Key establishment and secure communications based on satellite entropy sources

Abstract

Systems and techniques for secure communications and distribution of random values, produced from at least two satellite entropy sources, are described. These random values may be provided by respective quantum random number generators (QRNGs) at separate satellites, and optionally combined with values from ground-based entropy sources (e.g., QRNGs at terrestrial locations). An example method includes: receiving a first random value and a second random value via at least one satellite communication, where the first random value is generated by a first QRNG at a first satellite, and the second random value is generated by a second QRNG at a second satellite; and generating a cryptographic key based on the first random value and the second random value. The cryptographic key may be produced by a key derivation function that combines the random values, and the cryptographic key may be used to establish a secure communication session.