Preface
Stimulated by concerns about the secrecy of our data and their secure transmission,
there is worldwide active research on quantum cryptography and particularly on
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD).
QKD allows two users to communicate with a higher level of security thanks to
the laws of quantum physics, making it a candidate to replace current cryptographic
schemes. This attracted the attention of governments, institutions and companies to
invest in quantum cryptographic technologies, as confirmed by regular theoretical
breakthroughs and record-breaking experiments.
This book intends to introduce the reader to QKD and its recent multiparty
generalization, called (quantum) Conference Key Agreement (CKA).
While providing a comprehensive view of the state of the art of the field, the
book also offers a didactic guidance towards the latest developments, allowing
non-expert readers to eventually participate in the on-going research. This is eased
by explaining new ideas in an intuitive way and by going into the details of
fundamental concepts.
I believe that the growing attention being received by QKD, combined with the
novel introduction to CKA, makes this book a timely publication.
I wish the reader an enjoyable read and I hope it can inspire further progress on
the flourishing field of quantum cryptography.
Düsseldorf, Germany
November 2020
Federico Grasselli
vii
Stimulated by concerns about the secrecy of our data and their secure transmission,
there is worldwide active research on quantum cryptography and particularly on
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD).
QKD allows two users to communicate with a higher level of security thanks to
the laws of quantum physics, making it a candidate to replace current cryptographic
schemes. This attracted the attention of governments, institutions and companies to
invest in quantum cryptographic technologies, as confirmed by regular theoretical
breakthroughs and record-breaking experiments.
This book intends to introduce the reader to QKD and its recent multiparty
generalization, called (quantum) Conference Key Agreement (CKA).
While providing a comprehensive view of the state of the art of the field, the
book also offers a didactic guidance towards the latest developments, allowing
non-expert readers to eventually participate in the on-going research. This is eased
by explaining new ideas in an intuitive way and by going into the details of
fundamental concepts.
I believe that the growing attention being received by QKD, combined with the
novel introduction to CKA, makes this book a timely publication.
I wish the reader an enjoyable read and I hope it can inspire further progress on
the flourishing field of quantum cryptography.
Düsseldorf, Germany
November 2020
Federico Grasselli
vii