Abstract 1 Introduction 2 Preliminaries 3 Definitions of Quantum Obfuscation 4 Main Technical Theorem 5 Cryptographic Implications References

From Worst-Case Hardness of NP to Quantum Cryptography via Quantum Indistinguishability Obfuscation

Tomoyuki Morimae ORCID Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Japan    Yuki Shirakawa ORCID Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Japan    Takashi Yamakawa ORCID NTT Social Informatics Laboratories, Tokyo, Japan
NTT Research Center for Theoretical Quantum Information, Atsugi, Japan
Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Japan
Abstract

Indistinguishability obfuscation (iO) has emerged as a powerful cryptographic primitive with many implications. While classical iO, combined with the infinitely-often worst-case hardness of 𝖭𝖯, is known to imply one-way functions (OWFs) and a range of advanced cryptographic primitives, the cryptographic implications of quantum iO remain poorly understood. In this work, we initiate a study of the power of quantum iO. We define several natural variants of quantum iO, distinguished by whether the obfuscation algorithm, evaluation algorithm, and description of obfuscated program are classical or quantum. For each variant, we identify quantum cryptographic primitives that can be constructed under the assumption of quantum iO and the infinitely-often quantum worst-case hardness of 𝖭𝖯 (i.e., 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯). In particular, we construct pseudorandom unitaries, QCCC quantum public-key encryption and (QCCC) quantum symmetric-key encryption, and several primitives implied by them such as one-way state generators, (efficiently-verifiable) one-way puzzles, and EFI pairs, etc. While our main focus is on quantum iO, even in the classical setting, our techniques yield a new and arguably simpler construction of OWFs from classical (imperfect) iO and the infinitely-often worst-case hardness of 𝖭𝖯.

Keywords and phrases:
Quantum cryptography, Indistinguishability Obfuscation
Category:
Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
Funding:
Tomoyuki Morimae: JST CREST JPMJCR23I3, JST Moonshot R&D JPMJMS2061-5-1-1, JST FOREST, MEXT QLEAP, the Grant-in Aid for Transformative Research Areas (A) 21H05183, and the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) No.22H00522.
Yuki Shirakawa: JST SPRING JPMJSP2110.
Copyright and License:
[Uncaptioned image] © Tomoyuki Morimae, Yuki Shirakawa, and Takashi Yamakawa; licensed under Creative Commons License CC-BY 4.0
2012 ACM Subject Classification:
Theory of computation Cryptographic primitives
Related Version:
Full Version: https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.19542 [48]
Editors:
Sayan Bhattacharya, Danupon Nanongkai, Michael Benedikt, and Gabriele Puppis

1 Introduction

Obfuscation enables us to transform a program into an unintelligible, “scrambled” form while preserving its functionality. The cryptographic study of obfuscation was initiated by Barak et al. [6], who formalized the notion and introduced the concept of virtual black-box (VBB) security. While they showed that VBB security is unachievable in general, they proposed a weaker notion called indistinguishability obfuscation (iO), leaving open the possibility of its realization.

About a decade later,111A preliminary version of [6] was published at CRYPTO 2001 and a preliminary version of [26] was published at FOCS 2013. Garg et al. [26] proposed the first candidate construction of iO. This breakthrough led to a cascade of results: it was soon discovered that iO, when combined with one-way functions (OWFs), enables the construction of a wide array of powerful cryptographic primitives (e.g., [32, 30, 51, 10, 39, 21, 40, 22]), some of which had no known constructions prior to iO. As a result, iO has come to be viewed as a “central hub” [51] in cryptography.

Given its remarkable utility, iO has attracted extensive research interest, both in terms of proposing new constructions (e.g., [24, 5, 14, 25, 28, 4, 27, 13], and developing attacks (e.g., [18, 33, 47, 16, 19, 17]). This line of work culminated in a landmark result by Jain, Lin, and Sahai [35], who gave a construction of iO based on long-studied and well-founded cryptographic assumptions.

Despite the tremendous power of iO when combined with OWFs, it is notable that iO alone does not yield any cryptographic primitives. For example, in a hypothetical world where 𝖯=𝖭𝖯 (or even 𝖡𝖯𝖯=𝖭𝖯), no cryptographic primitives can exist, yet iO still exists [38]. This highlights the fact that, for iO to be cryptographically useful, one must at least assume the worst-case hardness of 𝖭𝖯.

