Netherlands – Telecommunications network – EuroQCI.Standardization Preparation: Open Specification

The objective of this activity is to derive two sets of specifications for prepare-and-measure QKD transceivers (quantum, classic, user, monitoring and control interfaces), one for satellite and one for terrestrial application, that will be presented for standardization in a European standardization body as part of the activity. The activity will include an in-depth analysis of the performance and of the security of the two proposed QKD solutions, with a specific focus on the security of the quantum channel. To this purpose, the two sets of specification will consider all known vulnerabilities of QKD systems and provide a dedicated countermeasure for each of them. The strategy to implement these countermeasures will include a complete security proof, quantifying the maximum information leakage considering HW imperfections as defined by the specifications, a set of software and hardware hacking mitigation strategies, in line with the security proof, and a calibration and monitoring procedure to guarantee the correspondence of these values in the actual implementation. The level of detail of the specification will allow the design of the system in a following phase, not covered under this activity. The final goal of the activity is the realization of a QKD system that can withstand all known quantum attack and that also cover potential known vulnerability. This setup will be used as a testbed for performing hacking attempt and potentially discover new vulnerability of QKD systems. To allow for a wide scrutiny of the proposed protocol and the validity of the hacking countermeasures proposed, part of the work will need to be made public.