PFI:AIR - TT: Prototyping Untrusted-Device Quantum Cryptography

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This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on translating breakthrough discoveries in quantum information theory into practice by constructing a practical and secure prototype random number generator. Random numbers are indispensable resources for modern information processing and are ubiquitous in computers and communication devices. In particular, they play a crucial role in many applications, including cryptography, privacy assurance, Internet protocols and scientific computing. Unfortunately current random number generators are vulnerable to hostile adversaries, thus compromising the security of many systems. This lack of security derives from the fact that no test can determine whether or not a string of bits is random. Thus one is faced with the prospect of having to trust that the random number generator operates as advertised, since this cannot be verified by observing its output alone. If the device is user-built and always remains under the user's control, then this will not be an issue. In practice, however, these constraints are not likely to be met. A prototype hardware random number generator, operating on quantum principles, will be built using optical components and tested. The operation of this prototype is unique, since it includes a certification procedure that can guarantee the randomness of its outputs even if the hardware equipment used to generate the randomness is not trusted. This certification protects the user against hardware imperfections and also deliberate manipulation, and it offers higher security than any other current solution on the market. This project aims to narrow or close the gaps between theory and experiment through prototyping such a random number generator. This method of generating certified random numbers is based on measuring entangled quantum states; it was first proposed in 2006 by Roger Colbeck. In 2014, Yaoyun Shi and Carl Miller, two members of the AIR-TT project team, gave the first practical security proof, which fundamentally lowered the requirements associated with implementing a certified random number generator. Recent advances in the optical components needed for quantum information processing have greatly improved the performance of quantum-based measurement instruments. To reach the project's goal, the team will examine the capabilities of currently available components, through numerical studies and theoretical analysis, in order to identify any shortfalls in view of the known security requirements. The hardware and protocols will be adjusted accordingly, and new theoretical analyses will be developed as needed. In addition, personnel involved in this project, including postdoctoral, doctoral researchers and undergraduate students, will receive innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology translation experiences through the prototyping effort and market research activities.