Quantum communication for sender anonymity based on single-particle with collective detection

Abstract

Nowadays, identity protection has turned into a fundamental demand for online activities. Currently, the present quantum anonymous communication protocols mostly rely on multi-entanglement. In this paper, we propose an anonymous communication protocol for anonymous sender by using single-particle states. The protocol can be extended to a communication protocol where the sender and receiver are fully anonymous with the message kept secret. In terms of security, our protocol is designed to comply with the technique of collective detection. Compared to the step-by-step detection, collective detection, in which the participants perform detection only once, reduces the complexity of the protocol to some extent. Moreover, we analytically demonstrate the security of the protocol in the face of active attacks. Any active attack employed by an external or internal attacker cannot reveal any useful information about the sender’s identity. Meanwhile, any malicious behavior will be detected by honest participants.