Quantum SMPC: Rich in theory, limited in practice
A systematic review of quantum secure multi-party computation
N. Dobrică (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
Z Erkin – Mentor (TU Delft - Cyber Security)
Roland Kromes – Mentor (TU Delft - Research Engineering & Infrastructure Team)
X. Zhang – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Pattern Recognition and Bioinformatics)
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Abstract
Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) is a widely-used cryptographic tool for privacy-preserving data analysis. The progress in the field of quantum computing has led to the development of Quantum SMPC (QSMPC), which promises informationtheoretic security based on physics laws. There is a significant number of proposed protocols. However, as the number of theoretical protocols grows, their practical viability remains unclear. Our paper presents a systematic literature review of 37 recent QSMPC protocols to assess the state of the field, focusing on protocol functionality, quantum resource requirements, privacy-ensuring techniques, and feasibility on current technologies. Our analysis reveals a plethora of innovative theoretically-private protocols, constrained by significant practical issues. We found that protocols tend to rely on a core set of quantum resources, including entangled states (Bell, GHZ), Quantum Key Distribution, and decoy particles to ensure security. We also observe a frequent reliance on a semi-honest third party. Most importantly, we identify a noticeable gap in feasibility. 19 out of 37 of the papers surveyed provide no clear discussion on the practicality of the proposed protocols. The papers that do discuss this topic describe small-scale simulations, which may require algorithmic compromises and are tested in ideal conditions only. Our findings highlight a gap between theory and practice, suggesting that real-world application of the protocols is not yet possible, given the current state of quantum hardware.