Novel semi-quantum private comparison protocol with Bell states

Abstract Based on Bell states, a new semi-quantum private comparison protocol is proposed that enables two classical users to securely compare the equality of their private information with the aid of a semi-honest third party. Different from the existing semi-quantum private comparison protocols, the two classical participants in the presented protocol do not need to measure and prepare any quantum state, which not only reduces the consumption of quantum devices, but also greatly improves the feasibility of the protocol. Performing different unitary operations on the received particles, classical users can securely compare their secret information. Besides, the devised protocol has higher qubit efficiency than the other similar counterparts, since participants can compare a two-bit privacy each time with one qubit. Meanwhile, after completing the comparison process, all Bell states could be reused since they still retain the corresponding entanglement property, which greatly facilitates the recycle of quantum resources. Security analyses indicate that the designed scheme is secure against external attack and internal attack. Moreover, the operations involved in our scheme are simulated on the IBM Quantum Experience to demonstrate the effectiveness and security of our scheme.