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QUantum-based ReSistant Architectures and Techniques

TED2021-130369B

Summary

The QURSA project addresses the design and proof of concept of an architecture and algorithms for quantum key distribution (QKD) over complex networks, and their integration with the classical Internet core and distribution infrastructures by means of an improved post-processing layer. For achieving an effective, seamless integration and maximize the adoption of quantum-based physical security across a diverse range of domains, we also propose to develop a novel bridge QKD endpoints, i.e., a set of physical equipment, part of the QKD network themselves, but located near the network edge to which end-users (individuals or firms) can bring their own devices to download and take away secure uncorrelated keys generated and distributed through the QKD network. As a complement, we propose the use of truly random quantum-generated keys as sources for the first general implementation of post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) signing and encryption algorithms. These PQ techniques are presently at the final stages of the standardization started by NIST in 2016, and the resulting PQC primitives will thus be embedded into the universal Internet carrier and signaling protocols (e.g., TLS/DTLS, HTTP, DNSSEC) guaranteeing security for network applications and their pervasive traffic. With this approach, the reach of quantum-safe security is stretched out to the bulk of Internet traffic by means of an evolutionary roadmap.

QURSA will adopt the well-known design principles of software-defined networking (SDN) for separation of the control, data and management planes of the QKD network, as the emerging technical standards in this field issued by ETSI and IETF-ITU advocate. The proposed proof of concept to bind together and test all the technical challenges in the project will be a pilot for demonstrating and testing the hybridization of quantum-based and quantum-safe communications on a managed open network, since in addition to the benefits of making QKD usable as a service, it showcases most of the features that will be faced in this research agenda: the creation and management of ultra-secure channels, the engineering of the composite quantum-classical network, an instantiation of quantum-safe Internet protocols, and a flexible distributed management system based on SDN principles. In addition to our equipment and background, we have engaged CESGA, CCN and INCIBE for supporting us in building and testing a feasible pilot.

Grant TED2021-130369B-C31, TED2021-130369BC32, TED2021-130369B-C33 funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by the “European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR”.

Partners

Universidade de Vigo. AtlanTTic. Centro Coordinador. (UVIGO)

  • Ana Fernández Vilas (PI 1)
  • Manuel Fernández Veiga (PI 2)
  • Rebeca Díaz Redondo
  • Ignacio López Cabido
  • Natalia Costas Lago
  • Francisco Troncoso Pastoriza
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Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC)

  • Verónica Fernández Mármol (PI 1)
  • Luis Hernandez Encinas (PI 2)
  • Agustín Martín Muñoz
  • José Ignacio Sánchez García
  • Alfonso Blanco Blanco
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Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M)

  • Florina Almenares Mendoza (PI 1)
  • Andrés Marín López (PI 2)
  • Celeste Campo Vázquez
  • Carlos García Rubio
  • Daniel Díaz Sánchez
  • Patricia Arias Cabarcos
  • Marta Moure Garrido
  • Vicente Lorenzo García
  • Francisco Javier Blanco Romero

