Device-independent quantum key distribution with random key basis

Abstract

Device-independent quantum key distribution (DIQKD) is the art of using untrusted devices to distribute secret keys in an insecure network. It thus represents the ultimate form of cryptography, offering not only information-theoretic security against channel attacks, but also against attacks exploiting implementation loopholes. In recent years, much progress has been made towards realising the first DIQKD experiments, but current proposals are just out of reach of today’s loophole-free Bell experiments. Here, we significantly narrow the gap between the theory and practice of DIQKD with a simple variant of the original protocol based on the celebrated Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) Bell inequality. By using two randomly chosen key generating bases instead of one, we show that our protocol significantly improves over the original DIQKD protocol, enabling positive keys in the high noise regime for the first time. We also compute the finite-key security of the protocol for general attacks, showing that approximately 10⁸–10¹⁰ measurement rounds are needed to achieve positive rates using state-of-the-art experimental parameters. Our proposed DIQKD protocol thus represents a highly promising path towards the first realisation of DIQKD in practice.

Device-independent quantum key distribution aims at the ultimate quantum-based unconditional security, but current protocols’ rates are quite far from anything practical. The authors’ protocol narrows this gap by using two randomly chosen key generating bases instead of one.