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Quantum Information and Computation

Security analysis of quantum-readout PUFs in the case of challenge-estimation attacks

ŠkoricBoris

Published Jan 1, 2016• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Quantum Readout (QR) of Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) is a new technique for remotely authenticating objects, which has recently been demonstrated experimentally. The security is based on ba...

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Security analysis of Quantum-Readout PUFs in the case of challenge-estimation attacks

Boris Škorić

Quantum Readout (QR) of Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) is a new technique for remotely authenticating objects, which has recently been demonstrated experimentally. The security is based on basic quantum information theoretic principles and holds under the assumption that the adversary cannot clone or physically emulate PUFs. We analyse the security of QR under a class of attacks called ‘digital emulation’, in which the adversary first performs state estimation on the challenge and then bases his response on this estimate. We make use of a result by Bruß and Macchiavello to derive an upper bound on the adversary’s success probability as a function of the Hilbert space dimension K and the photon number n. We prove that QR is unconditionally secure against digital emulation attacks when the challenges are Fock states. For non-Fock-states we provide a security proof under the condition that the attacker’s measurements commute with the particle number operator.

Quantum Information and Computation•Jan 1, 2016•12 citations

Security analysis of Quantum-Readout PUFs in the case of generic challenge-estimation attacks.

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Quantum Readout PUFs (QR-PUFs) have been proposed as a technique for remote authentication of ob jects. The security is based on basic quantum information theoretic principles and the assumption that the adversary cannot losslessly implement arbitrary unitary transformations on a K-dimensional state space, with K "large". We consider all possible attacks in which the adversary bases his response on challenge state estimation by measurements. We first analyze the security of QR-PUF schemes in the case where each challenge consists of precisely n identical quanta. We use a result by Bruss and Macchiavello to derive an upper bound on the adversary’s success probability as a function of K and n. Then we generalize to challenges that contain a probabilistic number of quanta, and in particular a Poisson distribution.

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We propose a theoretical framework to quantitatively describe physical unclonable functions (PUFs), including extensions to quantum protocols, so-called quantum readout PUFs (QR-PUFs). (QR-) PUFs are physical systems with challenge-response behavior intended to be hard to clone or simulate. Their use has been proposed in several cryptographic protocols, with particular emphasis on authentication. Here, we provide theoretical assumptions and definitions behind the intuitive ideas of (QR-) PUFs. This allows us to quantitatively characterize the security of such devices in cryptographic protocols. First, by generalizing previous ideas, we design a general authentication scheme which is applicable to different physical implementations of both classical PUFs and (QR-) PUFs. Then, we define the robustness and the unclonability, which allows us to derive security thresholds for (QR-) PUF authentication and paves the way to develop further new authentication protocols.

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Quantum readout of physical unclonable functions (PUFs) is a recently introduced method for remote authentication of objects. We present an extension of the protocol to enable the authentication of data : A verifier can check if received classical data were sent by the PUF holder. We call this modification QR-d or, in the case of the optical-PUF implementation, QSA-d. We discuss how QSA-d can be operated in a parallel way. We also present a protocol for authenticating quantum states.

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Quantum Physical Unclonable Functions (QPUFs) offer a physically grounded approach to secure authentication, extending the capabilities of classical PUFs. This review covers their theoretical foundations and key implementation challenges—such as quantum memories and Haar‐randomness—, and distinguishes QPUFs from Quantum Readout PUFs (QR‐PUFs), more experimentally accessible yet less robust against quantum‐capable adversaries. A co‐citation‐based selection method is employed to trace the evolution of QPUF architectures, from early QR‐PUFs to more recent Hybrid PUFs (HPUFs). This method further supports a discussion on the role of information‐theoretic analysis in mitigating inconsistencies in QPUF responses, underscoring the deep connection between secret‐key generation and authentication. Despite notable advances, achieving practical and robust QPUF‐based authentication remains an open challenge.

