Abstract In this work, we propose a bit-oriented QIA protocol based on special properties of quantum rotation and the public key cryptographic framework. The proposed protocol exhibited good resistance to both forward search and measure-resend attacks, whereby its security performance was directly related to the length of the authentication code. From our analysis, it was demonstrated that the protocol has good performance, in terms of quantum bit efficiency. In addition, the protocol is well-expandable. The developed protocol is resource-efficient and can be also applied in quantum computing networks.
Abstract In this work, we propose a bit-oriented QIA protocol based on special properties of quantum rotation and the public key cryptographic framework. The proposed protocol exhibited good resistance to both forward search and measure-resend attacks, whereby its security performance was directly related to the length of the authentication code. From our analysis, it was demonstrated that the protocol has good performance, in terms of quantum bit efficiency. In addition, the protocol is well-expandable. The developed protocol is resource-efficient and can be also applied in quantum computing networks.
Quantum identity authentication (QIA) ensures that entities of quantum communication will not be impersonated by attackers. As an auxiliary protocol, an ideal QIA protocol cannot take up too many quantum resources and needs to be embedded in the original protocol to enhance security. In this paper, we propose a flexible ternary quantum homomorphic encryption (QHE) protocol using qubit rotation and indicate that the QHE framework can be used to design QIA protocols. The ternary QIA protocol based on QHE can be embedded in the original protocol because both protocols use the same quantum resources. The proposed protocol uses different vouchers from previous protocols, allowing it to prevent various types of attacks and performs well in terms of communication efficiency. The QHE framework can benefit other quantum cryptographic fields.
In the practical distribution process of quantum key, the transmission loss and efficiency of detectors have a direct impact on the efficiency of key generation. The quantum identity authentication requires both communication sides to ensure the integrity of the authentication information. Considering the problems above, a quantum identity authentication protocol based on photon polarization rotation is proposed, in which repetition coding is used to solve the problem of transmission loss. In order to guarantee the security of protocol, random states are inserted into the adjacencies of the useful authentication quantum states. Security analysis shows that the protocol can successfully resist the intercept-resent attack and beam-splitting attack. Furthermore, a useful authentication system practicable under present technical conditions is designed. It is helpful in applications that transmission loss and detection efficiency are taken into consideration.
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.
Unconditional security in Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) relies on authenticating the identities of users involved in key distribution. While classical identity authentication schemes were initially utilized in QKD implementations, concerns regarding their vulnerability have prompted the exploration of Quantum Identity Authentication (QIA) protocols. In this study, we introduce a new protocol for QIA, derived from the concept of controlled secure direct quantum communication. Our proposed scheme facilitates simultaneous authentication between two users, Alice and Bob, leveraging Bell states with the assistance of a third party, Charlie. Through rigorous security analysis, we demonstrate that the proposed protocol withstands various known attacks, including impersonation, intercept and resend and impersonated fraudulent attacks. Additionally, we establish the relevance of the proposed protocol by comparing it with the existing protocols of similar type.
Abstract Quantum communication has been extensively studied and continuously developed due to its theoretical absolute security. In this work, a novel multiparty quantum communication protocol based on quantum stabilizer codes (QSC) is proposed. Firstly, a trusted third party provides quantum identity authentication (QIA) for users. Secondly, users prepare quantum multiparticle entangled states for transmitting secret information. Thirdly, the secret information is encoded by the QSC to resist channel noise. A part of the encoded qubits is selected to detect the security of the communication. In this protocol, QIA prevents active attacks such as impersonation attacks; the physical laws of quantum entangled state ensure information security; the theory of QSC corrects the flipping errors of qubits, and improves the communication efficiency. In addition, we prove the security of the protocol, and further verify the communication efficiency. Compared with existing protocols, this protocol has better performance on communication efficiency.
The rise of quantum computing poses significant challenges to security systems, with traditional message authentication codes (MACs) at unprecedented risk of compromise. This paper proposes a quantum message authentication code (QMAC) leveraging quantum mechanics to achieve robust security. The QMAC uses quantum one-way functions (QOWFs) to convert encrypted classical bits into qubits. This approach fundamentally differs from the computational hardness assumptions of conventional MACs. The QMAC's security is computationally difficulty-independent based on the inherent properties of quantum mechanics, making it impervious to exhaustive search attacks. Additionally, the protocol integrates authentication directly into the secure communication framework, obviating the need for extra particles and reducing computational complexity compared to stabilizer code-based or controlled unitary operations. Through a rigorous security analysis, we demonstrate the resilience of the proposed QMAC protocol against a wide range of adversarial strategies, including interception-resend attacks, identity impersonation, and entanglement-based attacks, among others.