Highly Secure Network Switches with Quantum Key Distribution Systems

We have developed network ＂switches＂ with security enhanced by ＂quantum key distribution (QKD) systems＂. In a Layer 2 ＂switch＂, media access control (MAC) ad-dresses are encrypted to prevent unauthorized access from internal network. After an initial authentication, common random key bits are shared between the Layer 2 ＂switch＂ and users. MAC addresses are encrypted with shared key at every packet. In Layer 3, secure keys from a ＂QKD sys-tem＂ are used in the Internet Protocol Security (IPSEC) protocol for encrypting a payload in one-time pad, and also for extracting a message digest for unconditionally secure message authentication. In this way, network security can be effectively enhanced by QKD in an IP compatible manner.