Quantum Key Distribution Without Sifting

Alasdair B. Price, John G. Rarity, Chris Erven

Published 2017-07-11Version 1

We propose a novel quantum key distribution protocol that uses AES to expand an initial secret, allowing us to individually authenticate every qubit, with tags that are efficient to construct. In exchange for an increase in the amount of classical data to be transmitted, the tags can be handled such that they allow secure key generation from two photon states, and make BB84 exactly 100% efficient. Our protocol can be implemented as part of a software patch on pre-existing devices as no hardware modification is required. The scheme is secure so long as AES cannot be broken, therefore it is ideal for real-world implementations that use encryption schemes other than the one-time pad.