| Open Access SQOUTEmployment of Optical Isolation
An optical isolator allows light to pass in one direction while attenuating light in the reverse direction. It's usually placed on the transmitter's (Alice's) side to protect from back reflections. Using it on the receiver's side (Bob's side) is less common, as it would cause significant signal loss.
Literature
| [Huang2019] | A. Huang, A. Navarrete, S.-H. Sun, P. Chaiwongkhot, M. Curty, and V. Makarov. "Laser-Seeding Attack in Quantum Key Distribution" In: Phys. Rev. Applied 12, 064043. (2019) 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.12.064043. |
| [Jain2015] | N. Jain, B. Stiller, I. Khan, V. Makarov, C. Marquardt, and G. Leuchs. "Risk Analysis of Trojan-Horse Attacks on Practical Quantum Key Distribution Systems" In: IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 168–177. (2015) 10.1109/JSTQE.2014.2365585. |
| [Ponosova2022] | A. Ponosova, D. Ruzhitskaya, P. Chaiwongkhot, V. Egorov, V. Makarov, and A. Huang. "Protecting Fiber-Optic Quantum Key Distribution Sources against Light-Injection Attacks" In: PRX Quantum, vol. 3, no. 4, p. 040307. (2022) 10.1103/PRXQuantum.3.040307. |
Technique → Countermeasures
List of techniques where this countermeasure can be applied.
Items: 6
| Description | Technique |
|---|---|
|
Employment of optical isolator - be aware of finite isolation, can be insufficient [Huang2019]. Moreover, optical isolators can be manipulated using additional attacks. |
Laser Seeding Attack (LSA) |
|
Employment of optical isolator, especially on the transmitter side. |
Laser Damage Attack on Quantum Communication Systems |
|
Employment of optical isolation. |
Injection-Locking Attack (ILA) |
|
Employ optical isolation (in the direction from the receiver out) [Meda2017,Meda2018]. |
Backflash Attack |
|
Employment of optical isolation. |
Wavelength Manipulation Attack in Free-Space |
|
Employment of optical isolation at the transmitter party. |
Quantum Trojan-Horse Attack (THA) |