Two conditions must be satisfied in a secure quantum key agreement (QKA) protocol: (1) outside eavesdroppers cannot gain the generated key without introducing any error; (2) the generated key cannot be determined by any non-trivial subset of the participants. That is, a secure QKA protocol can not only prevent the outside attackers from stealing the key, but also resist the attack from inside participants, i.e. some dishonest participants determine the key alone by illegal means. How to resist participant attack is an aporia in the design of QKA protocols, especially the multi-party ones. In this paper we present the first secure multiparty QKA protocol against both outside and participant attacks. Further more, we have proved its security in detail.

Multiparty quantum key agreement with single particles

As an important branch of quantum cryptography, quantum private comparison (QPC) has recently received a lot of attention. In this paper we study the security of previous QPC protocols with a semi-honest third party (TP) from the viewpoint of secure multi-party computation and show that the assumption of a semi-honest TP is unreasonable. Without the unreasonable assumption of a semi-honest TP, one can easily find that the QPC protocol (Tseng et al. in Quantum Inf Process, 2011, doi: 10.1007/s11128-011-0251-0 ) has an obvious security flaw. Some suggestions about the design of QPC protocols are also given.

Comment on quantum private comparison protocols with a semi-honest third party

In many circumstances, a shared key is needed to realize secure communication. Based on quantum mechanics principles, quantum key agreement (QKA) is a good method to establish a shared key by every party's fair participation. In this paper, we propose a novel three-party QKA protocol, which is designed by using Greenberger---Horne---Zeilinger (GHZ) states. To realize the protocol, the distributor of the GHZ states needs only one quantum communication with the other two parties, respectively, and everyone performs single-particle measurements simply. Then, we extend the three-party QKA protocol to arbitrary multiparty situation. At last, we discuss the security and fairness of the multiparty protocol. It shows that the new scheme is secure and fair to every participant.

Novel multiparty quantum key agreement protocol with GHZ states

We present a new quantum protocol for comparing the equal information with the help of a semi-honest third party (TP). Different from previous protocols, we utilize the four-particle χ-type states as the information carriers. Various kinds of outside attacks and participant attacks are discussed in detail. One party cannot learn the other’s private information. The TP cannot learn any information about the private information, even about the comparison result or the length of secret inputs.

A Protocol for the Quantum Private Comparison of Equality with χ-Type State

Two efficient quantum private comparison (QPC) protocols are proposed, employing single photons and collective detection. In the proposed protocols, two distrustful parties (Alice and Bob) compare the equivalence of information with the help of a semi-honest third party (TP). Utilizing collective detection, the cost of practical realization is reduced greatly. In the first protocol, TP gains the result of the comparison. While in the second protocol, TP cannot get the comparison result. In both of our protocols, Alice and Bob only need be equipped with unitary operation machines, such as phase plates. So Alice and Bob need not to have the expensive quantum devices, such as qubit generating machine, quantum memory machine and quantum measuring machine. Security of the protocols is ensured by theorems on quantum operation discrimination.

Efficient quantum private comparison employing single photons and collective detection

An efficient protocol for the quantum private comparison of equality with W state

This paper investigates a new method of probabilistic encryption scheme based on the third-order linear feedback shift register sequence (3-LFSR). The message can be hidden in the exponent. From the definition of LFSR residue problem in Zn, the proposed encryption scheme has property of semantic security, and messages can be concealed better than exiting deterministic public-key encryption schemes.

Yong-Bin Wang

Papers

An efficient protocol for the quantum private comparison of equality with W state

Investigation of probabilistic encryption method based on 3-LFSR