In this paper, we present a new idea of two-way quantum communication called ‘secure quantum information exchange’ (SQIE). If there are two arbitrary unknown quantum states |ξ⟩IA and |η⟩IB, initially with Alice and Bob, respectively, then SQIE protocol leads to the simultaneous exchange of these states between Alice and Bob with the aid of the special kind of six-qubit entangled (SSE) state and classical assistance of the third party, Charlie. The term ‘secure’ signifies the fact that SQIE protocol either faithfully exchanges the unknown quantum states proceeding in a prescribed way or, in case of any irregularity, the process generates no results. For experimental realization of the SQIE protocol, we have suggested an efficient scheme for generating SSE states using the interaction between highly detuned Λ-type three-level atoms and the optical coherent field. By theoretical calculations, we found that SSE states of almost unit fidelity with perfect success rates for appreciable mean photon numbers (Fav ⩾ 0.999 for |α|2 ⩾ 1.5) can be generated by our scheme. Further, we have discussed possible experimental imperfections, such as atomic-radiative time, cavity damping time, atom–cavity interaction time, and the efficiency of discrimination between the coherent field and the vacuum state shows that our SQIE protocol is within the reach of technology presently available.