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

IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering

Anonymous Classical Message Transmission Through Various Quantum Networks

Runhua Shi, Xia-qin Fang

Published Jan 16, 2024• 11 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Quantum network is a trending internet technology that exploits quantum mechanics principles to allow the communication between distant users. When a message is transmitted through a quantum network, guaranteeing the anonymity of a sender and a receiver is a fundamental property and formidable challenge. In this paper, we investigate anonymous classical message transmission through different quantum networks. Firstly, we establish various quantum network architectures, which can perfectly achieve anonymous communications without authenticated private channels, pre-shared keys or pre-distributed entanglements between any two users, and do not require complex routing through other users. Secondly, we present three practical and feasible quantum anonymous communication protocols for a ring quantum network, a linear quantum network, and a tree or graph mixed quantum network, respectively, which can ensure the information-theoretical security in semi-honest model and resist all side-channel attacks for measurement devices. Theoretical analysis and simulation experiments verify the feasibility of our proposed quantum protocols.

DOI
10.1109/tnse.2024.3354327

Related papers

Device-Independent Anonymous Communication in Quantum Networks

Srijani Das, Manasi Patra, Tuhin Paul +2 more

Anonymity is a fundamental cryptographic primitive that hides the identities of both senders and receivers during message transmission over a network. Classical protocols cannot provide information-theoretic security for such task, and existing quantum approaches typically depend on classical subroutines and multiple private channels, thereby weakening their security in fully adversarial settings. In this work, we introduce the first fully quantum protocol for anonymous communication in realistic quantum networks with a device-independent security proof.

quant-pharXiv:2512.21047•Dec 25, 2025•0 citations

Anonymity for Practical Quantum Networks

Anupama Unnikrishnan, Ian J. MacFarlane, Richard Yi +3 more

Quantum communication networks have the potential to revolutionize information and communication technologies. Here we are interested in a fundamental property and formidable challenge for any communication network, that of guaranteeing the anonymity of a sender and a receiver when a message is transmitted through the network, even in the presence of malicious parties. We provide the first practical protocol for anonymous communication in realistic quantum networks.

arXiv:1811.04729•Physical Review Letters•Jun 19, 2019•74 citations

Multi-participant quantum anonymous communication based on high-dimensional entangled states

Jiawei Liu, Qing-Xia Mu, Ronghua Che +3 more

Abstract Anonymous quantum communication (AQC) enables the secure transmission of quantum or classical messages between a sender and a receiver while ensuring the anonymity of their identities. Existing AQC protocols primarily address one-to-one anonymous communication. When there are multiple senders, they must send their messages sequentially to avoid collision problems. In this paper, we propose a multi-participant quantum anonymous communication (MQAC) by employing high-dimensional entangled states. In this protocol, multiple senders establish anonymous entanglement with multiple receivers of their choice and send quantum messages anonymously and simultaneously via quantum teleportation. To propose MQAC, we first present the toolbox we developed, which includes several sub-protocols such as the verification protocol, collision detection protocol, address distribution protocol, and notification protocol. These sub-protocols, which we propose, not only are important parts of MQAC but also serve as the foundation for solving many more complex tasks, such as anonymous commodity transaction. Additionally, the analysis of MQAC demonstrates that neither internal nor external attackers can steal the identities of the communication parties or the transmitted messages by employing any attack. Our work represents an original exploration of anonymous message transmission between multiple senders and receivers in quantum networks.

Physica Scripta•Jul 31, 2024•2 citations

Enforcing trust in quantum networks

Anupama Unnikrishnan

The phenomenal progress in quantum technologies over the past decades has laid the groundwork for the construction of quantum networks, which will channel the power of quantum theory to guarantee secure and efficient communication, computation, and much more. This thesis studies the notion of trust in quantum networks. In our information age, protecting the security or anonymity of data is a key requirement. We investigate certain protocols that are fundamental to the operation and applications of quantum networks, and propose ways to test and analyse their security, in spite of adversarial intervention. Our focus is on practical methods of verifying the untrusted components, which could be incorporated into realistic networks in the near future. To begin, we propose a protocol for authenticated communication of quantum messages, by verifying the entanglement required for quantum teleportation in an experimentally feasible way. We model the performance of our scheme in the presence of noise. Furthermore, we explore such an authenticated teleportation in the one-sided device-independent scenario, where some devices used for verification may be corrupted. We derive error-tolerant self- testing bounds and extend our results to a realistic experimental setting, demonstrating the compatibility of our protocol with state-of-the-art technology. We then study anonymity, an essential feature for communication across networks. Combining the power of classical and quantum subroutines, we build a practical protocol for anonymous communication of quantum messages, without the need to trust the players in our network, their computational power, or the entanglement they share. We end by considering the verification of graph states distributed across a network of possibly dishonest players, applying our scheme to specific graph states that are central to quantum communication and computation schemes.

•Jan 1, 2019•0 citations

QUANTUM COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ANONYMOUS SENDER AND ANONYMOUS RECEIVER IN THE PRESENCE OF STRONG ADVERSARY

Jan Bouda, Josef Šprojcar

While many scenarios of anonymous communication can be solved by various famous classical techniques including mix nets or dining cryptographers (DC), an abundant amount of anonymous tasks remains open. In this paper, we present a solution to one such task. Our protocol serves as a private communication channel for quantum messages while ensuring that both the sender and the receiver stay anonymous in a set of all parties. Our protocol is a continuation of our previous work on anonymous transmission of quantum information. The protocol does not require trusted parties, and is secure against an active adversary. It can also withstand denial of service attacks. The protocol exhibits an advantage of quantum resources over classical because no classical solution is known (in the same security settings). Entanglement swapping technique is used to create "symmetry" in the protocol, which makes it very transparent and easier to analyze. The security analysis we present is heavily based on our previous work on quantum anonymous communication. The task we implement is also a nice illustration of a cryptographic task where two parties in a multi-party protocol can be dishonest at the same time, but are not cooperating.

