Digital Key Distribution Protected by Recorded Quantum Noise

Abstract

A new digital key distribution and encryption system for broad use is presented. It offers affordable perfect security for in-transit digital communications and is quantum-resistant. It uses true random bits generated from vacuum quantum fluctuations in an optical electromagnetic field to protect the bit (key) distribution. This distribution process uses recorded quantum noise and works in any channel or combination of channels. The quantum noise, independently, creates truly random bits and cloaks the transmitted signals. The default encryption, with distilled keys from these transmitted bits, is an automated one-time-pad, with no need for couriers to replenish keys. The level of security is calculated. The coexistence of encryption and quantum computers raises multi-disciplinary problems, theoretical and practical. Challenges exist now, because “harvest now, decrypt later” is increasingly practiced. An answer for a quantum resistant key distribution is Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). It is purely quantum and offers unconditional security. However, many practical and technological aspects plague QKD: it is slow, distance limited, needs quantum channels and is very costly - not for broad commercial use. NIST is starting to offer encryption solutions believed to be quantum-resistant. They are based on deterministic computational complexities. Differently, the security of our solution rests primarily on non-deterministic features.

Keywords

• Communication security
• data security
• digital key distribution
• encryption
• one-time-pad
• quantum noise