Abstract
In the context of increasing demand for secure and efficient communication networks, addressing the issue of mutual authentication in ethernet passive optical networks (EPONs) has become both valuable and practically significant. This paper proposes a solution based on ideal lattices. The proposed scheme leverages the security of the ring learning with errors (RLWE) problem to establish a robust public-key cryptosystem. By involving ONUs, OLTs, and an SDN controller in the authentication process, it enables mutual authentication through a series of message exchanges facilitated by the SDN controller. Utilizing approximate smooth projection hash functions for secure key exchange and verification, the scheme ensures robust security performance against various attacks, including man-in-the-middle, impersonation, replay, and known key secrecy attacks. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed solution introduces minimal delay and maintains a high registration success rate compared to traditional authentication methods. Additionally, this paper explores the convergence of quantum network protocols with EPONs, highlighting their potential to achieve unprecedented levels of communication security. Integrating quantum technology with EPON networks, due to the unique security properties of quantum, can also better prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. Secure interception detection techniques based on fundamental quantum properties provide a fundamental security direction for future communication systems, aligning with the growing interest in quantum-resistant cryptographic protocols.