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Project
ReFlex – REconfigurable node for FLEXible secure networks (FWOKN294)
Flexibility and security are two essential features for communication, but they are difficult to combine as they tend to oppose each other, often leading to an arduous trade-off.
In secure chaos-based communication systems, all lasers interacting in a network need to be precisely matched together. Thus, the system security is mostly ensured by the difficulty for an attacker to find a suitable device. Yet, this requirement is also a severe drawback as it strongly limits, in practice, the achievable size of the network. Moreover, the network architecture is mostly fixed by design and cannot withstand drastic changes, hence allowing an intruder to gain knowledge of the network over time.
In this project, I propose a different approach exploiting the recently discovered polarization chaos – generated from solitary laser diodes – to reconcile flexibility and security. I aim at developing reconfigurable nodes for secure networks, i.e. nodes that can act indifferently as chaotic emitter (master) or receiver (slave). Synchronization would be easy to achieve, including with unmatched devices, but the whole network could be completely re-arranged, extended or reduced at will at any time. It would be therefore impossible for an attacker to gain sustainable knowledge of the network, and any intrusion could only last until the next re-organization. Because the security would improve with the network size, this strategy is suitable for large networks and even encourage network growth.
In secure chaos-based communication systems, all lasers interacting in a network need to be precisely matched together. Thus, the system security is mostly ensured by the difficulty for an attacker to find a suitable device. Yet, this requirement is also a severe drawback as it strongly limits, in practice, the achievable size of the network. Moreover, the network architecture is mostly fixed by design and cannot withstand drastic changes, hence allowing an intruder to gain knowledge of the network over time.
In this project, I propose a different approach exploiting the recently discovered polarization chaos – generated from solitary laser diodes – to reconcile flexibility and security. I aim at developing reconfigurable nodes for secure networks, i.e. nodes that can act indifferently as chaotic emitter (master) or receiver (slave). Synchronization would be easy to achieve, including with unmatched devices, but the whole network could be completely re-arranged, extended or reduced at will at any time. It would be therefore impossible for an attacker to gain sustainable knowledge of the network, and any intrusion could only last until the next re-organization. Because the security would improve with the network size, this strategy is suitable for large networks and even encourage network growth.
Date:1 Jan 2018 → 31 Dec 2018
Keywords:networks
Disciplines:Classical physics not elsewhere classified