English

AC Loop Current Attacks Against The KLJN Secure Key Exchange Scheme

Cryptography and Security 2021-07-20 v1 Signal Processing

Abstract

A new attack against the Kirchhoff-Law-Johnson-Noise(KLJN) secure key exchange scheme is introduced. The attack exploits a parasitic (periodic) AC voltage-source at either Alice or Bob ends. Such situations exist due to AC ground loops and electromagnetic interference (EMI). In the low-frequency case, the procedure is the generalized form of the former DC ground loop based attack. In the high-frequency case, the power spectrum of the wire voltage is utilized. The attack is demonstrated in both the low and the high-frequency situations. Defense protocols against the attack are also discussed.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2005.11002,
  title  = {AC Loop Current Attacks Against The KLJN Secure Key Exchange Scheme},
  author = {Mutaz Melhem and Christiana Chamon and Shahriar Ferdous and Laszlo B. Kish},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.11002},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

17 pages, 6 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-23T15:43:56.061Z