Authors:
Amir I. Sulimov
and
Arkadiy V. Karpov
Affiliation:
Institute of Physics and Kazan Federal University, Russian Federation
Keyword(s):
Encryption Key Distribution, Shared Randomness, Meteor Radio Propagation, Meteor Burst Channel, Carrier Phase, Channel Reciprocity.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Applied Cryptography
;
Cryptographic Techniques and Key Management
;
Data Engineering
;
Databases and Data Security
;
Information and Systems Security
Abstract:
The Wireless Key Distribution is a fast growing area of applied cryptography covering different approaches
of secure distribution of secret encryption key based on channel stochastic properties in specific radio
communication systems. To be applicable in key distribution purposes the radio channel must meet the three
basic requirements: randomness, reciprocity and spatial selectivity. For a long time it was believed that only
the fading channels in multipath environment could satisfy all the three requirements. However, several
studies also considered a meteor burst channel as a potential candidate for the secure key distribution at
distances up to 2000 km. Unfortunately, a rigorous analysis of meteor radio propagation processes shows
that the channel has only approximate reciprocity. This may result in the two legitimate nodes would not be
able to generate identical copies of the shared secret key indicating that the Meteor Key Distribution is
impossible in practice. In addition, a
complicated astronomical nature of the meteor burst channel causes
deep diurnal variation in its performance. The aim of our research was a comprehensive evaluation of
potential performance of the Meteor Key Distribution systems, taking into account all the physical layer
effects of meteor burst channel. We also wanted to clarify, how strong the imperfection of a real meteor
burst channel affects the key distribution feasibility.
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