Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Modern Physics Letters A

Mutual semi-quantum key agreement protocol using Bell states

Li Yan, Shi Bin Zhang, Yan Zuo Chang, Zhiwei Sheng, Fan Yang

Published Aug 8, 2019• 17 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Quantum key agreement (QKA) can generate a shared secret key which is equally negotiated by all the participants in the protocol. In most of the QKA protocols, all the participants require quantum capabilities. But the quantum devices are too expensive for participants. This paper proposes a mutual semi-quantum key agreement protocol which allows two parties (Alice and Bob) to negotiate a shared secret key equally. In the protocol, Alice can perform any quantum operation, but Bob is a classical participant which can only perform reflection, measurement and reorder operation. Even though Bob has fewer quantum resources, Alice and Bob have an equal contribution to the shared final key, no one can determine the shared key alone. In addition, we demonstrate the security of the proposed protocol. The analysis results show that the proposed protocol not only resists against some common attacks but also assures the fairness property. It is significant for communication participant without enough quantum devices to achieve quantum communication. The proposed protocol can be implemented with present quantum technologies.

DOI
10.1142/s0217732319502948

Related papers

Efficient Multi-party Quantum Key Agreement Protocol Based on New Bell State Encoding Mode

Yan Sun, Kefan Cheng, Zexi Li +1 more

Although there are many quantum key agreement protocols currently in existence, they cannot be merged in terms of resource utilisation, efficiency, security, and other aspects, and there are also significant differences in the nature of two and more parties. Therefore, it is necessary to design a quantum key agreement protocol that can balance efficiency and security and is suitable for multiple participants. In view of this, this paper proposes a multi-party quantum key agreement protocol based on a new coding mode of bell state: temporary session keys are negotiated between adjacent participants, and then shared keys for all participants are negotiated through the exchange, conversion, and computation of quantum resources. During the implementation of the protocol, not only can the identity of the participants be authenticated, but also the quantum resources used are single, and the quantum operations performed are simple. Moreover, efficiency is fixed and does not decrease due to the increase of participants or quantum resources. In addition, the protocol also allows participants to dynamically join and leave. In terms of security, the protocol can resist most common quantum attacks. Under the existing quantum technology, this protocol is completely feasible.

International Journal of Information and Computer Security•Jan 1, 2023•0 citations

Three-party quantum key agreement with Bell states

Xunru Yin, Wenping Ma, Shen Dong-Su +1 more

A three-party quantum key agreement protocol based on EPR pairs is proposed, in which the three participants have equal status in the protocol and each participant is capable of contributing to the shared secret key in the same degree. In addition, any one or two parties cannot predetermine the value of shared key alone. The security analysis shows that our protocol can resist the outside attack and the dishonest participants attack.

Acta Physica Sinica•Jan 1, 2013•19 citations

Efficient multi-party quantum key agreement protocol based on new bell state encoding mode

Zexi Li, Kefan Cheng, Yan Sun +1 more

Although there are many quantum key agreement protocols currently in existence, they cannot be merged in terms of resource utilisation, efficiency, security, and other aspects, and there are also significant differences in the nature of two and more parties. Therefore, it is necessary to design a quantum key agreement protocol that can balance efficiency and security and is suitable for multiple participants. In view of this, this paper proposes a multi-party quantum key agreement protocol based on a new coding mode of bell state: temporary session keys are negotiated between adjacent participants, and then shared keys for all participants are negotiated through the exchange, conversion, and computation of quantum resources. During the implementation of the protocol, not only can the identity of the participants be authenticated, but also the quantum resources used are single, and the quantum operations performed are simple. Moreover, efficiency is fixed and does not decrease due to the increase of participants or quantum resources. In addition, the protocol also allows participants to dynamically join and leave. In terms of security, the protocol can resist most common quantum attacks. Under the existing quantum technology, this protocol is completely feasible.

International Journal of Information and Computer Security•Jan 1, 2024•0 citations

Mutual authentication quantum key agreement protocol with single-particle measurement

Yang Hao, Zepu Yi, Songfeng Lu +1 more

In this paper, a mutual authentication quantum key agreement protocol with single-particle measurement is proposed. The participants can authenticate each other’s identity through their secret identity information and the entanglement property of Bell states. After the authentication phase, the participants can negotiate a private key with equal contribution. We prove that the proposed scheme is unconditional security. In comparison to the previous mutual authentication quantum key agreement protocols, the proposed method utilizes Bell states as the quantum resource states in both the identity authentication and key agreement stages. It requires single-particle measurement without the need for Bell measurements or the involvement of trusted or semi-trusted other participants. Additionally, our proposed scheme demonstrates significant advantages in terms of qubit efficiency.

Frontiers in Physics•Mar 25, 2025•1 citation

Multiparty semi-quantum key agreement protocol without participant measurement

Jing Li, Jiaxin Xiong, Xianmin Wang

Abstract The semi-quantum key agreement (SQKA) protocol enables classical participants to complete key agreement with limited quantum capabilities. The previous semi-quantum key agreement protocols required the classical party to have the ability to measure qubits, and share a key before the protocol began. This paper proposes a SQKA protocol that allows semi-quantum participants to use single photons for key negotiation with the help of a semi-honest third party (TP). Unlike previous approaches, this protocol further reduces the quantum capability requirements for participants and eliminates the need for prior key sharing. Furthermore, through security analysis and multi-party expansion, the protocol can resist external attacks such as the intercept-resend attack, measure-resend attack, entangle-measure attack. Additionally, it can be applied to scenarios involving different numbers of participants.

