A method of integrating quantum key distribution (QKD) with Internet
protocol security (IPSec) to improve the security of IPSec. Standard
IPSec protocols impose limits on the frequency at which keys can be
changed. This makes efforts to improve the security of IPSec by employing
quantum keys problematic. The method includes employing multiple security
associations (SA) in in-bound and outbound SA Tables in a manner that
enables a high key flipping rate and that enables combining quantum keys
with classical keys generated by Internet Key Exchange (IKE), thereby
enabling QKD-based IPSec.