The Kish Cypher

The Story of KLJN for Unconditional Security

Designed to offer a thorough account of the KLJN key exchange system (also known as the Kish Cypher, the Kish Key Distribution, etc.) and its unconditional security, this book explains the scheme's foundation in classical statistical physics and its superiority to its quantum-based competitors for particular applications, from the perspective of Dr. Kish himself.

This book clarifies the misinformation behind heated debates on the "Kish Cypher" (the popular but incorrect name for the Kirchhoff–Law–Johnson–Noise, KLJN, scheme), and debunks common misconceptions by using simple and clear-cut treatments to explain the protocol's working principle — an understanding that has eluded (even) several experts of computer science, quantum security, and electrical engineering. The work also explains how the scheme can provide the same (or higher) level of security as quantum communicators at a thousandth of the cost.

The contents of this text address both layman and expert levels of understanding.

Contents:

• Dedication
• Foreword by Peter V E McClintock
• Preface
• Preparations
• The Dawn (2002–2004)
• The Birth of KLJN (2005–2008)
• Developments and Fall-Out of KLJN (2009–2014)
• Cream on the Cake

Readership: Scientists, engineers, members of the general public interested in how things work and all who are interested in today's history of secure communication, science and technology.
Key Features:

• There is great interest in the matter (as indicated by the production of other books on the Kish cipher — though the books in question are only Wikipedia print-outs.)
• This book is a first-hand monologue about the Kish cypher by Kish himself
• There will be hard science, design-related texts, and explanations using popular science, spiced with personal history that goes beyond the Kish cipher, as well as reflections on the current situation of science and technology (including defense technology) and academic life in the USA and in the Western world