Semi-quantum private comparison (SQPC) allows two participants with limited quantum ability to securely compare the equality of their secrets with the help of a semi-dishonest third party (TP). Recently, Jiang proposed a SQPC protocol based on Bell states (Quantum Inf Process 19(6): 180, 2020) and claimed it is secure. In this paper, we present two types of attack on Jiang's SQPC protocol. In the first type of attack, an outside eavesdropper will make participants accept a wrong result. In the second type of attack, a malicious participant will not only make the other participant accept a wrong result, but also learn the secret of the honest participant. Neither type of attack will be detected. In addition, we propose an improved SQPC protocol that can resist these two types of attack.
We analyze the security of the efficient two-party quantum private comparison protocol with decoy photons and two-photon entanglement. It is shown that the compromised third party (TP) can obtain the final comparison result without introducing any detectable errors in the standard semi-honest model. The attack strategy is discussed in detail and an improvement of this protocol is demonstrated. The idea of our attack might be instructive for the cryptanalysis of quantum cryptographic schemes.
In this paper [Chin. Phys. B 27 (2018) 080304], Du and Bao proposed a quantum secret sharing protocol based on two-particle transform of Bell states. We study the security of the proposed protocol and find that it is not secure, that is, the two dishonest agents, Bob and Zach, can collude to obtain Alice's secret messages without the help of the other agents. Finally, we give a possible improvement of the proposed protocol.
Recently, Wu et al. [Int. J. Theor. Phys. 58, 1854, (2019)] found a serious information leakage problem in Ye and Ji's quantum private comparison protocol [Int. J. Theor. Phys. 56, 1517, (2017)], that is, a malicious participant can steal another's secret data without being detected through an active attack means. In this paper, we show that Wu et al.'s attack means is also effective for several other existing protocols, including the ones proposed by Ji et al. and Zha et al. [Commun. Theor. Phys. 65, 711, (2016) and Int. J. Theor. Phys. 57, 3874, (2018)]. In addition, we propose a passive att…
Recently, Yan et al. proposed a quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) protocol with authentication using single photons and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) pairs (Yan et al., CMC-Computers, Materials \& Continua, 63(3), 2020). In this work, we show that the QSDC protocol is not secure against intercept-and-resend attack and impersonation attack. An eavesdropper can get the full secret message by applying these attacks. We propose a modification of this protocol, which defeats the above attacks along with all the familiar attacks.
This study points out a semi-quantum protocol for private comparison using Bell states (SQPC) suffering from the double C-NOT attack and the malicious agent attack. The attacker can easily obtain information through these attacks. An improved protocol is proposed, which can effectively resist both of these attacks.
In this paper, a novel semiquantum private comparison (SQPC) protocol based on single kind of Bell states is proposed, which allows two classical parties to judge the equality of their private inputs securely and correctly under the help of a semi-honest third party (TP) who possesses complete quantum capabilities. TP is allowed to misbehave on her own but cannot conspire with anyone else. Our protocol needs none of unitary operations, quantum entanglement swapping or the reordering operations. Moreover, our protocol only needs to prepare single kind of Bell states as initial quantum resource.…
The field of device-independent quantum cryptography has seen enormous success in the past several years, including security proofs for key distribution and random number generation that account for arbitrary imperfections in the devices used. Full security proofs in the field so far are long and technically deep. In this paper we show that the concept of the mirror adversary can be used to simplify device-independent proofs. We give a short proof that any bipartite Bell violation can be used to generate private random numbers. The proof is based on elementary techniques and is self-contained.
