Hybridity of Classical and Quantum Protocol For Securing SDN Networks

This work includes the implementation of a secure SDN environment by securing the communication between the controller and network devices based on a hybrid protocol. The hybrid protocol consists of classical and quantum protocols of key distribution between the two parties where the hybrid key is embedded with the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol to achieve reliable and secure communication over the OpenFlow channel.The hybrid key is the best solution for achieving two-party authentication based on quantum properties as well as providing a strong key to providing double security based on the mathematical complexity of the classical method and the physical properties of the quantum protocol. This work was implemented on real devices using a Raspberry Pi board to serve as an OpenFlow switch and a separate SDN controller, while Python programming language was adopted to implement the proposed protocol to protect the communication channel between controller and OpenFlow switch.