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Comment on “Quantum Secure Direct Communication with Authentication Expansion Using Single Photons”

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Abstract

The security of the quantum secure direct communication protocol with authentication expansion using single photons is analyzed. It is shown that an eavesdropper can obtain or even modify the transmitted secret without introducing any error by implementing a simple man-in-the-middle attack after the authentication is successfully carried out. Furthermore, a denial-of-service attack is also discussed. The particular attack strategy is demonstrated and an improved protocol is presented.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61170270, 61003290); The Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (Grant Nos. 20091103120014, 20090005110010); Beijing Natural Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 4122008, 1102004); the ISN open Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Computer Science and Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China

    Yu-Guang Yang, Xin Jia, Juan Xia & Lei Shi

  2. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Services Network, Xidian University, Xi’an, 710071, China

    Yu-Guang Yang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Networking and Switching Technology, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, 100876, China

    Hua Zhang

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  1. Yu-Guang Yang
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  2. Xin Jia
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  3. Juan Xia
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  4. Lei Shi
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  5. Hua Zhang
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Correspondence to Yu-Guang Yang.

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Yang, YG., Jia, X., Xia, J. et al. Comment on “Quantum Secure Direct Communication with Authentication Expansion Using Single Photons”. Int J Theor Phys 51, 3681–3687 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10773-012-1265-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10773-012-1265-9

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