TherMod Communication: Low Power or Hot Air?

TL;DR

This paper critically evaluates the TherMod wireless adaptation of the KLJN secure communication scheme, arguing it does not achieve low power as claimed and has security vulnerabilities similar to older, insecure methods.

Contribution

It provides a detailed critique of TherMod, clarifying misconceptions about its power consumption and security, and relates it to historical insecure stealth communication schemes.

Findings

TherMod's additional components increase power consumption.

The security claims of KLJN do not hold for the wireless version.

TherMod resembles an older insecure stealth communication method.

Abstract

The Kirchhoff-Law-Johnson-Noise (KLJN) secure key exchange scheme leverages statistical physics to enable secure communication with zero average power flow in a wired channel. While the original KLJN scheme requires significant power for operation, a recent wireless modification, TherMod, proposed by Basar claims a "low power" implementation. This paper critically examines this claim. We explain that the additional components inherent in Basar's wireless adaptation substantially increase power consumption, rendering the "low power" assertion inappropriate. Furthermore, we clarify that the security claims of the original KLJN scheme do not directly translate to this wireless adaptation, implying significant security breach. Finally, the scheme looks identical one of the stealth communicators from 2005, which was shown not to be secure.