In this paper, a multi-party quantum private comparison (MQPC) scheme is suggested based on entanglement swapping of Bell entangled states within d-level quantum system, which can accomplish the equality comparison of secret binary sequences from n users via one execution of scheme. Detailed security analysis shows that both the outside attack and the participant attack are ineffective. The suggested scheme needn't establish a private key among n users beforehand through the quantum key distribution (QKD) method to encrypt the secret binary sequences. Compared with previous MQPC scheme based o…
In this paper, a novel multi-party quantum private comparison (MQPC) protocol with a semi-honest third party (TP) is proposed based on the entanglement swapping of d-level cat states and d-level Bell states. Here, TP is allowed to misbehave on his own but will not conspire with any party. In our protocol, n parties employ unitary operations to encode their private secrets and can compare the equality of their private secrets within one time execution of the protocol. Our protocol can withstand both the outside attacks and the participant attacks on the condition that none of the QKD methods is…
In this paper, we put forward a multi-party quantum private comparison (MQPC) protocol with two semi-honest third parties (TPs) by adopting d-dimensional Bell states, which can judge the size relationship of private integers from more than two users within one execution of protocol. Each TP is permitted to misbehave on her own but cannot collude with others. In the proposed MQPC protocol, TPs are only required to apply d-dimensional single-particle measurements rather than d-dimensional Bell state measurements. There are no quantum entanglement swapping and unitary operations required in the p…
Recently, Liu W et al. proposed a two-party quantum private comparison (QPC) protocol using entanglement swapping of Bell entangled state (Commun. Theor. Phys. 57(2012)583-588). Subsequently, Liu W J et al. pointed out that in Liu W et al.'s protocol, the TP can extract the two users' secret inputs without being detected by launching the Bell-basis measurement attack, and suggested the corresponding improvement to mend this loophole (Commun. Theor. Phys. 62(2014)210-214). In this paper, we first point out the information leakage problem toward TP existing in both of the above two protocols, an…
Secure cryptographic protocols are indispensable for modern communication systems. It is realized through an encryption process in cryptography. In quantum cryptography, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a widely popular quantum communication scheme that enables two parties to establish a shared secret key that can be used to encrypt and decrypt messages. But security loopholes still exist in this cryptographic protocol, as an eavesdropper can in principle still intercept all the ciphertext to perform cryptanalysis and the key may get leaked to the eavesdropper, although it happens very rarely…
Correlations that cannot be reproduced with local variables certify the generation of private randomness. Usually, the violation of a Bell inequality is used to quantify the amount of randomness produced. Here, we show how private randomness generated during a Bell test can be directly quantified from the observed correlations, without the need to process these data into an inequality. The frequency with which the different measurement settings are used during the Bell test can also be taken into account. This improved analysis turns out to be very relevant for Bell tests performed with a fini…
We introduce a class of two-level multi-particle Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states, and study entanglement swapping between two systems for Bell states and the class of GHZ states in qubit systems, respectively. We give the formulas for the entanglement swapping of Bell states and GHZ states in any number of qubit systems. We further consider entanglement swapping between any number of Bell states and between any number of the introduced GHZ states, and propose a series of entanglement swapping schemes in a detailed way. We illustrate the applications of such schemes in quantum informat…
In Yang et al.'s literatures (J. Phys. A: Math. 42, 055305, 2009; J. Phys. A:Math. 43, 209801, 2010), a quantum private comparison protocol based on Bell states and hash function is proposed, which aims to securely compare the equality of two participants' information with the help of a dishonest third party (TP). However, this study will point out their protocol cannot resist a special kind of attack, TP's same initial states attack, which is presented in this paper. That is, the dishonest TP can disturb the comparison result without being detected through preparing the same initial states. F…
Bell experiments can be used to generate private random numbers. An ideal Bell experiment would involve measuring a state of two maximally entangled qubits, but in practice any state produced is subject to noise. Here we consider how the techniques presented in arXiv:1309.3894 and arXiv:1309.3930, i.e. using an optimized Bell inequality, and taking advantage of the fact that the device provider is not our adversary, can be used to improve the rate of randomness generation in Bell-like tests performed on singlet states subject to either white or dephasing noise.
Two fault tolerant authenticated quantum dialogue (AQD) protocols are proposed in this paper by employing logical Bell states as the quantum resource, which combat the collective-dephasing noise and the collective-rotation noise, respectively. The two proposed protocols each can accomplish the mutual identity authentication and the dialogue between two participants simultaneously and securely over one kind of collective noise channels. In each of two proposed protocols, the information transmitted through the classical channel is assumed to be eavesdroppable and modifiable. The key for choosin…
The purpose of quantum private comparison (QPC) is to solve "Tierce problem" using quantum mechanics laws, where the "Tierce problem" is to judge whether the secret data of two participants are equal under the condition of protecting data privacy. Here we consider for the first time the usefulness of eight-qubit entangled states for QPC by proposing a new protocol. The proposed protocol only adopts necessary quantum technologies such as preparing quantum states and quantum measurements without using any other quantum technologies (e.g. unitary operations and entanglement swapping), thus the pr…
We consider memoryless quantum communication protocols, where the two parties do not possess any memory besides their classical input and they take turns performing unitary operations on a pure quantum state that they exchange between them. Most known quantum protocols are of this type and recently a deep connection between memoryless protocols and Bell inequality violations has been explored recently by Buhrman et al. We study the information cost of memoryless quantum protocols by looking at a canonical problem: bounded-round quantum communication protocols for the one-bit AND function. We p…
Private states are those quantum states from which a perfectly secure cryptographic key can be extracted. They represent the basic unit of quantum privacy. In this work we show that all states belonging to this class violate a Bell inequality. This result establishes a connection between perfect privacy and nonlocality in the quantum domain.
