Quantum Digital Signature Using Entangled States for Network.

Area of Science:

• Quantum Information Science
• Cryptography
• Network Security

Background:

• Quantum digital signatures (QDS) offer enhanced security over classical methods.
• Existing QDS protocols often involve complex post-processing steps, increasing latency.
• Optimizing QDS for practical quantum networks remains a key challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel entanglement-based QDS protocol optimized for quantum networks.
• To reduce latency and implementation complexity compared to existing protocols.
• To provide a finite-size security analysis for the proposed QDS protocol.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing an entanglement-based approach for quantum digital signatures.
• Adopting a Lamport-inspired QDS paradigm.
• Eliminating Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) post-processing by using raw conclusive keys for signing and verification.
• Conducting a finite-size security analysis covering robustness, unforgeability, and non-repudiation.

Main Results:

• The proposed protocol demonstrates reduced latency and implementation complexity.
• Simulations show a consistent signature rate advantage over a Lamport-inspired QDS baseline.
• The advantage is observed across metro-to-regional distances under standard fiber-loss and detector models.

Conclusions:

• The entanglement-based QDS protocol is practical for near-term deployment in quantum networks.
• The protocol preserves end-to-end, finite key security guarantees.
• This approach offers a more efficient and secure solution for digital signatures in quantum communication.