US 11,936,781 B2
Method and system for creating a quantum secured encryption key
Felix Wissel, Ober-Ramstadt (DE); and Matthias Gunkel, Darmstadt (DE)
Assigned to DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AG, Bonn (DE)
Filed by Deutsche Telekom AG, Bonn (DE)
Filed on Mar. 29, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/706,631.
Claims priority of application No. 21166279 (EP), filed on Mar. 31, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0321333 A1, Oct. 6, 2022
Int. Cl. H04L 29/06 (2006.01); H04L 9/08 (2006.01)
CPC H04L 9/0858 (2013.01) [H04L 9/0841 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method, comprising:
in a preparation step:
a first quantum key distribution (QKD) device at a first location and a second QKD device at a second location distant from the first location together create a quantum secured key wherein the first QKD device communicates with at least one common intermediate quantum node via a first quantum channel and the second QKD device communicates with the at least one common intermediate quantum node via a second quantum channel, and wherein the first and second QKD devices communicate via an authenticated digital distillation channel separate from the first and second quantum channels for transmitting and receiving control information; and
a first encryption device at the first location and a second encryption device at the second location together create a symmetrically encrypted channel between the first encryption device at the first location and the second encryption device at the second location using the quantum secured key; and
in a key agreement step, a first key agreement device at the first location and a second key agreement device at the second location together create an encryption key using an asymmetric key exchange procedure, wherein key material for creating the encryption key is exchanged between the first key agreement device and the second key agreement device via the symmetrically encrypted channel.