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arXiv:quant-ph/0301150

A Hybrid Authentication Protocol Using Quantum Entanglement and Symmetric Cryptography

David R. Kuhn

Published Jan 27, 2003• 12 citations
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Abstract

This paper presents a hybrid cryptographic protocol, using quantum and classical resources, for authentication and authorization in a network. One or more trusted servers distribute streams of entangled photons to individual resources that seek to communicate. It is assumed that each resource shares a previously distributed secret key with the trusted server, and that resources can communicate with the server using both classical and quantum channels. Resources do not share secret keys with each other, so that the key distribution problem for the network is reduced from O(n^2) to O(n). Some advantages of the protocol are that it avoids the requirement for timestamps used in classical protocols, guarantees that the trusted server cannot know the authentication key, can provide resistance to multiple photon splitting attacks and can be used with BB84 or other quantum key distribution protocols.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/0301150

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This paper presents a hybrid cryptographic protocol, using quantum and classical resources, for authentication and authorization in a network. One or more trusted servers distribute streams of entangled photons to individual resources that seek to communicate. It is assumed that each resource shares a previously distributed secret key with the trusted server, and that resources can communicate with the server using both classical and quantum channels. Resources do not share secret keys with each other, so that the key distribution problem for the network is reduced from O(n^2) to O(n). Some advantages of the protocol are that it avoids the requirement for timestamps used in classical protocols, guarantees that the trusted server cannot know the authentication key, can provide resistance to multiple photon splitting attacks and can be used with BB84 or other quantum key distribution protocols.
This paper presents a server-based hybrid cryptographic protocol, using quantum and classical resources, to generate a key for authentication and optionally for encryption in a network. A novel feature of the protocol is that it can detect a compromised server. Additional advantages are that it avoids the requirement for timestamps used in classical protocols, guarantees that the trusted server cannot know the authentication key, can provide resistance to multiple photon attacks, and can be used with BB84 or other quantum key distribution protocols. Each resource shares a previously distributed secret key with the trusted server, and resources can communicate with the server using both classical and quantum channels. Resources do not share secret keys with each other, so that the key distribution problem for the network is reduced from O(n^2) to O(n).
A theoretical scheme for multi-user quantum authentication and key distribution in a network is proposed. Similar to the authentication architecture of the netw ork in classical cryptography, a distributed client/server architecture with the shared Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen(EPR) entangled pairs between each user and his t rusted server used for the authentication and key distribution is proposed. Base d on this architecture, any-to-any multi-user quantum authentication and key dis tribution is realized. The trusted server only provides the authentication betwe en users and swaps the entanglement between the particles so as to entangle the particles of the two users who want to communicate secretly. The key generation is performed by the requesting user. Each user in a network only shares Einstein -Podolsky-Rosen entangled pairs with the trusted server and communicates with th e trusted server through the classical channel and quantum channel. Users need n ot share EPR entangled pairs with each other so that the number of EPR pairs in the network is reduced from O(n2) to O(n).
Abstract Authentication is a fundamental building block of secure quantum networks, essential for quantum cryptographic protocols and often debated as a key limitation of quantum key distribution in security standards. Most quantum-safe authentication schemes rely on small pre-shared keys or post-quantum computational assumptions. In this work, we introduce a new authentication approach that combines hardware assumptions, particularly physical unclonable functions (PUFs), along with fundamental quantum properties of non-local states, such as local indistinguishability, to achieve provable security in entanglement-based protocols. We propose two protocols for different scenarios in entanglement-enabled quantum networks. The first protocol, referred to as the offline protocol, requires pre-distributed entangled states but no quantum communication during the authentication phase. It enables a server to authenticate clients at any time with only minimal classical communication. The second, an online protocol, requires quantum communication but only necessitates entangled state generation on the Prover ’s side. For this, we introduce a novel hardware module, the hybrid entangled PUF. Both protocols use weakly secure, off-the-shelf classical PUFs as their hardware module, yet we prove that quantum properties such as local indistinguishability enable exponential security for authentication, even in a single round. We provide full security analysis for both protocols and establish them as the first entanglement-based extension of hardware-based quantum authentication. These protocols are suitable for implementation across various platforms, particularly photonics-based ones, and offer a practical and flexible solution to the long-standing challenge of authentication in quantum communication networks.
Authentication is one of the security services that ensures sufficient security of the system by identification and verification. Also, it assures the identity of the communicating party to be that the claimed one. To build a quantum channel between two unauthenticated to each other parties, first, a trusted authority is needed to establish a mutual authentication with each party. Using Bell measurement and entanglement swapping, we present a protocol that mutually authenticates the identity of the sender and the receiver, then constructs a quantum channel based on Bell basis. After, the sender and the receiver use the quantum channel to communicate using entanglement-assisted quantum communication protocols. Additionally, the protocol renews the shared secret key between the trusted authority and each user after each authentication process. The protocol provides the necessary authentication and key distribution to create a quantum channel between the sender and receiver.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocols, such as BB84, require secure authentication of their classical communication channel to ensure message integrity and authenticity, which is fundamental to successfully distribute unconditionally secure keys and prevent critical vulnerabilities. Traditionally, QKD relies on pre-shared secret keys for this authentication, posing significant scalability challenges. Employing asymmetric encryption methods is also not a viable alternative, as these methods are either vulnerable to quantum computing attacks or lack rigorous security proofs. To address these issues, we propose using the well-established Kerberos authentication protocol, which relies on symmetric cryptography inherently resistant to known quantum attacks, to securely distribute symmetric session keys that authenticate classical communication in QKD systems. We demonstrate the feasibility and practical security advantages of employing Kerberos-generated session keys, inherently resistant to quantum computing attacks, without modifying existing Kerberos workflows, providing a practical quantum-secure solution that leverages existing IT infrastructure.