Multi-party Protocol Research Articles

Protecting Distributed Primitives Against Leakage: Equivocal Secret Sharing and more

Leakage-resilient cryptography aims to protect cryptographic primitives from so-called “side channel attacks” that exploit their physical implementation to learn their input or secret state. Starting from the works of Ishai, Sahai and Wagner (CRYPTO‘03) and Micali and Reyzin (TCC‘04), most works on leakage-resilient cryptography either focus on protecting general computations, such as circuits or multiparty computation protocols, or on specific non-interactive primitives such as storage, encryption, and signatures. This work focuses on leakage resilience for the middle ground, namely for distributed and interactive cryptographic primitives. Our main technical contribution is designing the first secret sharing scheme that is equivocal, resists adaptive probing of a constant fraction of bits from each share, while incurs only a constant blowup in share size. Equivocation is a strong leakage-resilience guarantee, recently introduced by Hazay et al. (ITC, 2021). Our construction is obtained via a general compiler which we introduce, that transforms any secret sharing scheme into an equivocal scheme against adaptive leakage. An attractive feature of our compiler is that it respects additive reconstruction; namely, if the original scheme has additive reconstruction, then the transformed scheme has linear reconstruction. We extend our compiler to a general paradigm for protecting distributed primitives against leakage and show its applicability to various primitives, including secret sharing, verifiable secret sharing, function secret sharing, distributed encryption and signatures, and distributed zero-knowledge proofs. For each of these primitives, our paradigm transforms any construction of the primitive into a scheme that resists adaptive party corruptions, as well as adaptive probing leakage of a constant fraction of bits in each share when the share is stored in memory (but not when it is used in computations). Moreover, the transformation incurs only a constant blowup in the share size and respects additive reconstruction—an important feature for several of these primitives, such as function secret sharing and distributed encryption.

Quantum Universally Composable Oblivious Linear Evaluation

Oblivious linear evaluation is a generalization of oblivious transfer, whereby two distrustful parties obliviously compute a linear function, f(x)=ax+b, i.e., each one provides their inputs that remain unknown to the other, in order to compute the output f(x) that only one of them receives. From both a structural and a security point of view, oblivious linear evaluation is fundamental for arithmetic-based secure multi-party computation protocols. In the classical case, oblivious linear evaluation protocols can be generated using oblivious transfer, and their quantum counterparts can, in principle, be constructed as straightforward extensions using quantum oblivious transfer. Here, we present the first, to the best of our knowledge, quantum protocol for oblivious linear evaluation that, furthermore, does not rely on quantum oblivious transfer. We start by presenting a semi-honest protocol, and then extend it to the dishonest setting employing a commit−and−open strategy. Our protocol uses high-dimensional quantum states to obliviously compute f(x) on Galois Fields of prime and prime-power dimension. These constructions utilize the existence of a complete set of mutually unbiased bases in prime-power dimension Hilbert spaces and their linear behaviour upon the Heisenberg-Weyl operators. We also generalize our protocol to achieve vector oblivious linear evaluation, where several instances of oblivious linear evaluation are generated, thus making the protocol more efficient. We prove the protocols to have static security in the framework of quantum universal composability.

Efficient multi-party quantum secret-sharing protocol

ContextQuantum secret sharing allows one secret dealer to divide his/her secret among different participants. Only when all the participants pool their secret pieces together can the secret be reconstructed. Quantum secret-sharing protocol can provide high security for users who need to share some secret information among some partners. It is also a useful tool in many applications such as secure operations of joint sharing of quantum money, sharing ancilla states, and distributed quantum computation. ObjectiveWe propose a novel multi-party quantum secret-sharing protocol (MPQSSP). MethodsIn our protocol, the dealer mixes the particle sequence of the Bell states and sends the sequence to the participants. The participants encode their secret pieces into Pauli operators, which are applied to the received particle sequence. After annularly transmitting and operating the particle sequence, the participants return the particle sequence to the dealer, who can share a secret with the partners by measuring the returned sequence with the Bell basis. ResultsThe proposed MPQSSP has the merits as follows. First, its qubit efficiency can be 100% when the sample bits of the secret and the corresponding sample qubits are ignored (In our protocol when the qubit efficiency is computed, the sample bits and the corresponding Bell states used to check eavesdropping are ignored). Second, it can protect participants' privacy and interests, since the dealer cannot derive the secret piece of any participant although he/she masters the secret. Third, the participants need not perform many quantum operations and measurements to check the eavesdropping, which helps improve the efficiency of the protocol. Fourth, compared with most of the similar MPQSSPs, the quantum resources of the proposed one are relatively easier to prepare. At last, the proposed protocol has the security against various eavesdropping attacks. ConclusionThe merits above show that Our MPQSSP is relatively more practical and efficient than similar ones.

