Feasibility Study on Quantum Key Distribution to Future Air Traffic Management

Abstract

This paper will describe the cybersecurity for air traffic management systems to improve air traffic safety. Though encryption is useful as a cybersecurity countermeasure, how to distribute the key is the problem via insecure communication systems. A solution to the problem is to using public key cryptography, which is widely used in information processing devices. The security of public key cryptography is based on the fact that it is strongly expected to take a very long time to decipher public key cryptography. However, it is also known that the quantum computer enables deciphering the current public key cryptography in a realistic time. If quantum computers are achieved in the future, there is a cyber threat that the current public key cryptography will be deciphered. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a solution to the key distribution problem not based on public key cryptography. QKD has the advantage that QKD can prove that the shared key is never eavesdropped by the principles of quantum mechanics.

This paper describes the principles of QKD and technologies that will support future air traffic management. After that, this paper reports the results of a feasibility study of quantum key distribution for aeronautical communication, navigation, surveillance, and System Wide Information Management (SWIM), which are the technologies that support air traffic management systems.