Physica Scripta•Sep 1, 2025•3 citations

Two semi-quantum secure direct communication protocols based on Bell states

Yuhua Sun, Lili Yan, Yan Zuo Chang +3 more

Quantum secure direct communication allows one participant to transmit secret messages to another directly without generating a shared secret key first. In most of the existing schemes, quantum secure direct communication can be achieved only when the two participants have full quantum ability. In this paper, we propose two semi-quantum secure direct communication protocols to allow restricted semi-quantum or “classical” users to participate in quantum communication. A semi-quantum user is restricted to measure, prepare, reorder and reflect quantum qubits only in the classical basis [Formula: see text]. Both protocols rely on quantum Alice to randomly prepare Bell states, perform Bell basis measurements and publish the initial Bell states, but the semi-quantum Bob only needs to measure the qubits in classical basis to obtain secret information without quantum memory. Security and qubit efficiency analysis have been given in this paper. The analysis results show that the two protocols can avoid some eavesdropping attacks and their qubit efficiency is higher than some current related quantum or semi-quantum protocols.

Modern Physics Letters A•Dec 7, 2018•43 citations
Quantum key agreement (QKA) can generate a shared secret key which is equally negotiated by all the participants in the protocol. In most of the QKA protocols, all the participants require quantum capabilities. But the quantum devices are too expensive for participants. This paper proposes a mutual semi-quantum key agreement protocol which allows two parties (Alice and Bob) to negotiate a shared secret key equally. In the protocol, Alice can perform any quantum operation, but Bob is a classical participant which can only perform reflection, measurement and reorder operation. Even though Bob has fewer quantum resources, Alice and Bob have an equal contribution to the shared final key, no one can determine the shared key alone. In addition, we demonstrate the security of the proposed protocol. The analysis results show that the proposed protocol not only resists against some common attacks but also assures the fairness property. It is significant for communication participant without enough quantum devices to achieve quantum communication. The proposed protocol can be implemented with present quantum technologies.
Although there are many quantum key agreement protocols currently in existence, they cannot be merged in terms of resource utilisation, efficiency, security, and other aspects, and there are also significant differences in the nature of two and more parties. Therefore, it is necessary to design a quantum key agreement protocol that can balance efficiency and security and is suitable for multiple participants. In view of this, this paper proposes a multi-party quantum key agreement protocol based on a new coding mode of bell state: temporary session keys are negotiated between adjacent participants, and then shared keys for all participants are negotiated through the exchange, conversion, and computation of quantum resources. During the implementation of the protocol, not only can the identity of the participants be authenticated, but also the quantum resources used are single, and the quantum operations performed are simple. Moreover, efficiency is fixed and does not decrease due to the increase of participants or quantum resources. In addition, the protocol also allows participants to dynamically join and leave. In terms of security, the protocol can resist most common quantum attacks. Under the existing quantum technology, this protocol is completely feasible.
Although there are many quantum key agreement protocols currently in existence, they cannot be merged in terms of resource utilisation, efficiency, security, and other aspects, and there are also significant differences in the nature of two and more parties. Therefore, it is necessary to design a quantum key agreement protocol that can balance efficiency and security and is suitable for multiple participants. In view of this, this paper proposes a multi-party quantum key agreement protocol based on a new coding mode of bell state: temporary session keys are negotiated between adjacent participants, and then shared keys for all participants are negotiated through the exchange, conversion, and computation of quantum resources. During the implementation of the protocol, not only can the identity of the participants be authenticated, but also the quantum resources used are single, and the quantum operations performed are simple. Moreover, efficiency is fixed and does not decrease due to the increase of participants or quantum resources. In addition, the protocol also allows participants to dynamically join and leave. In terms of security, the protocol can resist most common quantum attacks. Under the existing quantum technology, this protocol is completely feasible.
In this paper, a mutual authentication quantum key agreement protocol with single-particle measurement is proposed. The participants can authenticate each other’s identity through their secret identity information and the entanglement property of Bell states. After the authentication phase, the participants can negotiate a private key with equal contribution. We prove that the proposed scheme is unconditional security. In comparison to the previous mutual authentication quantum key agreement protocols, the proposed method utilizes Bell states as the quantum resource states in both the identity authentication and key agreement stages. It requires single-particle measurement without the need for Bell measurements or the involvement of trusted or semi-trusted other participants. Additionally, our proposed scheme demonstrates significant advantages in terms of qubit efficiency.
Abstract The semi-quantum key agreement (SQKA) protocol enables classical participants to complete key agreement with limited quantum capabilities. The previous semi-quantum key agreement protocols required the classical party to have the ability to measure qubits, and share a key before the protocol began. This paper proposes a SQKA protocol that allows semi-quantum participants to use single photons for key negotiation with the help of a semi-honest third party (TP). Unlike previous approaches, this protocol further reduces the quantum capability requirements for participants and eliminates the need for prior key sharing. Furthermore, through security analysis and multi-party expansion, the protocol can resist external attacks such as the intercept-resend attack, measure-resend attack, entangle-measure attack. Additionally, it can be applied to scenarios involving different numbers of participants.
Quantum secure direct communication allows one participant to transmit secret messages to another directly without generating a shared secret key first. In most of the existing schemes, quantum secure direct communication can be achieved only when the two participants have full quantum ability. In this paper, we propose two semi-quantum secure direct communication protocols to allow restricted semi-quantum or “classical” users to participate in quantum communication. A semi-quantum user is restricted to measure, prepare, reorder and reflect quantum qubits only in the classical basis [Formula: see text]. Both protocols rely on quantum Alice to randomly prepare Bell states, perform Bell basis measurements and publish the initial Bell states, but the semi-quantum Bob only needs to measure the qubits in classical basis to obtain secret information without quantum memory. Security and qubit efficiency analysis have been given in this paper. The analysis results show that the two protocols can avoid some eavesdropping attacks and their qubit efficiency is higher than some current related quantum or semi-quantum protocols.