Patent ID: 11936781
Assignee: DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AG
Field: Digital communication (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. A method, comprising:
in a preparation step:
a first quantum key distribution (QKD) device at a first location and a second QKD device at a second location distant from the first location together create a quantum secured key wherein the first QKD device communicates with at least one common intermediate quantum node via a first quantum channel and the second QKD device communicates with the at least one common intermediate quantum node via a second quantum channel, and wherein the first and second QKD devices communicate via an authenticated digital distillation channel separate from the first and second quantum channels for transmitting and receiving control information; and
a first encryption device at the first location and a second encryption device at the second location together create a symmetrically encrypted channel between the first encryption device at the first location and the second encryption device at the second location using the quantum secured key; and

in a key agreement step, a first key agreement device at the first location and a second key agreement device at the second location together create an encryption key using an asymmetric key exchange procedure, wherein key material for creating the encryption key is exchanged between the first key agreement device and the second key agreement device via the symmetrically encrypted channel.