Identity based secure authentication scheme based on quantum key distribution for cloud computing

Identity theft is the most recurrent twenty-first century cybercrime. Thus, authentication is of utmost significance as the number of hackers who seek to intrigue into legitimate user's account to obtain sensitive information is increasing. Identity based authentication operates to corroborate the identity of the user so that only the legitimate user gets access to the service. This paper proposes a quantum identity based authentication and key agreement scheme for cloud server architecture. Quantum cryptography based on the laws of quantum physics is a vital technology for securing privacy and confidentiality in the field of network security. A formal security analysis has been performed using AVISPA tool that confirms the security of the proposed scheme. The security analysis of the proposed protocol proves that it is robust against all security attacks. To confirm applicability of quantum key distribution in cloud computing, a practical long-distance entanglement-based QKD experiment has been proposed. This experiment confirms successful generation of shifted keys over distance of 100 km of optical fiber with a key rate of 4.11 bit/s and an error rate of 9.21 %.