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ABSTRACT Quantum Physical Unclonable Functions (QPUFs) offer a physically grounded approach to secure authentication, extending the capabilities of classical PUFs. This review covers their theoretical foundations and key implementation challenges—such as quantum memories and Haar‐randomness—, and distinguishes QPUFs from Quantum Readout PUFs (QR‐PUFs), more experimentally accessible yet less robust against quantum‐capable adversaries. A co‐citation‐based selection method is employed to trace the evolution of QPUF architectures, from early QR‐PUFs to more recent Hybrid PUFs (HPUFs). This method further supports a discussion on the role of information‐theoretic analysis in mitigating inconsistencies in QPUF responses, underscoring the deep connection between secret‐key generation and authentication. Despite notable advances, achieving practical and robust QPUF‐based authentication remains an open challenge.

arXiv:2508.09296•Advanced Quantum Technologies•Jan 1, 2026•6 citations
Quantum Readout (QR) of Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) is a new technique for remotely authenticating objects, which has recently been demonstrated experimentally. The security is based on basic quantum information theoretic principles and holds under the assumption that the adversary cannot clone or physically emulate PUFs. We analyse the security of QR under a class of attacks called ‘digital emulation’, in which the adversary first performs state estimation on the challenge and then bases his response on this estimate. We make use of a result by Bruß and Macchiavello to derive an upper bound on the adversary’s success probability as a function of the Hilbert space dimension K and the photon number n. We prove that QR is unconditionally secure against digital emulation attacks when the challenges are Fock states. For non-Fock-states we provide a security proof under the condition that the attacker’s measurements commute with the particle number operator.
Quantum Readout PUFs (QR-PUFs) have been proposed as a technique for remote authentication of ob jects. The security is based on basic quantum information theoretic principles and the assumption that the adversary cannot losslessly implement arbitrary unitary transformations on a K-dimensional state space, with K "large". We consider all possible attacks in which the adversary bases his response on challenge state estimation by measurements. We first analyze the security of QR-PUF schemes in the case where each challenge consists of precisely n identical quanta. We use a result by Bruss and Macchiavello to derive an upper bound on the adversary’s success probability as a function of K and n. Then we generalize to challenges that contain a probabilistic number of quanta, and in particular a Poisson distribution.
We propose a theoretical framework to quantitatively describe physical unclonable functions (PUFs), including extensions to quantum protocols, so-called quantum readout PUFs (QR-PUFs). (QR-) PUFs are physical systems with challenge-response behavior intended to be hard to clone or simulate. Their use has been proposed in several cryptographic protocols, with particular emphasis on authentication. Here, we provide theoretical assumptions and definitions behind the intuitive ideas of (QR-) PUFs. This allows us to quantitatively characterize the security of such devices in cryptographic protocols. First, by generalizing previous ideas, we design a general authentication scheme which is applicable to different physical implementations of both classical PUFs and (QR-) PUFs. Then, we define the robustness and the unclonability, which allows us to derive security thresholds for (QR-) PUF authentication and paves the way to develop further new authentication protocols.
Quantum Physical Unclonable Functions (QPUFs) offer a physically grounded approach to secure authentication, extending the capabilities of classical PUFs. This review covers their theoretical foundations and key implementation challenges—such as quantum memories and Haar‐randomness—, and distinguishes QPUFs from Quantum Readout PUFs (QR‐PUFs), more experimentally accessible yet less robust against quantum‐capable adversaries. A co‐citation‐based selection method is employed to trace the evolution of QPUF architectures, from early QR‐PUFs to more recent Hybrid PUFs (HPUFs). This method further supports a discussion on the role of information‐theoretic analysis in mitigating inconsistencies in QPUF responses, underscoring the deep connection between secret‐key generation and authentication. Despite notable advances, achieving practical and robust QPUF‐based authentication remains an open challenge.
ABSTRACT Quantum Physical Unclonable Functions (QPUFs) offer a physically grounded approach to secure authentication, extending the capabilities of classical PUFs. This review covers their theoretical foundations and key implementation challenges—such as quantum memories and Haar‐randomness—, and distinguishes QPUFs from Quantum Readout PUFs (QR‐PUFs), more experimentally accessible yet less robust against quantum‐capable adversaries. A co‐citation‐based selection method is employed to trace the evolution of QPUF architectures, from early QR‐PUFs to more recent Hybrid PUFs (HPUFs). This method further supports a discussion on the role of information‐theoretic analysis in mitigating inconsistencies in QPUF responses, underscoring the deep connection between secret‐key generation and authentication. Despite notable advances, achieving practical and robust QPUF‐based authentication remains an open challenge.