CV-QKD data processing and key management software

Description

A software license for quantum key distribution data-processing and key management software. Lot 1: A software license for quantum key distribution data-processing and key management software. DTU has developed a quantum key distribution (QKD) system named QTREX. It is based on continuous variables and uses a Gaussian modulation protocol. The licensed software shall transform the complex quadrature amplitude values pairs generated by DTU’s QKD system into secret key. For this the typical steps in a QKD protocol have to be implemented by the data-processing software. The generated secret key shall be transferred to a key management system that can be used by end-user applications for obtain secret keys. The key management system will be the interface between the quantum layer and the application layer in the EuroQCI project QCI.DK. • As a minimum requirement the QKD data processing software shall ◦ accept complex symbols from the DTU’s QTREX QKD system ◦ perform channel parameter estimation related to DTU’s QTREX QKD system including computation of confidence intervals based on the beta-distribution as well as composable and asymptotic secret key rates (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-32161-y) ◦ use DTU’s information reconciliation software library for the information reconciliation step in the QKD protocol as this library has been tuned for high performance in the low signal-to-noise ratio regime DTU’s QKD system is operating at. ◦ monitor system performance by logging relevant parameters in a time series database (influxdb) ◦ generate secret keys and feed them into the key management software ◦ run on the system on module inside DTU’s QTREX QKD system which is based on an ARM architecture ◦ be written in a programming language that intrinsically eliminates security risks from buffer overflows ◦ be modular so that it can be adapted for DTU Electro’s high dimensional QKD system as well as NBI’s and DTU Electro’s single photon QKD system • As a minimum requirement the key management software shall ◦ accept secret keys from the data-processing software to manage the secret keys generated by DTU’s QKD system ◦ accept secret keys from third-party QKD systems used in the EuroQCI network ◦ have a standard ETSI 014 interface for key delivery ◦ interface Zybersafe’s AES data encryptor units (proprietary interface) because the encrypter shall be used in the EuroQCI QKD network in Denmark ◦ handle trusted nodes in a QKD network as well as key routing if multiple paths are available in the network. This requirement allows us to implement the promised functionality in the EuroQCI QKD network in Denmark ◦ run on the system on module inside DTU’s QTREX QKD system which is based on an ARM architecture to avoid transfer of key outside the secure system which may open a security risk