International Journal of Quantum Information•Mar 1, 2011•3 citations

Recent Developments in Quantum Network Cybersecurity: Exploiting Authentication Protocols to Secure Multi-User Quantum Communication

Abhilash Narayanan, Shiva Shankar Mummidi, Ramanan Sathiaseelan +3 more

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.

IEEE International Conference on ICT in Business Industry & Government (ICTBIG)•Dec 12, 2025•0 citations
Quantum network is a trending internet technology that exploits quantum mechanics principles to allow the communication between distant users. When a message is transmitted through a quantum network, guaranteeing the anonymity of a sender and a receiver is a fundamental property and formidable challenge. In this paper, we investigate anonymous classical message transmission through different quantum networks. Firstly, we establish various quantum network architectures, which can perfectly achieve anonymous communications without authenticated private channels, pre-shared keys or pre-distributed entanglements between any two users, and do not require complex routing through other users. Secondly, we present three practical and feasible quantum anonymous communication protocols for a ring quantum network, a linear quantum network, and a tree or graph mixed quantum network, respectively, which can ensure the information-theoretical security in semi-honest model and resist all side-channel attacks for measurement devices. Theoretical analysis and simulation experiments verify the feasibility of our proposed quantum protocols.
Anonymity is a fundamental cryptographic primitive that hides the identities of both senders and receivers during message transmission over a network. Classical protocols cannot provide information-theoretic security for such task, and existing quantum approaches typically depend on classical subroutines and multiple private channels, thereby weakening their security in fully adversarial settings. In this work, we introduce the first fully quantum protocol for anonymous communication in realistic quantum networks with a device-independent security proof.
Abstract Anonymous quantum communication (AQC) enables the secure transmission of quantum or classical messages between a sender and a receiver while ensuring the anonymity of their identities. Existing AQC protocols primarily address one-to-one anonymous communication. When there are multiple senders, they must send their messages sequentially to avoid collision problems. In this paper, we propose a multi-participant quantum anonymous communication (MQAC) by employing high-dimensional entangled states. In this protocol, multiple senders establish anonymous entanglement with multiple receivers of their choice and send quantum messages anonymously and simultaneously via quantum teleportation. To propose MQAC, we first present the toolbox we developed, which includes several sub-protocols such as the verification protocol, collision detection protocol, address distribution protocol, and notification protocol. These sub-protocols, which we propose, not only are important parts of MQAC but also serve as the foundation for solving many more complex tasks, such as anonymous commodity transaction. Additionally, the analysis of MQAC demonstrates that neither internal nor external attackers can steal the identities of the communication parties or the transmitted messages by employing any attack. Our work represents an original exploration of anonymous message transmission between multiple senders and receivers in quantum networks.
The phenomenal progress in quantum technologies over the past decades has laid the groundwork for the construction of quantum networks, which will channel the power of quantum theory to guarantee secure and efficient communication, computation, and much more. This thesis studies the notion of trust in quantum networks. In our information age, protecting the security or anonymity of data is a key requirement. We investigate certain protocols that are fundamental to the operation and applications of quantum networks, and propose ways to test and analyse their security, in spite of adversarial intervention. Our focus is on practical methods of verifying the untrusted components, which could be incorporated into realistic networks in the near future. To begin, we propose a protocol for authenticated communication of quantum messages, by verifying the entanglement required for quantum teleportation in an experimentally feasible way. We model the performance of our scheme in the presence of noise. Furthermore, we explore such an authenticated teleportation in the one-sided device-independent scenario, where some devices used for verification may be corrupted. We derive error-tolerant self- testing bounds and extend our results to a realistic experimental setting, demonstrating the compatibility of our protocol with state-of-the-art technology. We then study anonymity, an essential feature for communication across networks. Combining the power of classical and quantum subroutines, we build a practical protocol for anonymous communication of quantum messages, without the need to trust the players in our network, their computational power, or the entanglement they share. We end by considering the verification of graph states distributed across a network of possibly dishonest players, applying our scheme to specific graph states that are central to quantum communication and computation schemes.
While many scenarios of anonymous communication can be solved by various famous classical techniques including mix nets or dining cryptographers (DC), an abundant amount of anonymous tasks remains open. In this paper, we present a solution to one such task. Our protocol serves as a private communication channel for quantum messages while ensuring that both the sender and the receiver stay anonymous in a set of all parties. Our protocol is a continuation of our previous work on anonymous transmission of quantum information. The protocol does not require trusted parties, and is secure against an active adversary. It can also withstand denial of service attacks. The protocol exhibits an advantage of quantum resources over classical because no classical solution is known (in the same security settings). Entanglement swapping technique is used to create "symmetry" in the protocol, which makes it very transparent and easier to analyze. The security analysis we present is heavily based on our previous work on quantum anonymous communication. The task we implement is also a nice illustration of a cryptographic task where two parties in a multi-party protocol can be dishonest at the same time, but are not cooperating.
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.