Quantum Key Distribution-Based Framework for Securing Encrypted Communications in Address Resolution Protocol Packet Capture

This paper introduces, for the very first time, a completely novel solution to secure ARP communication via a QKD framework utilizing the BB84 protocol for quantum-secured key exchange. Conventional encryption schemes are vulnerable to prospective attacks based on the development of quantum technology; on the contrary, QKD is intrinsically secure through the no-cloning theorem, protecting confidentiality and integrity of network communications in theory. It securely generates and shares quantum keys using the Pennylane quantum computing library, along with encrypting ARP packets using XChaCha20. The Scapy library will be used across the framework for crafting, sending, and receiving ARP packets. Tests were run in a simulated environment and could demonstrate that secure ARP communication is feasible, based on quantum-key-based encryption, and to thwart both classical and quantum-era network attacks. This has revealed how QKD, when placed alongside the best encryption technologies, might be able to future-proof network protocols against threats that emerge later on.