Security of optical key distribution under passive eavesdropping

6 November 2025

Title: Security of optical key distribution under passive eavesdropping

Speaker: Prof. Konrad Banaszek, University of Warsaw

Abstract of Talk : While the security of modern telecommunication systems relies predominantly on algorithmic techniques, there is a growing interest to develop physical layer security (PLS) solutions in order to ensure multidimensional defense against adversarial attacks. Among currently studied PLS options, optical key distribution (OKD) offers protection against the most likely attacks on optical communication links, namely passive eavesdropping on the signal that escapes detection by the legitimate recipient, while requiring relatively minor hardware overheads in terms of signal modulation and detection. This talk will present the principle of OKD, prospective use cases, as well as security analysis including quantum-enhanced detection of the eavesdropped signal.

Profile of Speaker: Konrad Banaszek is a full professor at the University of Warsaw, Poland. After receiving a PhD degree in physics in 2000, he held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Rochester, USA and the University of Oxford, UK. He is an author or a co-author of over 140 scientific contributions dealing with various aspects of quantum physics and optical sciences as well as several patents in the field of quantum technologies. He co-founded a start-up Quantum Optical Technologies sp. z o.o. where he acts as the scientific advisor. In 2021 he was elected a corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and a year later a Fellow member of Optica (formerly the Optical Society).