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A Scalable Simulation of the BB84 Protocol Involving Eavesdropping

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Innovative Security Solutions for Information Technology and Communications (SecITC 2020)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNSC,volume 12596))

Abstract

In this article we present the BB84 quantum key distribution scheme from two perspectives. First, we provide a theoretical discussion of the steps Alice and Bob take to reach a shared secret using this protocol, while an eavesdropper Eve is either involved or not. Then, we offer and discuss two distinct implementations that simulate BB84 using IBM’s Qiskit framework, the first being an exercise solved during the “IBM Quantum Challenge” event in early May 2020, while the other was developed independently to showcase the intercept-resend attack strategy in detail. We note the latter’s scalability and increased output verbosity, which allow for a statistical analysis to determine the probability of detecting the act of eavesdropping.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the use of IBM Quantum services for this work. The views expressed are those of the authors, and do not reflect the official policy or position of IBM or the IBM Quantum team.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Automatic Control and Computers, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Mihai-Zicu Mina

  2. Center for Research and Training in Innovative Techniques of Applied Mathematics in Engineering – “Traian Lalescu”, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Emil Simion

Authors
  1. Mihai-Zicu Mina
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  2. Emil Simion
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mihai-Zicu Mina .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Technologies Institute, Bucharest, Romania

    Diana Maimut

  2. Advanced Technologies Institute, Bucharest, Romania

    Andrei-George Oprina

  3. Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, University of Limoges, Limoges, France

    Damien Sauveron

A Qiskit Source Code and Output

A Qiskit Source Code and Output

1.1 A.1 “IBM Quantum Challenge”

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1.2 A.2 Simulation of Intercept-Resend Attack

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Mina, MZ., Simion, E. (2021). A Scalable Simulation of the BB84 Protocol Involving Eavesdropping. In: Maimut, D., Oprina, AG., Sauveron, D. (eds) Innovative Security Solutions for Information Technology and Communications. SecITC 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12596. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69255-1_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69255-1_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-69254-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-69255-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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