Operational Threat Modeling of Adversarial Disturbances in Continuous-Variable Quantum Communication

Continuous-variable quantum communication (CVQC) relies on finite-window estimation of phase space moments, making receiver decisions sensitive to finite measurement resolution, calibration uncertainty, and confidence-calibrated tolerances. This paper develops a receiver-centric threat modeling framework for structured (including adversarial) physical-layer disturbances under finite-sample inference. We introduce an operational taxonomy, reconnaissance, exploratory, and denial-of-service, defined by statistical visibility relative to acceptance regions rather than by assumed physical mechanisms. Using an effective estimator space Gaussian model r^′=Gr^+ξ with additive covariance N, we show how distinct mechanisms can be observationally equivalent within finite tolerances and we propose a protocol-agnostic scalar severity coordinate ΔE based on the covariance trace. We derive χ2-based missed-detection expressions and a soft detectability boundary scaling as 1/n, and we corroborate the predicted Pmiss(ν) behavior via Monte Carlo simulations across representative block sizes. The resulting framework clarifies the delimitation from conventional CV-QKD excess noise parameterization and provides a structured basis for monitoring-layer design and comparative threat-taxonomy mapping.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy
Published
2026-03-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/jcp6020049
Primary Topic
Quantum Information and Cryptography
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Operational Threat Modeling of Adversarial Disturbances in Continuous-Variable Quantum Communication

Sebastian Ratto Valderrama, Alexander Truskovsky, Nadeem Said, Mark Pecen et al.
Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy
Quantum Information and Cryptography
article

Operational Threat Modeling of Adversarial Disturbances in Continuous-Variable Quantum Communication

Sebastian Ratto Valderrama, Alexander Truskovsky, Nadeem Said, Mark Pecen, Andy Thanos, José R. Rosas-Bustos, Jesse Van Griensven Van Griensven Thé, Roydon Andrew Fraser
article en

Abstract

Continuous-variable quantum communication (CVQC) relies on finite-window estimation of phase space moments, making receiver decisions sensitive to finite measurement resolution, calibration uncertainty, and confidence-calibrated tolerances. This paper develops a receiver-centric threat modeling framework for structured (including adversarial) physical-layer disturbances under finite-sample inference. We introduce an operational taxonomy, reconnaissance, exploratory, and denial-of-service, defined by statistical visibility relative to acceptance regions rather than by assumed physical mechanisms. Using an effective estimator space Gaussian model r^′=Gr^+ξ with additive covariance N, we show how distinct mechanisms can be observationally equivalent within finite tolerances and we propose a protocol-agnostic scalar severity coordinate ΔE based on the covariance trace. We derive χ2-based missed-detection expressions and a soft detectability boundary scaling as 1/n, and we corroborate the predicted Pmiss(ν) behavior via Monte Carlo simulations across representative block sizes. The resulting framework clarifies the delimitation from conventional CV-QKD excess noise parameterization and provides a structured basis for monitoring-layer design and comparative threat-taxonomy mapping.

Journal of Cybersecurity and PrivacyVol. 6(2)
Cisco Systems (United States) (US), University of Waterloo (CA), Lakes Environmental (Canada) (CA), Applied Quantum Technologies (United States) (US), Quantum Technologies (Sweden) (SE), The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Peace, Justice and strong institutions
Openalex Percentile: Top 35%
Quantum Information and Cryptography
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Operational Threat Modeling of Adversarial Disturbances in Continuous-Variable Quantum Communication — Sebastian Ratto Valderrama, Alexander Truskovsky, et al. · Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS