Key on demand (KoD) for software-defined optical networks secured by quantum key distribution (QKD)

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Quantum Information Science
• Network Security

Background:

• Software-defined optical networking (SDON) is the future network architecture but is vulnerable to cyberattacks.
• Data encryption is crucial for security, but secure key exchange remains a challenge.
• Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) offers a solution for secure key interchange.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a novel scheme for integrating QKD with WDM optical networks to secure SDON architecture.
• To introduce a key on demand (KoD) scheme enabled by a routing, wavelength, and key assignment (RWKA) algorithm.
• To enhance the security of both control channels (CChs) and data channels (DChs) in SDON.

Main Methods:

• Developed a QKD over SDON with KoD model.
• Implemented quantum key pools (QKPs) for securing CChs and DChs.
• Utilized the RWKA algorithm within the KoD scheme for key allocation and updates.
• Defined a security probability index to measure security gains.

Main Results:

• The proposed model enhances the security of CChs and DChs by provisioning sufficient secret keys in QKPs.
• Key-updating strategies, considering potential cyberattacks, further improve security performance.
• The KoD scheme effectively balances security requirements with key resource utilization.

Conclusions:

• Integrating QKD with SDON using the KoD scheme and RWKA algorithm significantly improves network security.
• The model provides a robust solution for secure key management in next-generation optical networks.
• The approach demonstrates a practical method for achieving a favorable security-resource trade-off.