Simultaneous quantum identity authentication scheme utilizing entanglement swapping with secret key preservation

2024-05-23

Modern Physics Letters A

AI Summary

To address security vulnerabilities in classical authentication schemes for quantum key distribution (QKD) and the challenge of achieving unconditional security in user authentication, this paper proposes a bidirectional quantum identity authentication protocol based on entanglement swapping, assisted by a trusted third party, Charlie, to enable synchronized mutual authentication between Alice and Bob. Innovatively integrating the principle of controlled secure direct quantum communication into quantum authentication, the protocol achieves, for the first time, fully protected bidirectional synchronous authentication—ensuring that users’ private keys remain confidential throughout the entire process. The protocol leverages Bell-state preparation and measurement, entanglement swapping, and quantum state projection measurements. Its security is rigorously established via formal analysis, proving robustness against eavesdropping, impersonation, and intercept-resend attacks. Compared with existing protocols, it achieves superior performance in communication rounds, quantum resource consumption, and resilience against adversarial attacks.

Technology Category

• Machine Learning: Quantum Machine Learning
• Multiagent Systems: Adversarial Agents
• Search and Optimization: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Search

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Attacks and countermeasures in recommendation systems
• Semantics and Knowledge: Provenance, trust, security and privacy, and ethical issues in managing semantic data

Abstract

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.

Problem

• quantum identity authentication
• entanglement swapping
• security against attacks

Innovation

• Quantum identity authentication
• Entanglement swapping technique
• Bell states utilization