Multris: Functional Verification of Multiparty Message Passing in Separation Logic

We introduce Multris, a separation logic for verifying functional correctness of programs that combine multiparty message-passing communication with shared-memory concurrency. The foundation of our work is a novel concept of multiparty protocol consistency, which guarantees safe communication among a set of parties, provided each party adheres to its prescribed protocol. Our concept of protocol consistency is inspired by the bottom-up approach for multiparty session types. However, by considering it in the context of separation logic instead of a type system, we go further in terms of generality by supporting new notions of implicit transfer of knowledge and implicit transfer of resources. We develop tactics for automatically verifying protocol consistency and for reasoning about message-passing operations in Multris. We evaluate Multris on a range of examples, including the well-known two- and three-buyer protocols, as well as a new verification benchmark based on Chang and Roberts's ring leader election protocol. To ensure the reliability of our work, we prove soundness of Multris w.r.t. a low-level channel semantics using the Iris framework in Coq.

Multi-party quantum key distribution protocol in quantum network

This study proposes a measurement property of graph states and applies it to design a mediated multiparty quantum key distribution (M-MQKD) protocol for a repeater-based quantum network in a restricted quantum environment. The protocol enables remote classical users, who cannot directly transmit qubits, to securely distribute a secret key with the assistance of potentially dishonest quantum repeaters. Classical users only require two quantum capabilities, while quantum repeaters handle entanglement transmission through single-photon measurements. The one-way transmission approach eliminates the need for additional defenses against quantum Trojan horse attacks, reducing maintenance costs compared to round-trip or circular transmission methods. As a result, the M-MQKD protocol is lightweight and easy to implement. The study also evaluates the security of the protocol and demonstrates its practicality through quantum network simulations.

Efficient quantum secure multi-party greatest common divisor protocol and its applications in private set operations

Private set intersection (PSI) has important application value, however, current quantum PSI protocols are either unsuitable for multi-party scenarios or inefficient. Recently, Imran (arXiv:2303.17196v3, 2023) proposed two quantum secure multi-party greatest common divisor (GCD) protocols that can be used for PSI, but with the downside of information leakage and resource consumption. In this paper, we propose a novel quantum secure multi-party GCD protocol that has higher security and lower complexity. To hide privacy, each party randomly selects a coefficient within a range determined by his input integer, and with the assistance of a semi-honest third party TP, all parties secretly calculate the linear combination of their inputs under these coefficients. Once enough linear combinations are collected, TP calculates the GCD of these combinations, which is equal to the GCD of all input integers. To verify the honesty of participants, a quantum zero-knowledge proof sub-protocol is designed. Analysis shows that our GCD protocol is correct and has security against malicious attacks. Moreover, its complexity is polynomial level and lower than Imran’s. Furthermore, we demonstrate the scalability of our GCD protocol in private set operations, such as private set intersection, private set intersection cardinality, private multi-set intersection, etc.

Multi-particle-based multi-party controllable quantum secure dialogue

Based on the six-particle entangled state, this paper proposes a multi-party controllable quantum secure dialogue protocol, where the dialogue parties only need to perform single operation to efficiently encode secret information and embed the control information into a fixed particle sequence in order, ensuring the orderly transmission of information. Additionally, the protocol introduces a unique honesty detection mechanism, which relies on the classical XOR relationship of three qubits in a GHZ-like state, effectively guaranteeing the credibility of the controllers. The protocol allows two dialogue parties to synchronously obtain secret information with the permission of all controllers, without relying on additional classical channel, greatly enhancing communication efficiency and security. Through rigorous security analysis, it is proven that the protocol can effectively resist various potential attacks from both internal and external sources.

