Topology-Oblivious Random-Walk Key Relaying in Quantum Key Distribution Networks

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This paper studies topology-oblivious stochastic forwarding for key relaying in Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) networks, asking whether useful security and efficiency can be achieved without centralized control or global routing state. It analyzes a model where fragmented key material is relayed via random-walk variants and reconstructed with privacy amplification under a restricted threat model with at most one compromised relay. Evaluation on the GÉANT topology shows meaningful differences between walk variants, including reduced exposure via a highest-score-neighbor diversification heuristic and shorter routes with a preliminary loop-erasure step.