Synchronized DNA sources for unconditionally secure cryptography

Computer Science > Cryptography and Security [Submitted on 17 Mar 2026] Synchronized DNA sources for unconditionally secure cryptography Sandra Jaudou, Hélène Gasnier, Elias Boudjella, Marc Canève, Victoria Bloquert, Vasily Shenshin, Tilio Pilet, Sacha Gaucher, Soo Hyeon Kim, Philippe Gaborit, Gouenou Coatrieux, Matthieu Labousse, Anthony Genot, Yannick Rondelez Secure communication is the cornerstone of modern infrastructures, yet achieving unconditional security -resistant to any computational attack- remains a fundamental challenge. The One-Time Pad (OTP), proven by Shannon to offer perfect secrecy, requires a shared random key as long as the message, used only once. However, distributing large keys over long distances has been impractical due to the lack of secure and scalable sharing options. Here, we introduce a DNA-based cryptographic primitive that leverages random pools of synthetic DNA to install a synchronized entropy source between distant parties. Our approach uses duplicated DNA molecules -comprising random index-payload pairs- as a shared secret. These molecules are locally sequenced and digitized to generate a common binary mask for OTP encryption, achieving unconditional security without relying on computational assumptions. We experimentally demonstrate this protocol between Tokyo and Paris, using in-house sequencing, generating a shared secret mask of \sim 400 Mb with a residual error rate to achieve the usual overall decryption failure rate of 2^{-128}. The min-entropy of the binary mask meets the most recent National Institute of Standards and Technology requirements (SP 800-90B), and is comparable to that of approved cryptographic random number generators. Critically, our system can resist two types of adversarial interference through molecular copy-number statistics, providing an additional layer of security reminiscent of Quantum Key Distribution, but without distance limitations. This work establishes DNA as a scalable entropy source for long-distance OTP, enabling high-throughput and secure communications in sensitive contexts. By bridging molecular biology and cryptography, DNA-based key distribution opens a promising new route toward unconditional security in global communication networks. Subjects: Cryptography and Security (cs.CR); Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other); Other Quantitative Biology (q-bio.OT) Cite as: arXiv:2603.17149 [cs.CR]   (or arXiv:2603.17149v1 [cs.CR] for this version)   https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2603.17149 Focus to learn more Submission history From: Matthieu Labousse [view email] [v1] Tue, 17 Mar 2026 21:25:28 UTC (4,940 KB) Access Paper: view license Current browse context: cs.CR < prev   |   next > new | recent | 2026-03 Change to browse by: cond-mat cond-mat.other cs q-bio q-bio.OT References & Citations NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar Export BibTeX Citation Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Demos Related Papers About arXivLabs Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)