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arXiv:1210.1272

Attacks on semi-device independent quantum protocols

Elsa Passaro, Rodrigo Gallego, Marcin Paw

Published Jan 1, 2014• 2 citations
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Abstract

ICREA-Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avanc¸ats, Lluis Companys 23, E-08010 Barcelona, Spain(Dated: January 8, 2014)Recently several semi-device independent quantum protocols were proposed - e.g. for secure keydistribution, random access coding, and randomness generation - in a scenario where no assumptionon the internal working of the devices used in the protocol is made, except their dimension. Theseprotocols, while being often more practical than fully-device independent ones, are also clearly moresecure than their device dependent counterparts. Nevertheless, we discuss conditions under whichdetection inefficiencies can be exploited to fake the result of the protocol - and how to prevent it -in terms of the detection probability and of the worst case success probability of a random accesscode.I. INTRODUCTION

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ICREA-Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avanc¸ats, Lluis Companys 23, E-08010 Barcelona, Spain(Dated: January 8, 2014)Recently several semi-device independent quantum protocols were proposed - e.g. for secure keydistribution, random access coding, and randomness generation - in a scenario where no assumptionon the internal working of the devices used in the protocol is made, except their dimension. Theseprotocols, while being often more practical than fully-device independent ones, are also clearly moresecure than their device dependent counterparts. Nevertheless, we discuss conditions under whichdetection inefficiencies can be exploited to fake the result of the protocol - and how to prevent it -in terms of the detection probability and of the worst case success probability of a random accesscode.I. INTRODUCTION
Semi-device-independent quantum protocols realize information tasks -- e.g. secure key distribution, random access coding, and randomness generation -- in a scenario where no assumption on the internal working of the devices used in the protocol is made, except their dimension. These protocols offer two main advantages: first, their implementation is often less demanding than fully-device-independent protocols. Second, they are more secure than their device-dependent counterparts. Their classical analogous is represented by random access codes, which provide a general framework for describing one-sided classical communication tasks. We discuss conditions under which detection inefficiencies can be exploited by a malicious provider to fake the performance of semi-device-independent quantum and classical protocols -- and how to prevent it.
While fully device-independent security in (BB84-like) prepare-and-measure quantum key distribution (QKD) is impossible, it can be guaranteed against individual attacks in a semi-device-independent (SDI) scenario, wherein no assumptions are made on the characteristics of the hardware used except for an upper bound on the dimension of the communicated system. Studying security under such minimal assumptions is especially relevant in the context of the recent quantum hacking attacks wherein the eavesdroppers can not only construct the devices used by the communicating parties but are also able to remotely alter their behavior. In this work, we study the security of a SDIQKD protocol based on the prepare-and-measure quantum implementation of a well-known cryptographic primitive, the random access code (RAC). We consider imperfect detectors and establish the critical values of the security parameters (the observed success probability of the RAC and the detection efficiency) required for guaranteeing security against eavesdroppers with and without quantum memory. Furthermore, we suggest a minimal characterization of the preparation device in order to lower the requirements for establishing a secure key.
Semi-device-independent random number expansion (SDI-RNE) protocols require some truly random numbers to generate fresh ones, with making no assumptions on the internal working of quantum devices except for the dimension of the Hilbert space. The generated randomness is certified by non-classical correlation in the prepare-and-measure test. Until now, the analytical relations between the amount of the generated randomness and the degree of non-classical correlation, which are crucial for evaluating the security of SDI-RNE protocols, are not clear under both the ideal condition and the practical one. In the paper, first, we give the analytical relation between the above two factors under the ideal condition. As well, we derive the analytical relation under the practical conditions, where devices' behavior is not independent and identical in each round and there exists deviation in estimating the non-classical behavior of devices. Furthermore, we choose a different randomness extractor (i.e., two-universal random function) and give the security proof.
By testing nonlocality, the security of entanglement-based quantum key distribution (QKD) can be enhanced to being ``device-independent.'' Here we ask whether such a strong form of security could also be established for one-way (prepare and measure) QKD. While fully device-independent security is impossible, we show that security can be guaranteed against individual attacks in a semi-device-independent scenario. In the latter, the devices used by the trusted parties are noncharacterized, but the dimensionality of the quantum systems used in the protocol is assumed to be bounded. Our security proof relies on the analogies between one-way QKD, dimension witnesses, and random-access codes.
Quantum random number generators (QRNGs) produce true random numbers based on the inherent randomness of quantum theory, rendering them a foundational segment of quantum cryptography. Distinguished from trusted-device QRNGs whose security depends on characterized devices, semi-device-independent (semi-DI) QRNGs permit partial devices to be defective or even maliciously manipulated, which achieves a good trade-off between generation rate and security. In this paper, we propose a semi-DI QRNG that resists general attacks while accounting for finite-size effects. The protocol requires no rigorous characterization of the source and measurement devices other than limiting the energy of the emitted states, significantly reducing the demands on practical QRNG systems. Leveraging the tight Kato inequality for correlated variables, we show that our protocol generates more randomness than it consumes. Furthermore, we demonstrate the scheme on a continuous-variable system with ternary inputs of states. Heterodyne detection is employed to enable phase compensation through data postprocessing, alleviating the stringent requirement on system stability. The system operates at 100 MHz, achieving a net random number generation rate of 1.165 Mbps at 5.3x10^9 rounds. Our work offers a promising approach to achieve both the robust security and high generation rate with a simple experimental setup.