Communication security has to evolve to a higher plane in the face of the threat from the massive computing power of the emerging quantum computers. Quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) constitutes a promising branch of quantum communication, which is provably secure and overcomes the threat of quantum computing, whilst conveying secret messages directly via the quantum channel. In this survey, we highlight the motivation and the status of QSDC research with special emphasis on its theoretical basis and experimental verification. We will detail the associated point-to-point communication protocols and show how information is protected and transmitted. Finally, we discuss the open challenges as well as the future trends of QSDC networks, emphasizing again that QSDC is not a pure quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol, but a fully-fledged secure communication scheme.
Communication security has to evolve to a higher plane in the face of the threat from the massive computing power of the emerging quantum computers. Quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) constitutes a promising branch of quantum communication, which is provably secure and overcomes the threat of quantum computing, whilst conveying secret messages directly via the quantum channel. In this survey, we highlight the motivation and the status of QSDC research with special emphasis on its theoretical basis and experimental verification. We will detail the associated point-to-point communication protocols and show how information is protected and transmitted. Finally, we discuss the open challenges as well as the future trends of QSDC networks, emphasizing again that QSDC is not a pure quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol, but a fully-fledged secure communication scheme.
Quantum secure direct communication is one of the major branches of quantum cryptography. In quantum secure direct communication, secret information can be transmitted directly through a quantum channel without the use of a private key. Quantum secure direct communication(QSDC) offers higher security and instantaneousness in communication. Because it does not use private key, key management is dispensed with. Unlike quantum key distribution where key is transferred from quantum terminal to the classical terminal at the user's site, the coding operations are solely in the quantum terminal, it further provides security in the user's site. QSDC is also a powerful basic cryptographic primitive to build other quantum communication protocols, such as quantum bidding, quantum signature and quantum dialogue and so on. Here, we briefly introduce the basic ideas of QSDC, describe the major protocols, report current status, and give a perspective.
Quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) is one of the most important branches of quantum communication. In contrast to the quantum key distribution (QKD) which distributes a secure key between distant parties, QSDC directly transmits secret message instead of sharing key in advance. To establish a secure QSDC protocol, on the one hand, the security of the quantum channel should be confirmed before the exchange of the secret message. On the other hand, the quantum state should be transmitted in a quantum data block since the security of QSDC is based on the error rate analysis in the theories on statistics. Compared with the deterministic quantum key distribution (DQKD) which can also be used to transmit deterministic information, QSDC schemes do not need extra classical bits to read the secret message except for public discussion. In this article, we introduce the basic principles of QSDC and review the development in this field by introducing typical QSDC protocols chronologically. The first QSDC protocol was proposed by Long and Liu, which can be used to establish a common key between distant parties. In their scheme, the method for transmitting quantum states in a block by block way and in multiple steps was proposed and the information leakage before eavesdropping detection was solved. Subsequently, Deng et al. presented two pioneering QSDC schemes, an entangled-state-based two-step QSDC scheme and a single-photon-state-based quantum one-time pad scheme, in which the basic principle and criteria for QSDC were pointed out. From then on, many interesting QSDC schemes have been proposed, including the high-dimension QSDC scheme based on quantum superdense coding, multi-step QSDC scheme based on Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states, QSDC scheme based on quantum encryption with practical non-maximally entangled quantum channel, and so on. We also introduce the anti-noise QSDC schemes which were designed for coping with the collective-dephasing noise and the collective-rotation noise, respectively. In 2011, Wang et al. presented the first QSDC which exploited the hyperentangled state as the information carrier and several QSDC schemes based on the spatial degree of freedom (DOF) of photon, single-photon multi-DOF state and hyperentanglement were proposed subsequently. In addition to the point-to-point QSDC schemes, we also review the QSDC networks. Finally, a perspective of QSDC research is given in the last section.
Quantum-secure communication and computation have garnered increasing attention due to their powerful search capabilities for certain complex problems and their ability to provide unconditional security. This indicates that classical cryptography, such as asymmetric ciphers based on complex mathematics, faces a significant threat from quantum algorithms. However, quantum cryptography can detect any attempt to eavesdrop on a channel. As a result, the investigation and implementation of quantum computers and quantum-secure communication networks have become essential objectives for numerous research teams. This paper provides an overview of quantum cryptography, including its development, and focuses on the theoretical aspect of quantum secure direct communication (QSDC). This helps readers understand the theoretical operating principles and gain a better understanding of the entire quantum characteristic and protocol operation in the QSDC field. QSDC enables secure communication without previously shared private keys, making it a crucial topic in quantum cryptography research. This paper provides an overview of several well-known versions of QSDC in theory, discussing their applications, challenges and potential future directions.
Quantum Secure Direct Communication (QSDC) is a distinctive protocol of quantum communication. It communicates confidential message straight through a quantum channel without a requirement of secret key and cipher-text. It is not solely useful in preventing eavesdropping throughout transmission, but additionally removes the security flaw related with storing and managing the key. Therefore, this protocol of secure communication is different from its typical equivalents and other quantum protocols. In this article, we will bring out the facts that how QSDC is different and better than other protocols of Quantum Communication. The transient details of all the protocols of Quantum communication are studied rigorously and compared with QSDC to demonstrate how QSDC is capable of overcoming the loopholes/shortcomings of alternative protocols. In this paper, protocols of QSDC to mitigate the possible threats available in practical QSDC are discussed and one of the protocol Measurement Device Independent QSDC is demonstrated along with the efficacy of results verified using quantum simulator and quantum machine. The results demonstrate its potential over other protocols of quantum communication and contribution towards empowering secure communication. With the benefits of QSDC over other protocols, it helps as mitigating technique for the possible threats available in other protocols of Quantum communication.
Quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) is a new type quantum communication scheme based on quantum mechanics, which can transmit deterministic information and is more close to classical communication compared with earlier quantum key distribution (QKD) schemes which require auxiliary pre-distribution of secret key, and has become an important branch of quantum communication in recent years. A comprehensive review is presented about the present development of QSDC, with typical QSDC schemes based on various quantum principles as well as the comparisons between them. Then the experimental research on QSDC is reviewed briefly and the future direction is prospected in the end.
The emergence of quantum computing has introduced both opportunities and threats to modern secure communication systems. Classical cryptographic algorithms, which rely on computational complexity, are vulnerable to quantum algorithms capable of solving problems such as integer factorization and discrete logarithms efficiently. This paper explores the role of quantum computing in secure communication, focusing on quantum cryptographic techniques such as Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Quantum Secure Direct Communication (QSDC). A comprehensive review of existing literature is presented, followed by an analysis of methodologies used in quantum-secure communication systems. The study evaluates the advantages, limitations, and practical challenges of implementing quantum communication technologies. Finally, future research directions and the integration of quantum technologies into next-generation communication networks are discussed.