| CPC H04L 9/0852 (2013.01) | 20 Claims |

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1. A method, comprising:
configuring a link for communicating user data between network devices with static keys that do not match, wherein any transmission of the user data over the link is initially blocked because the static keys do not match and continues to be blocked until quantum keys can be applied to encrypt network traffic communicated over the link;
exchanging key identifiers of the quantum keys over the link;
acquiring the quantum keys from a quantum key distribution subsystem using the key identifiers; and
applying the quantum keys to encrypt the network traffic communicated over the link between the network devices to thereby unblock the transmission of the user data and transition the link between the network devices to a quantum-secure link.
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