In this review, we survey the cryptographic task of authentication from the perspective of quantum communication. We review three main flavours of authentication that are often conflated in the literature: authentication of classical messages, authentication of quantum messages, and entity authentication, also covering recent hardware-assisted approaches. We compare representative protocols for each functionality in terms of their security assumptions, set-up requirements, composability, and scalability in large or dynamic networks, and use these criteria to identify and recommend suitable candidates. Finally, applications are surveyed: we provide a detailed case study of authentication and quantum key distribution (QKD), then extend the discussion to protocols beyond QKD, where the role of authentication is more complex. Our take-home message is that an authentication requirement is not an intrinsic limitation of quantum networks: as with all secure communication, each protocol relies on a particular authentication resource, and the security claim of that protocol is meaningful only once the authentication resource and its deployment assumptions are made explicit. At the same time, the existing classical and quantum literature already offers a range of quantum-secure authentication schemes, which can support different applications when carefully matched to the required functionality, assumptions, and security guarantees.
In this review, we survey the cryptographic task of authentication from the perspective of quantum communication. We review three main flavours of authentication that are often conflated in the literature: authentication of classical messages, authentication of quantum messages, and entity authentication, also covering recent hardware-assisted approaches. We compare representative protocols for each functionality in terms of their security assumptions, set-up requirements, composability, and scalability in large or dynamic networks, and use these criteria to identify and recommend suitable candidates. Finally, applications are surveyed: we provide a detailed case study of authentication and quantum key distribution (QKD), then extend the discussion to protocols beyond QKD, where the role of authentication is more complex. Our take-home message is that an authentication requirement is not an intrinsic limitation of quantum networks: as with all secure communication, each protocol relies on a particular authentication resource, and the security claim of that protocol is meaningful only once the authentication resource and its deployment assumptions are made explicit. At the same time, the existing classical and quantum literature already offers a range of quantum-secure authentication schemes, which can support different applications when carefully matched to the required functionality, assumptions, and security guarantees.
The absolute security of quantum communication protocols relies on a critical premise: all participating parties are legitimate users. Ensuring the legitimacy of participant identities is paramount in complex real-world communication environments. Quantum identity authentication (QIA), in which fundamental principles of quantum mechanics are used to achieve unilateral or mutual authentication between communicating parties, constitutes an indispensable core component for building a comprehensive quantum secure communication system. It holds significant research value in the field of quantum communication. This review employs a comparative classification method to systematically outline the research trajectory of QIA protocols. By categorizing protocols based on the required quantum resources and the types of quantum protocols employed, the advantages and disadvantages of various categories are analyzed in terms of efficiency, security, and practicality. Single-photon protocols require low resources, and they are easy to implement, and compatible with existing optical components, but require high-efficiency single-photon detectors and exhibit weak noise resistance. Entangled-state protocols offer high security and strong resistance to eavesdropping, particularly suitable for long-distance or multi-party authentication. However, they greatly depend on the preparation and maintenance of high-precision, stable multi-particle entanglement sources, resulting in high experimental complexity. Continuous-variable (CV) protocols achieve high transmission efficiency in short-distance metropolitan area networks and are compatible with classical optical communication equipment, making experiments relatively straightforward. Yet, they require high-precision modulation technology and are sensitive to channel loss. Hybrid protocols aim to balance resource efficiency and security while reducing reliance on a single quantum source, but their design is complex and may introduce new attack vectors. Quantum key distribution (QKD) framework protocols embed identity authentication in the key distribution process, making them suitable for scenarios requiring long-term secure key distribution, although they often depend on pre-shared keys or trusted third parties. Quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) framework protocols integrate authentication with secure direct information transmission, offering high efficiency for real-time communication, but requiring high channel quality. Measurement-device-independent QSDC (MDI-QSDC) represents a key development direction that can resist attacks on measurement devices. Quantum teleportation (QT) framework protocols achieves cross-node authentication and unconditional security, making it suitable for quantum relay networks despite its high experimental complexity. The entanglement swapping framework protocol can resist conspiracy attacks and is suitable for multi-party joint scenarios, but it consumes a lot of resources and relies on trusted third party. Ping-pong protocol framework supports dynamic key updates and exhibits strong resistance to eavesdropping, making it suitable for temporary authentication on mobile terminals, although it typically only supports unilateral authentication and requires a bidirectional channel. Subsequently, this review details the latest QIA protocols of our research group, including a multi-party synchronous identity authentication protocol based on Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states, and a tripartite QSDC protocol with identity authentication capabilities utilizing polarization-spatial super-coding. The GHZ-based multi-party synchronous authentication protocol leverages the strong correlations inherent in GHZ states to achieve simultaneous authentication among multiple parties. Through a carefully designed two-round decoy-state detection mechanism, it effectively resists both external eavesdropping and internal attacks originating from authenticated users, thereby enhancing the efficiency and security of identity management in large-scale quantum networks. The core innovation of the polarization-spatial super-coding tripartite QSDC protocol lies in its deep integration of the authentication process with information transmission by utilizing the spatial degrees of freedom of single photons. This design accomplishes the identity verification of two senders and the transmission of secret information within a single protocol run, ensuring end-to-end security through a three-stage security check. This “authentication-as-communication” paradigm significantly improves the overall efficiency and practicality of the protocol. Its successful implementation also relies on advancements in quantum memory technology. Finally, the review outlines future research directions for quantum identity authentication and explores its potential applications in quantum communication. The QIA research needs to focus on reducing resource dependency, exploring more efficient protocol designs, further enhancing protocol integration and robustness, prioritizing the development of protocols adaptable to real-world environments, and actively investigating integration with novel scenarios. This comprehensive review aims to provide theoretical research foundations and technical support for the practical development of future quantum identity authentication.