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Conference papers

  • D. Soler, C. Dafonte, F.J. Novoa, A. Fernández-Vilas, M. Fernández-Veiga, R. Díaz-Redondo. “Qerberos: A Protocol for Secure Distribution of QRNG Keys”. 2023 IEEE Int. Conf. on Cyber Security and Resilience, Venice (Italy), Jul. 2023.
  • D. Soler, C. Dafonte Vázquez, M. Fernández-Veiga, A. Fernández-Vilas, F. Nóvoa de Manuel. “A zk-SNARK Scheme for Quantum Computers”. Quantum Information in Spain (ICE-8), Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Jun. 2023.
  • D. Cano, D. Balado and V. Fernández, “Photonic Integrated Circuits and Components for Quantum Key Distribution,”2023 23rd International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks (ICTON), Bucharest, Romania, 2023, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/ICTON59386.2023.10207344.
  • Vicente Lorenzo, Francisco Javier Blanco. “Comparative Analysis of Quantum, Pseudo, and Hybrid Random Number Generation”, XVII Jornadas CCN-STIC CCN-CERT / V Jornadas de Ciberdefensa ESPDEF-CERT, 29 de noviembre de 2023.
  • Andrea Jimenez-Berenguel, Marta Moure-Garrido, Carlos Garcia-Rubio, and Celeste Campo. 2023. Characterizing Mobile Applications Through Analysis of DNS Traffic. In Proceedings of the Int’l ACM Symposium on Performance Evaluation of Wireless Ad Hoc, Sensor, & Ubiquitous Networks (PE-WASUN ’23). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 69–76. https://doi.org/10.1145/3616394.3618268
  • David Pérez-Castro, Ana Fernández-Vilas, Manuel Fernández-Veiga, Rebeca P. Díaz-Redondo. “Relaying Schemes and Rate-distance trade-off for Multihop QKD”. IEEE MeditCom, 2024.
  • J. Blanco-Romero, V. Lorenzo, F. Almenares, D. Dı́az-Sánchez and A. Serrano Navarro. PQSec-DDS: Integrating Post-Quantum Cryptography into DDS Security for Robotic Applications. Actas IX Jornadas Nacionales de Investigación en Ciberseguridad, 2024 (pp. 396-403). ISBN 978-84-09-62140-8. https://idus.us.es/handle/11441/159179
  • J. Blanco-Romero, V. Lorenzo, F. Almenares, D. Dı́az-Sánchez, C. Campo and C. García-Rubio. Integrating Post–Quantum Cryptography into CoAP and MQTT–SN Protocols. 1st Workshop on Quantum-Secure Networks and Systems, 2024.
  • D. Pérez Castro. “Analyzing protocol efficiency and Bell inequality tests in quantum networks with NetSquid”. David Perez Castro”. QCrypt’24, Vigo (Spain), Sep. 2024.
  • M. Blanco. “Entanglement protocol in a generalized quantum network with W states”. QCrypt’24, Vigo (Spain), Sep. 2024.
  • V. Lorenzo, J. Blanco-Romero, F. Almenares, D. Díaz-Sánchez, C. García-Rubio, C. Campo, A. Marín. “Comparing Pseudo, Classical True and Quantum Random Number Generators Using Standard Quality Assessments”. XVIII Reunión Española sobre Criptología y Seguridad de la Información (RECSI 2024), León, 23 al 25 de Octubre, 2024.
  • J. Pérez Díaz, F. Almenares. Integración de un sistema de autenticación optimizado basado en PUF en OSCORE. XVIII Reunión Española sobre Criptología y Seguridad de la Información (RECSI 2024), León, 23 al 25 de Octubre, 2024.
  • A. Jimenez-Berenguel, M. Moure-Garrido, C. García-Rubio, C. Campo-Vázquez, Caracterización de aplicaciones móviles mediante el análisis del tráfico DNS Proceedings Article in: IX Jornadas Nacionales de Investigación en Ciberseguridad – JNIC 2024, pp. 506-507, Universidad de Sevilla, 2024, ISBN: 978-84-09-62140-8
  • M. Moure-Garrido, S. K. Das, C. Campo and C. Garcia-Rubio, “Real-Time Analysis of Encrypted DNS Traffic for Threat Detection,” ICC 2024 – IEEE International Conference on Communications, Denver, CO, USA, 2024, pp. 3292-3297, doi: ICC51166.2024.10622347
  • Pedro Otero-García, Daniel Sobral-Blanco, Florina Almenares-Mendoza, Ana Fernández-Vilas, Manuel
    Fernández-Veiga. “Quantum-secure Onion Routing”. QSNS 2025: 2nd Workshop on Quantum-Secure Networks and Systems, Bologna. arXiv:2501.10060
  • Javier Blanco, Pedro Otero, Daniel Sobral, Florina Almenares, Ana Fernández-Vilas, Rebeca P. Díaz. QKD-KEM: Hybrid QKD Integration into TLS with OpenSSL Providers. QSNS 2025: 2nd Workshop on Quantum-Secure Networks and Systems, Bologna
  • Pedro Otero-García, David Martínez-Castro, Manuel Fernández-Veiga, Ana Fernández-Vilas. “Network-wide Quantum Key Distribution with Onion Routing Relays”. Quantum Safe Internet Workshop

Journal papers

  • A. Ruiz-Chamorro, D. Cano, A. Garcia-Callejo, V. Fernandez, “Effects of Experimental Impairments on the Security of Continuous-Variable Quantum Key Distribution”, Heliyon 9 (2023). DOI: https://doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16670
  • Marta Moure-Garrido, Celeste Campo, Carlos Garcia-Rubio, “Real time detection of malicious DoH traffic using statistical analysis”, Computer Networks, Volume 234, 2023, 109910, ISSN 1389-1286, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comnet.2023.109910.
  • Javier Blanco-Romero, Vicente Lorenzo, Florina Almenares, Daniel Díaz-Sánchez, Carlos García Rubio, Celeste Campo, Andrés Marín. “Evaluating integration methods of a quantum random number generator in OpenSSL for TLS”, Computer Networks, Volume 255, 2024, 110877, ISSN 1389-1286, DOI: 10.1016/j.comnet.2024.110877.
  • C. Campo, C. Garcia-Rubio, A. Jiménez-Berenguel, M. Moure-Garrido, F. Almenares, D. Díaz-Sanchez, “Inferring mobile applications usage from DNS traffic”, Ad Hoc Networks, Volume 163, 2024, 103601, ISSN 1570-8705,
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adhoc.2024.103601.
  • M. Moure-Garrido, C. Garcia-Rubio, C. Campo, “Reducing DNS Traffic to Enhance Home IoT Device Privacy”. Sensors 2024, 24, 2690. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24092690
  • D. Pérez Castro, A, Fernández-Vilas, M. Fernández -Veiga, M. M. Blanco Rodríguez, R. P Díaz Redondo. “Simulation of fidelity in entanglement-based networks with repeater chains”. Applied Sciences, 2024.
  • Jaime Pérez Díaz, Florina Almenares, “Authorization models for IoT environments: A survey”, Internet of Things, volume 29, 2025, 101430, ISSN 2542-6605, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iot.2024.101430.
  • G. -P. Fernando, A. M. Florina and C. -B. Liliana, “Evaluation of the performance of unsupervised learning algorithms for intrusion detection in unbalanced data environments,” in IEEE Access, doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3516615.
  • J. Blanco-Romero, V. Lorenzo, F. Almenares Mendoza, & D. Díaz-Sánchez. (2025). “Machine Learning Predictors for Min-Entropy Estimation”. Entropy, 27(2), 156. 10.3390/e27020156

Contact

qursa@uvigo.es
+34 986813868
E.E. Telecomunicación
Universidade de Vigo