English

The double-padlock problem: is secure classical information transmission possible without key exchange?

Classical Physics 2013-01-01 v3 Mathematical Physics math.MP

Abstract

The idealized Kish-Sethuraman (KS) cipher is theoretically known to offer perfect security through a classical information channel. However, realization of the protocol is hitherto an open problem, as the required mathematical operators have not been identified in the previous literature. A mechanical analogy of this protocol can be seen as sending a message in a box using two padlocks; one locked by the Sender and the other locked by the Receiver, so that theoretically the message remains secure at all times. We seek a mathematical representation of this process, considering that it would be very unusual if there was a physical process with no mathematical description and indeed we find a solution within a four dimensional Clifford algebra. The significance of finding a mathematical description that describes the protocol, is that it is a possible step toward a physical realization having benefits in increased security with reduced complexity.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1212.3017,
  title  = {The double-padlock problem: is secure classical information transmission possible without key exchange?},
  author = {James M. Chappell and Derek Abbott},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1212.3017},
  year   = {2013}
}

Comments

4 pages

R2 v1 2026-06-21T22:53:40.080Z