QKD occurs over two communication channels: classical and quantum. While the quantum channel is somewhat secure by quantum principles, the classical channel need to be authenticated using cryptographic algorithms. Unfortunately, the authentication algorithms and the methods suggested are not taking into consideration the problems practical implementations are facing. Moreover, there are areas which has not been discussed by the literature such as the quantum application layer in communication over classical channel. This study identifies the hurdles practical implementations of QKD are facing and proposes a solution which take into consideration these needs. Moreover, it suggests new protocols and approaches suitable for QKD post processing authentication.
The paper addresses entity authentication in quantum key distribution (QKD) systems as a decisive condition of their practical security. It is shown that the information-theoretic security of quantum key agreement does not eliminate the need to authenticate the communicating parties: an unauthenticated classical channel leaves the system exposed to the man-in-the-middle attack, since the eavesdropper can run independent QKD instances with each party and reconcile two keys under full control. Existing authentication methods are analysed and classified by the underlying cryptographic primitive: symmetric schemes based on Wegman–Carter universal hashing, pre-shared and fixed keys, public-key infrastructure, two-way authentication, quantum entity/identity authentication, and zero-knowledge proofs. For each class the operating principle, advantages and limitations are determined, with emphasis on key management, scalability and trust distribution. It is established that symmetric and quantum-layer methods rely on pre-shared secrets with a quadratic growth of key material, public-key infrastructure introduces a single trust bottleneck and quantum-vulnerable primitives, while existing zero-knowledge authentication schemes are quantum and bound to the physical layer or solve network properties other than identity. A comparative analysis reveals an unresolved scientific gap: the absence of a scalable entity-authentication method that simultaneously provides non-disclosure of the secret, quantum resistance, sub-quadratic scalability and minimisation of trust assumptions. On this basis, a prospective research direction is substantiated – the construction of entity-authentication methods based on post-quantum zero-knowledge proofs operating over the classical control plane of scalable QKD networks. The requirements for such a method are formulated, and its compatibility with formal QKD security proofs is discussed.
A novel approach to secure data transmission, quantum communication draws on fundamental principles of quantum physics. It ensures that the transmitted information is private and accurate. To provide security, quantum networks implement physical constraints such as the no-cloning rule and quantum entanglement. In contrast, computational complexity is employed by classical networks. However, with the proliferation of multiuser quantum networks, identity verification has become more challenging. People with malicious intentions might easily disrupt services in long-distance quantum networks by impersonating legitimate nodes and sharing entangled resources and quantum channels. This highlights the absolute necessity of secure authentication systems tailored to quantum environments. Enhancements to recent quantum authentication systems have been made utilizing techniques that are resistant to quantum computing. Researchers are looking into quantum digital signatures, entanglement-assisted protocols, and quantum key distribution (QKD) authentication to make multi-party communications more secure. In order to prevent attacks where a user establishes a fraudulent identity or account, these strategies can be applied to quantum networks. This study takes a look at current quantum authentication systems and gives them the once-over, focusing on how well they could handle multiple users. The article delves into the evolution of authentication systems to accommodate the distributed model, where nodes can function as senders, receivers, or relays. We aim to strike a compromise between practicality and security in our lightweight, low-latency protocols. Additionally, the paper discusses quantum-specific issues, such as side-channel attacks and device malfunctions, and how authentication techniques can help prevent them. Finally, this study demonstrates that authentication is the critical component of secure quantum communication for multiple users. The most secure quantum key distribution methods are still vulnerable to attacks from inside or outside the system if proper authentication is not in place.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocols rely on authenticated classical communication. Typical QKD security proofs are carried out in an idealized setting where authentication is assumed to behave honestly: it never aborts, and all classical messages are delivered faithfully with their original timing preserved. Authenticated channels that can be constructed in practice have different properties. Most critically, such channels may abort asymmetrically, such that only the receiving party may detect an authentication failure while the sending party remains unaware. Furthermore, an adversary may delay, reorder, or block classical messages. This discrepancy means that existing security proofs under honest authentication do not directly establish security in the practical authentication setting. We address this gap using an existing security definition from the literature that permits asymmetric aborts while retaining secrecy of any key produced and agreement of the keys whenever both parties accept. Our main result is a reduction theorem showing that, under mild and easily satisfied protocol conditions, any QKD protocol proven secure under the honest authentication setting, for the standard security definition with symmetric aborts, remains secure under a practical authentication setting, for the weaker security definition that allows for asymmetric aborts. This result allows all existing QKD proofs to be retroactively lifted to the practical authentication setting (with asymmetric aborts) with a minor protocol tweak.
Authentication is one of the security services that assures the system’s adequate security through identification and verification. Additionally, it guarantees that the communication party is who they claim to be. In politics, the economy, banking, daily life, and other areas, quantum identity authentication is essential to guarantee the security of information in communication. The multiphoton strategy is an improved version of the single-photon approach, with higher transmission rates and longer photon travel distances via the Quantum Communication network. Despite the advantages of multiphoton, enforcing authentication on behalf of numerous participants in the quantum channel remains a problem, since existing multiphoton only considers two parties involved in secret message sharing. The issue of scalability arises here when the number of parties involved in the quantum network increases. Furthermore, an eavesdropper might hide her position among other parties and take advantage of the situation to obtain a certain information. Therefore, we require a protocol, that creates a more secure environment in term of authentication in which multiple parties may freely and openly communicate. This paper further identifies research gaps covering critical aspect on how Quantum Identity Authentication (QIA) can be realized and effectively utilized for multiphoton without entanglement based. These include suggestion of future direction to implement multiphoton in multiparty from current protocol.