The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) has published the first Protection Profile for Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) modules to establish formal security requirements for their physical implementation and key generation. This profile defines high-level criteria for prepare-and-measure QKD protocols, ensuring that devices can produce shared secret keys with detectable tampering in transit to mitigate threats from future quantum computers. Developed through collaboration between BSI and the ETSI Industry Specification Group on QKD, the document enables certification under the Common Criteria scheme to help telecom operators and enterprises secure their networks with trusted, evaluated hardware.
Keywords: Quantum Key Distribution, post-quantum cryptography, Common Criteria, BSI Protection Profile, security certification