Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-12-2016

Abstract

Shannon proved in 1949 that information-theoretic-secure encryption is possible if the encryption key is used only once, is random, and is at least as long as the message itself. Notwithstanding, when information is encoded in a quantum system, the phenomenon of quantum data locking allows one to encrypt a message with a shorter key and still provide information-theoretic security. We present one of the first feasible experimental demonstrations of quantum data locking for direct communication and propose a scheme for a quantum enigma machine that encrypts 6 bits per photon (containing messages, new encryption keys, and forward error correction bits) with less than 6 bits per photon of encryption key while remaining information-theoretically secure.

Comments

This article was originally published in Physical Review A, volume 94, issue 2, in 2016. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.94.022315

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

American Physical Society

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