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   Reviews of Modern Physics

The security of practical quantum key distribution

Valerio Scarani, Helle Bechmann-Pasquinucci, Nicolas J. Cerf, Miroslav 
Dušek, Norbert Lütkenhaus and Momtchil Peev

Quantum mechanics offers us a new way for secure communication. Photons prepared in certain quantum states can be used to distribute a key–a random string of bits–between two partners, which can be used to encode secret messages. Any eavesdropper who tries to obtain the key will distort the quantum states, something which can be detected. In practical applications, the noise induced by the environment will be indistinguishable from that coming from a potential eavesdropper, something which may compromise the security of the transmission. This paper reviews different methods to assess the security of most practical key distribution protocols in the presence of any kind of noise.

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