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 a manner that enables a high key flipping rate and that enables combining of quantum keys with classical keys generated by Internet Key Exchange (IKE), thereby enabling QKD-based IPSec.
