Contribution

It presents a novel quantum authentication key expansion protocol that integrates authentication and key expansion with key recycling, supported by security analysis and experimental validation.

Findings

Protocol successfully integrates authentication and key expansion.

Key recycling property allows reuse of authentication keys.

Experimental implementation demonstrates protocol feasibility.

Abstract

Data privacy and authentication are two main security requirements for remote access and cloud services. While QKD has been explored to address data privacy concerns, oftentimes its use is separate from the client authentication protocol despite implicitly providing authentication. Here, we present a quantum authentication key expansion (QAKE) protocol that (1) integrates both authentication and key expansion within a single protocol, and (2) provides key recycling property -- allowing all authentication keys to be reused. We analyse the security of the protocol in a QAKE framework adapted from a classical authentication key exchange (AKE) framework, providing separate security conditions for authentication and data privacy. An experimental implementation of the protocol, with appropriate post-selection, was performed to demonstrate its feasibility.