In this paper, a three-party secure semiquantum summation protocol, which can calculate the modulo 2 addition of the private bits from one quantum participant and two classical participants, is constructed by only using single qubits as the initial quantum resource. This protocol needs none of quantum entanglement swapping, the unitary operation or a pre-shared private key. This protocol only requires the quantum participant to perform the Z basis measurements, the X basis measurements and the Bell basis measurements. Compared with the existing only semiquantum summation protocol (Int J Theor …
Complete security proofs for quantum communication protocols can be notoriously involved, which convolutes their verification, and obfuscates the key physical insights the security finally relies on. In such cases, for the majority of the community, the utility of such proofs may be restricted. Here we provide a simple proof of confidentiality for parallel quantum channels established via entanglement distillation based on hashing, in the presence of noise, and a malicious eavesdropper who is restricted only by the laws of quantum mechanics. The direct contribution lies in improving the linear…
We explore the link between two concepts: the level of violation of a Bell inequality by a quantum state and discrimination between two states by means of restricted classes of operations, such as local operations and classical communication (LOCC) and separable ones. For any bipartite Bell inequality, we show that its value on a given quantum state cannot exceed the classical bound by more than the maximal quantum violation shrunk by a factor related to distinguishability of this state from the separable set by means of some restricted class of operations. We then consider the general scenari…
Sorbonne Université, CNRS, LIP6（索邦大学，法国国家科学研究中心，LIP6）；Welinq；Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa（里斯本大学高等技术学院）；Centro de Física e Engenharia de Materiais Avançados (CeFEMA)（先进材料与工程物理中心）；PQI – Portuguese Quantum Institute（葡萄牙量子研究所）；Universiteit Leiden（莱顿大学）
Measurements on entangled quantum systems necessarily yield outcomes that are intrinsically unpredictable if they violate a Bell inequality. This property can be used to generate certified randomness in a device-independent way, i.e., without making detailed assumptions about the internal working of the quantum devices used to generate the random numbers. Furthermore these numbers are also private, i.e., they appear random not only to the user, but also to any adversary that might possess a perfect description of the devices. Since this process requires a small initial random seed, one usually…
We present a source of entangled photons that violates a Bell inequality free of the "fair-sampling" assumption, by over 7 standard deviations. This violation is the first experiment with photons to close the detection loophole, and we demonstrate enough "efficiency" overhead to eventually perform a fully loophole-free test of local realism. The entanglement quality is verified by maximally violating additional Bell tests, testing the upper limit of quantum correlations. Finally, we use the source to generate secure private quantum random numbers at rates over 4 orders of magnitude beyond prev…
We present a secure multi-party quantum summation protocol based on quantum teleportation, in which a malicious, but non-collusive, third party (TP) helps compute the summation. In our protocol, TP is in charge of entanglement distribution and Bell states are shared between participants. Users encode the qubits in their hand according to their private bits and perform Bell-state measurements. After obtaining participants' measurement results, TP can figure out the summation. The participants do not need to send their encoded states to others, and the protocol is therefore congenitally free fro…
The intrinsic random nature of quantum physics offers novel tools for the generation of random numbers, a central challenge for a plethora of fields. Bell non-local correlations obtained by measurements on entangled states allow for the generation of bit strings whose randomness is guaranteed in a device-independent manner, i.e. without assumptions on the measurement and state-generation devices. Here, we generate this strong form of certified randomness on a new platform: the so-called instrumental scenario, which is central to the field of causal inference. First, we theoretically show that …
In this paper, a lightweight three-user secure quantum summation protocol is put forward by using single-particle states, which can accomplish the goal that three users cooperate together to calculate the modulo 2 addition of their private messages without the help of a third party. This protocol only requires single-particle states rather than quantum entangled states as the initial quantum resource, and only needs single-particle measurements and Bell basis measurements. This protocol needs none of quantum entanglement swapping, the Pauli operations, the controlled-not (CNOT) operation, the …
Lectures on classical and quantum cryptography. Contents: Private key cryptosystems. Elements of number theory. Public key cryptography and RSA cryptosystem. Shannon`s entropy and mutual information. Entropic uncertainty relations. The no cloning theorem. The BB84 quantum cryptographic protocol. Security proofs. Bell`s theorem. The EPRBE quantum cryptographic protocol.
In this paper, two information leakage resistant quantum dialogue (QD) protocols over a collective-noise channel are proposed. Decoherence-free subspace (DFS) is used to erase the influence from two kinds of collective noise, i.e., collective-dephasing noise and collective-rotation noise, where each logical qubit is composed of two physical qubits and free from noise. In each of the two proposed protocols, the secret messages are encoded on the initial logical qubits via two composite unitary operations. Moreover, the single-photon measurements rather than the Bell-state measurements or the mo…
Two schemes for quantum secure conditional direct communication are proposed, where a set of EPR pairs of maximally entangled particles in Bell states, initially made by the supervisor Charlie, but shared by the sender Alice and the receiver Bob, functions as quantum information channels for faithful transmission. After insuring the security of the quantum channel and obtaining the permission of Charlie (i.e. Charlie is trustworthy and cooperative, which means the 'conditional' in the two schemes), Alice and Bob begin their private communication under the control of Charlie. In the first schem…
We provide an analysis of a new family of device independent quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols with several novel features: (a) The bits used for the secret key do not come from the results of the measurements on an entangled state but from the choices of settings; (b) Instead of a single security parameter (a violation of some Bell inequality) a set of them is used to estimate the level of trust in the secrecy of the key. The main advantage of these protocols is a smaller vulnerability to imperfect random number generators made possible by feature (a). We prove the security and the rob…