Multi-party semi-quantum private comparison protocol of size relation based on two-dimensional Bell states

Abstract Currently, all quantum private comparison protocols based on two-dimensional quantum states can only compare equality. It is only through the use of high-dimensional quantum states that it is possible to compare the size relation in existing work. In addition, it is difficult to manipulate the high-dimensional quantum states under the existing conditions of quantum information processing, leading to low practicality and engineering feasibility of protocols for comparing size relation. Considering this situation, an innovative protocol is proposed in this paper. The proposed protocol can make size comparison by exploiting more manageable two-dimensional Bell states, which significantly enhances its feasibility with current quantum technologies. Simultaneously, the proposed protocol enables multiple participants to compare their privacies with the semi-quantum model. The communication process of the protocol is simulated on the IBM Quantum Experience platform to verify its effectiveness. Security analysis shows that the proposed protocol can withstand common attacks while preserving the privacies of all participants. Thus, the devised protocol may provide an important reference for the implementation of quantum private size comparison protocols.

A Multiparty Quantum Private Equality Comparison Scheme Relying on |GHZ3⟩ States

In this work, we present a new protocol that accomplishes multiparty quantum private comparison leveraging maximally entangled |GHZ3⟩ triplets. Our intention was to develop a protocol that can be readily executed by contemporary quantum computers. This is possible because the protocol uses only |GHZ3⟩ triplets, irrespective of the number n of millionaires. Although it is feasible to prepare multiparticle entangled states of high complexity, this is overly demanding on a contemporary quantum apparatus, especially in situations involving multiple entities. By relying exclusively on |GHZ3⟩ states, we avoid these drawbacks and take a decisive step toward the practical implementation of the protocol. An important quantitative characteristic of the protocol is that the required quantum resources are linear both in the number of millionaires and the amount of information to be compared. Additionally, our protocol is suitable for both parallel and sequential execution. Ideally, its execution is envisioned to take place in parallel. Nonetheless, it is also possible to be implemented sequentially if the quantum resources are insufficient. Notably, our protocol involves two third parties, as opposed to a single third party in the majority of similar protocols. Trent, commonly featured in previous multiparty protocols, is now accompanied by Sophia. This dual setup allows for the simultaneous processing of all n millionaires’ fortunes. The new protocol does not rely on a quantum signature scheme or pre-shared keys, reducing complexity and cost. Implementation wise, uniformity is ensured as all millionaires use similar private circuits composed of Hadamard and CNOT gates. Lastly, the protocol is information-theoretically secure, preventing outside parties from learning about fortunes or inside players from knowing each other’s secret numbers.

Authenticated multi-party quantum key agreement protocol based on cluster states

Quantum key agreement (QKA) is an important cryptographic primitive that plays a pivotal role in private communications. Authenticated QKA plays an important role in QKA. In this paper, we propose an authenticated multiparty QKA scheme based on 4-qubit cluster states entanglement swapping. The scheme is divided into two parts, the first part is the quantum identity authentication stage, and the second part is the QKA stage. In the quantum identity authentication stage, the participants determine that the participant communicating with them is the claimed person through mutual authentication, which can avoid the impersonation attack of the eavesdropper Eve. In the QKA phase, the participants adopt a bidirectional transmission structure with the participation of a semi-trusted third party, and based on the entanglement swapping property of the 4-qubit cluster state, the QKA is finally realized. Detailed security analysis shows that the protocol can resist a variety of internal and external attacks, such as participants attack, entangle-measure attack, and so on.

A novel quantum security multi-party extremum protocol in a d-dimensional quantum system

Secure multi-party extremum computation (SMEC) is a specific application scenario of secure multi-party computation, which allows multiple participants to compute the extremum of data without disclosing private information. The extremum includes maximum, minimum, sum of extremums, and difference of extremums. SMEC has wide applications in financial transactions, market analysis, sports events, healthcare, etc. Current protocol research mainly exists in the classical domain and cannot withstand quantum computing attacks. To address this issue, we propose a novel QSME protocol based on a d-dimensional quantum system, capable of computing the maximum and minimum values among multi-party data under unconditional security, and can compute the sum and difference of extremums without disclosing the maximum and minimum values, to adapt to complex application scenarios. The article proposes a coding method for a d-dimensional quantum system to further enhance security, provides correctness analysis, security analysis, robustness analysis, and comparative analysis, and proposes an experimental method for a d-dimensional quantum system to verify the effectiveness of the protocol, demonstrating strong practicality.

