DNA-inspired cryptographic method in optical communications, authentication and data mimicking

Privacy and security is of increasing concern in wireless, wired, Internet and optical communication networks. Modern optical communication networks, known as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), transport aggregate traffic per single mode fiber has exceeded Tbps. When massive amounts of information are transported, the issue of privacy and security becomes important not only on the client data application layer but also on the node management as well as the physical layer. In optical networks, fiber links are many kilometers long and thus there are many opportunities for sophisticated eavesdroppers to tap the fiber, copy a channel, isolate a specific payload and attempt to decrypt it if the encryption key is known or is breakable with a fast computer. In this paper, we present a novel WDM link security methodology that borrows certain concepts of the double DNA helix and we call it DNA-inspired; it encrypts multiple channels randomly with multiple keys to render channel monitoring by eavesdroppers virtually impossible. We also discuss source authentication, sensing of fiber tapping as well as sensing data-mimicking by intruders