Vana Pezelj

Continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) provides a theoretical unconditionally secure solution to distribute symmetric keys among users in a communication network. However, the practical devices used to implement these systems are intrinsically imperfect, and, as a result, open the door to eavesdropper attacks. We present a novel implementation of a coherent detector blinding attack, in which the eavesdropper hinders the capability of the receiver to properly estimate the channel parameters, hiding the impact of their intercept-resend attack. Our results show that excess noise in excess of 2.5 SNU can be reliably hidden by the eavesdropper, thus demonstrating the feasibility of the attack.