Multiparty Quantum Key Agreement Based on d$d$‐dimensional Bell States

AbstractIn this paper, on the design process of a multiparty quantum key agreement protocol within a ‐dimensional Hilbert space is elaborated upon. A circular‐type multiparty quantum key agreement protocol based on the generalized Bell state is introduced. To enhance security against external attacks, decoy states into the transmission process is incorporated. Transmission sequences of the generalized Bell state and decoy states are passed between participants. The participants then encode their secret information into the corresponding particles. Ultimately, all participants are able to derive the same key. In addition, a combination of ‐dimensional Pauli operators is utilized, making the proposed protocol feasible with current technology. Analysis and protection against intercept‐resend attack, entangle‐measure attack and dishonest participants attacks, demonstrating the feasibility of the protocol in a ‐dimensional Hilbert space. The protocol has certain advantages over other protocols in terms of a comprehensive consideration of security and efficiency.

Efficient multi-party PSI and its application in port management

Private Set Intersection (PSI) technology is a cryptographic tool that allows the parties holding private data to determine the intersection of sets in a joint computation without revealing any additional privacy information. As a critical component of secure multi-party computation, this technology has been widely used in the security domain of artificial intelligence and data mining. With the emergence of the era of multi-source data sharing, protocols for private set intersection computation applicable to multiple participants have also emerged. However, the performance of existing multi-party private set intersection (MPSI) protocols is suboptimal when some participants use devices with limited communication or computational capabilities, such as mobile devices. To overcome the above issues, we design a cloud-aided multi-party private set intersection protocol (Cloud-Aided-MPSI) based on oblivious programmable pseudorandom functions (OPPRF) and oblivious key–value stores (OKVS). Due to the protocol efficiently outsourcing partial computational and communication tasks to cloud servers, our performance has been further enhanced compared to existing work. Through the Cloud-Aided-MPSI protocol, we propose a port scheduling protocol for coordinated management scenarios of ships arriving and departing from ports. The protocol effectively addresses the privacy protection concerns of port management when scheduling the arrival and departure of ships. We analyze the performance of this protocol.

Secure multiparty computation protocol based on homomorphic encryption and its application in blockchain

Blockchain technology is a key technology in the current information field and has been widely used in various industries. Blockchain technology faces significant challenges in privacy protection while ensuring data immutability and transparency, so it is crucial to implement private computing in blockchain. To target the privacy issues in blockchain, we design a secure multi-party computation (SMPC) protocol DHSMPC based on homomorphic encryption in this paper. On the one hand, homomorphic encryption technology can directly operate on ciphertext, solving the privacy problem in the blockchain. On the other hand, this paper designs the directed decryption function of DHSMPC to resist malicious opponents in the CRS model, so that authorized users who do not participate in the calculation can also access the decryption results of secure multi-party computation. Analytical and experimental results show that DHSMPC has smaller ciphertext size and stronger performance than existing SMPC protocols. The protocol makes it possible to implement complex calculations in multi-party scenarios and is proven to be resistant to various semi-malicious attacks, ensuring data security and privacy. Finally, this article combines the designed DHSMPC protocol with blockchain and cloud computing, showing how to use this solution to achieve trusted data management in specific scenarios.

BIG DATA PRIVACY IN BIOMEDICAL RESERACH

Abstract: With the exponential growth of biomedical data, the potential for transformative discoveries in healthcare is immense. However, the utilization of such vast datasets raises significant concerns regarding data privacy and security. This project proposes a Java-based solution aimed at preserving privacy while enabling robust analysis of big biomedical datasets. The primary objective of this project is to develop a framework that facilitates secure and privacy-preserving data analysis in biomedical research. The framework employs advanced cryptographic techniques and secure multi-party computation protocols to ensure that sensitive patient information remains confidential throughout the analysis process To demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed solution, a prototype system will be developed and evaluated using real-world biomedical datasets. Performance metrics such as computational overhead, data transmission latency, and scalability will be assessed to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the framework. In conclusion, this project aims to address the pressing need for privacy-preserving big data analysis in biomedical research, thereby facilitating responsible data sharing and advancing scientific discovery while safeguarding individual privacy rights. Keywords– Big data privacy, biomedical search, java project, privacy preserving techniques,HIPAA, GDPR.

