JPMorgan Chase, Toshiba and Ciena Build the First Quantum Key Distribution Network Used to Secure Mission-Critical Blockchain Application

In groundbreaking research with partners Toshiba and Ciena, our Future Lab for Applied Research and Engineering (FLARE) and Global Network Infrastructure teams demonstrated the full viability of a first-of-its-kind Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) network for metropolitan areas, resistant to quantum computing attacks and capable of supporting 800 Gbps data rates for mission-critical applications under real-world environmental conditions.

We demonstrated the ability of the newly developed QKD network to instantly detect and defend against eavesdroppers. We also studied the impact of realistic environmental factors on the quality of the quantum channel and used a QKD-secured optical channel to deploy and secure Liink by J.P. Morgan, the world's first bank-led, production-grade, peer-to-peer blockchain network. This is the first demonstration of QKD securing a mission-critical blockchain application in the industry.

In JPMorgan Chase’s fiber optic production simulation lab, researchers from all three organizations collaborated to achieve the following notable results:

• A QKD channel was multiplexed on the same fiber as ultra-high bandwidth 800 Gbps optical channels for the first time and used to provide keys for encryption of the data stream. 
• Co-existence of the quantum channel with two 800 Gbps and eight 100 Gbps channels was demonstrated for a 70km fiber, with a key rate sufficient to support up to 258 AES-256 encrypted channels at a key refresh rate of 1 key/sec. 
• Operation of QKD and the ten high-bandwidth channels was demonstrated for distances up to 100km.  
• The proof of concept network infrastructure relied on Toshiba’s Multiplexed QKD System, manufactured by Toshiba Europe at their Cambridge UK base, and Ciena’s Waveserver 5 platform, equipped with 800 Gbps optical-layer encryption and open APIs running over Ciena’s 6500 photonic solution. The tests were conducted in JPMorgan Chase’s fiber optic production simulation lab.

At this time, QKD is the only solution that has been mathematically proven to defend against a potential quantum computing-based attack, with security guarantees based on the laws of quantum physics.

We are proud to be at the front-end of adopting QKD technology for real-world applications while partnering with industry leaders in the field, such as Toshiba and Ciena.

Read the full research paper here.

To learn more about the Future Lab for Applied Research and Engineering at JPMorgan Chase, see https://www.jpmorgan.com/technology/flare.