Dense-Coding Attack on Three-Party Quantum Key Distribution Protocols

Cryptanalysis is an important branch in the study of cryptography, including both the classical cryptography and the quantum one. In this paper we analyze the security of two three-party quantum key distribution protocols (QKDPs) proposed recently, and point out that they are susceptible to a simple and effective attack, i.e. the dense-coding attack. It is shown that the eavesdropper Eve can totally obtain the session key by sending entangled qubits as the fake signal to Alice and performing collective measurements after Alice's encoding. The attack process is just like a dense-coding communication between Eve and Alice, where a special measurement basis is employed. Furthermore, this attack does not introduce any errors to the transmitted information and consequently will not be discovered by Alice and Bob. The attack strategy is described in detail and a proof for its correctness is given. At last, the root of this insecurity and a possible way to improve these protocols are discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Consistency of shared reference frames should be reexamined

In a recent Letter [G. Chiribella et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 120501 (2007)], four protocols were proposed to secretly transmit a reference frame. Here We point out that in these protocols an eavesdropper can change the transmitted reference frame without being detected, which means the consistency of the shared reference frames should be reexamined. The way to check the above consistency is discussed. It is shown that this problem is quite different from that in previous protocols of quantum cryptography.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, comments are welcom

Quantum key distribution without alternative measurements and rotations

A quantum key distribution protocol based on entanglement swapping is proposed. Through choosing particles by twos from the sequence and performing Bell measurements, two communicators can detect eavesdropping and obtain the secure key. Because the two particles measured together are selected out randomly, we need neither alternative measurements nor rotations of the Bell states to obtain security.Comment: 11 pages, no figures, a modified version of quant-ph/0412014, add a security proof and delete the identification par

Spontaneous activities in baroreflex afferent pathway contribute dominant role in parasympathetic neurocontrol of blood pressure regulation

Aim To study the dominant role of parasympathetic inputs at cellular level of baroreflex afferent pathway and underlying mechanism in neurocontrol of blood pressure regulation. Methods Whole‐cell patch‐clamp and animal study were conducted. Results For the first time, we demonstrated the spontaneous activities from resting membrane potential in myelinated A‐ and Ah‐type baroreceptor neurons (BRNs, the 1st‐order), but not in unmyelinated C‐types, using vagus‐nodose slice of adult female rats. These data were further supported by the notion that the spontaneous synaptic currents could only be seen in the pharmacologically and electrophysiologically defined myelinated A‐ and Ah‐type baroreceptive neurons (the 2nd‐order) of NTS using brainstem slice of adult female rats. The greater frequency and the larger amplitude of the spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) compared with the inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) were only observed in Ah‐types. The ratio of EPSCs:IPSCs was estimated at 3:1 and higher. These results confirmed that the afferent‐specific spontaneous activities were generated from baroreflex afferent pathway in female‐specific subpopulation of myelinated Ah‐type BRNs in nodose and baroreceptive neurons in NTS, which provided a novel insight into the dominant role of sex‐specific baroreflex‐evoked parasympathetic drives in retaining a stable and lower blood pressure status in healthy subjects, particularly in females. Conclusion The data from current investigations establish a new concept for the role of Ah‐type baroreceptor/baroreceptive neurons in controlling blood pressure stability and provide a new pathway for pharmacological intervention for hypertension and cardiovascular diseases

practical quantum all-or-nothing oblivious transfer protocol

In this paper, we propose a practical quantum all-or-nothing oblivious transfer protocol. Its security is based on technological limitations on non-demolition measurements and long-term quantum memory, and it has the capabilities of loss-tolerance and error-correction. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.In this paper, we propose a practical quantum all-or-nothing oblivious transfer protocol. Its security is based on technological limitations on non-demolition measurements and long-term quantum memory, and it has the capabilities of loss-tolerance and error-correction. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York