A quantum secure multi-party summation protocol with quantum Fourier transform

In this paper, a quantum secure multi-party summation scheme with a third party based on quantum Fourier transform (QFT) is put forward, where the third party cannot be permitted to cooperate with others but is allowed for all kinds of attacks. Under the help of third party, [Formula: see text] users can calculate the addition modulo [Formula: see text] of their private integer strings. The third party generates two-level single qubit and its product state as the initial quantum resource, produces the traveling particles with QFT and the controlled-not (CNOT) operations, and sends the traveling particles out to the first users; then, [Formula: see text] users encode their private integer sequences by performing the phase shifting operations on the travelling particles one after another; and finally, the third party decodes out the summation of the private integer sequences from [Formula: see text] users through CNOT operations and inverse quantum Fourier transform (IQFT). This protocol only adopts two-level single particle state and its product state as initial quantum resource, only needs [Formula: see text]-level single particle measurement and does not need to perform quantum entanglement swapping. Security analysis indicates that this protocol can overcome not only the outside attack but also the participant attack.

A new quantum secure multiparty summation protocol with locally indistinguishable orthogonal product states

As an important branch of quantum-secure multiparty computation, quantum-secure multiparty summation enables participants to complete the summation of their inputs without revealing their own secrets. In this paper, a new multiparty quantum secure summation protocol based on locally indistinguishable orthogonal product (LIOP) states is proposed. Leveraging the properties of LIOP states, participants can successfully accomplish the summation of their secrets with the assistance of a semi-honest third party (TP). The present protocol is shown to effectively resist certain existing attacks. Furthermore, complex operations and entanglement resources are not required in the proposed protocol. We anticipate that these results will contribute positively to the future development of quantum-secure multiparty computation.

Secure IoT Communication: Implementing a One-Time Pad Protocol with True Random Numbers and Secure Multiparty Sums

We introduce an innovative approach for secure communication in the Internet of Things (IoT) environment using a one-time pad (OTP) protocol. This protocol is augmented by incorporating a secure multiparty sum protocol to produce OTP keys from genuine random numbers obtained from the physical phenomena observed in each device. We have implemented our method using ZeroC-Ice v.3.7, dependable middleware for distributed computing, demonstrating its practicality in various hybrid IoT scenarios, particularly in devices with limited processing capabilities. The security features of our protocol are evaluated under the Dolev–Yao threat model, providing a thorough assessment of its defense against potential cyber threats.

Multi-party semi-quantum secret sharing protocol based on measure-flip and reflect operations

Semi-quantum secret sharing (SQSS) protocols serve as fundamental frameworks in quantum secure multi-party computations, offering the advantage of not requiring all users to possess intricate quantum devices. However, current SQSS protocols mainly cater to bipartite scenarios, with few protocols suitable for multi-party scenarios. Moreover, the multi-party SQSS protocols face limitations such as low qubit efficiency and inability to share deterministic secret information. To address this gap, this paper proposes a multi-party SQSS protocol based on multi-particle GHZ states. In this protocol, the quantum user can distribute the predetermined secret information to multiple classical users with limited quantum capabilities, and only through mutual cooperation among all classical users can the correct secret information be reconstructed. By utilizing measure-flip and reflect operations, the transmitted multi-particle GHZ states can all contribute keys, thereby improving the utilization of transmitted particles. Then, security analysis shows that the protocol’s resilience against prevalent external and internal threats. Additionally, employing IBM Qiskit, we conduct quantum circuit simulations to validate the protocol’s accuracy and feasibility. Finally, compared to similar studies, the proposed protocol has advantages in terms of protocol scalability, qubit efficiency, and shared message types.

Security Analysis of the Consumer Remote SIM Provisioning Protocol

Remote SIM provisioning (RSP) for consumer devices is the protocol specified by the GSM Association for downloading SIM profiles into a secure element in a mobile device. The process is commonly known as eSIM, and it is expected to replace removable SIM cards. The security of the protocol is critical because the profile includes the credentials with which the mobile device will authenticate to the mobile network. In this paper, we present a formal security analysis of the consumer RSP protocol. We model the multi-party protocol in applied pi calculus, define formal security goals, and verify them in ProVerif. The analysis shows that the consumer RSP protocol protects against a network adversary when all the intended participants are honest. However, we also model the protocol in realistic partial compromise scenarios where the adversary controls a legitimate participant or communication channel. The security failures in the partial compromise scenarios reveal weaknesses in the protocol design. The most important observation is that the security of RSP depends unnecessarily on it being encapsulated in a TLS tunnel. Also, the lack of pre-established identifiers means that a compromised download server anywhere in the world or a compromised secure element can be used for attacks against RSP between honest participants. Additionally, the lack of reliable methods for verifying user intent can lead to serious security failures. Based on the findings, we recommend practical improvements to RSP implementations, future versions of the specification, and mobile operator processes to increase the robustness of eSIM security.