Error-Tolerant Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Private Queries of Blocks

Abstract

Quantum Private Queries (QPQ) is aimed to protect both user privacy and database security while executing database queries. In recent years, although many QPQ protocols based on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) have been proposed, in most protocols, users’ measurement devices may suffer from detector-side-channel attacks initiated by dishonest database owners. To address this issue, we propose a new Measurement-Device-Independent (MDI) QPQ protocol. The protocol outsources all measurement operations to an impartial third party, effectively thwarting detector side-channel attacks. Furthermore, this protocol employs linear error correction codes to rectify the raw key, thereby mitigating security vulnerabilities in block query situations arising from repeated queries and communication errors. The protocol incorporates permutation-shift-addition operations to further obscure the information accessible to the user post error correction of the raw key. Compared to existing protocols, the proposed protocol has higher practicality and practical security.