Secure multi-party biometric verification using QKD assisted quantum oblivious transfer
We present an experimentally feasible implementation of a secure multiparty computation application enabled by quantum oblivious transfer (QOT) on an entanglement-based physical layer. The QOT protocol uses polarization-encoded entangled states to share oblivious keys between two parties with quantum key distribution (QKD) providing authentication. Our system integrates the post-processing for QOT and QKD, both sharing a single physical layer, ensuring efficient key generation and authentication, respectively. Authentication involves hashing messages into a cryptographic context, verifying tags, and replenishing keys. This process uses a parallel QKD pipeline specifically for authentication, not for secure key generation. Oblivious keys are generated over a distance up to 25.8 km with a channel loss of 8.47 dB. In a back-to-back setup, a QOT rate of [Formula: see text] OTs/second is achieved, corresponding to 1 minute and 53 seconds per OT, primarily limited by the entanglement source. Using pre-distributed oblivious keys improved the rate to 0.11 OTs/second, or 9.1 seconds per OT. The considered QOT protocol is statistically correct, computationally secure for an honest receiver, and statistically secure for an honest sender, assuming a computationally hiding, statistically binding commitment. An experimentally feasible use case is demonstrated for privacy-preserving fingerprint matching against no-fly lists for border control. The fingerprint is secret-shared across two sites, ensuring security, while the matching is performed using the MASCOT protocol, supported by QOT. The application required 128 1-out-of-2 OTs, each with message length of 128 bits, with the highest security achieved in 20 minutes and 39 seconds. This work demonstrates the feasibility of QOT in secure quantum communication applications.
Authors
- Martin Achleitner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7488-5813)
- Thomas Lorünser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1829-4882)
- Michael Hentschel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3986-5725)
- Alessandro Trenti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5571-6773)
- Mariano Lemus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5192-6221)
- Hannes Hübel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1173-1904)
- Mariana F. Ramos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7481-6043)
- Costin Luchian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8804-2261)
- Marie-Christine Slater (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2232-5773)
- Federico Valbusa
Institutions
- AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH (AT)
- Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (AT)
- Instituto de Telecomunicações (PT)
- Infineon Technologies (Austria) (AT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2026-06-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-58005-z
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture
- Type
- preprint
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme