Quantum-secured data transmission in urban fibre-optic communication lines
Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides information-theoretic security in communication based on the laws of quantum physics. In this work, we report an implementation of quantum-secured data transmission in standard communication lines in Moscow. The experiment is realized on the basis of the already deployed urban fibre-optic communication channels with significant losses. We realize the decoy-state BB84 QKD protocol using the one-way scheme with polarization encoding for generating keys. Quantum-generated keys are then used for continuous key renewal in the hardware devices for establishing a quantum-secured VPN Tunnel. Such a hybrid approach offers possibilities for long-term protection of the transmitted data, and it is promising for integrating into the already existing information security infrastructure.
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