Michael G. Tanner, Vadim Makarov, Robert H. Hadfield
We explore optimised control of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) through bright illumination. We consider the behaviour of the SNSPD in the shunted configuration (a practical measure to avoid latching) in long-running quantum key distribution experiments. We propose and demonstrate an effective bright-light attack on this realistic configuration, by applying transient blinding illumination lasting for a fraction of a microsecond and producing several deterministic fake clicks during this time. We show that this attack does not lead to elevated timing jitter in the spoofed output pulse, and is hence not introducing significant errors. Five different SNSPD chip designs were tested. We consider possible countermeasures to this attack.
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http://arxiv.org/abs/1305.5989
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