In this context, Komargodski et al. [38] showed that, assuming only the (infinitely-often) worst-case hardness of 𝖭𝖯 (i.e., 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖯𝖯),222Here, a language L is in 𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖯𝖯 if all xL{0,1}n are correctly decided in probabilistic polynomial time for infinitely-many n. one can already construct OWFs from iO. Once OWFs are obtained, combining them with iO yields public-key encryption (PKE) and many other advanced cryptographic primitives.

The construction of a OWF based on iO in [38] is quite simple, at least assuming the perfect correctness of the obfuscator. Given an obfuscator 𝖮𝖻𝖿, one can define a function f by

f(r)𝖮𝖻𝖿(Z;r) (1)

where Z denotes the zero-function that outputs 0 on all inputs, and the notation “;r” indicates that 𝖮𝖻𝖿 uses randomness r. The authors showed that the one-wayness of f follows from the assumption that 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖯𝖯. They also demonstrated that even an imperfectly correct iO suffices to construct OWFs, although the construction in that case is more intricate.

As the above construction illustrates, a key requirement in [38] is that the obfuscator 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is derandomizable, meaning that it behaves deterministically when given fixed randomness. In contrast, recent works [2, 1, 15, 8, 7, 23, 34] have considered quantum obfuscation, where 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is a quantum algorithm that obfuscates either classical or quantum circuits. In this setting, the implicit assumption of derandomizability in [38] breaks down: quantum algorithms inherently involve randomness due to measurement, and thus cannot be derandomized. As a result, the classical approach of [38] does not extend to quantum obfuscation. In fact, it appears unlikely that quantum iO implies OWFs, since a quantum obfuscator is intrinsically a randomized object, making it intuitively useless for constructing deterministic primitives such as OWFs. Nonetheless, recent works [41, 42, 43, 45] have identified several cryptographic primitives that may exist even in the absence of OWFs, including one-way state generators (OWSGs) [49, 50], pseudorandom state generators (PRSGs) [36], pseudorandom unitaries (PRUs) [36, 46], EFI pairs [12], efficiently-verifiable one-way puzzles (EV-OWPuzzs) [20], one-way puzzles (OWPuzzs) [37], etc. These primitives lie below OWFs in known implications, and their existence under weaker assumptions raises the possibility that quantum iO, together with quantum worst-case hardness of 𝖭𝖯, may suffice to construct them. This leads us to the central question of this work:

Does quantum iO imply any quantum cryptographic primitive,
assuming only the quantum worst-case hardness of 𝖭𝖯?

1.1 Our Result

In this work, we show that quantum iO for classical circuits, when combined with the infinitely-often quantum worst-case hardness of 𝖭𝖯 (i.e., 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯), implies a range of quantum cryptographic primitives. The specific primitives that can be constructed depend on which components of the assumed iO, such as the obfuscation algorithm, the evaluation algorithm, and the description of obfuscated circuit, are quantum and which remain classical. We elaborate on these distinctions and their implications below.

To capture the various flavors of quantum iO, we formalize it as a pair of quantum polynomial-time (QPT) algorithms: an obfuscation algorithm 𝖮𝖻𝖿 and an evaluation algorithm 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅:

𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,C): The obfuscation algorithm takes the security parameter 1λ and a classical circuit C as input and outputs an obfuscated encoding C^, which may be a quantum state.

𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^,x): The evaluation algorithm takes an obfuscated encoding C^ and an input x, and outputs C(x) (with overwhelming probability).

The security requirement is that, for any pair of functionally equivalent classical circuits C0 and C1, the obfuscations 𝖮𝖻𝖿(C0) and 𝖮𝖻𝖿(C1) must be computationally indistinguishable to any QPT distinguisher.

We consider several variants of quantum iO, distinguished by whether each component, namely, the obfuscator 𝖮𝖻𝖿, the evaluator 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅, and the obfuscated encoding C^, is quantum or classical. Specifically, for each (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉){𝚀,𝙲}3, we define (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉)-iO as follows:

  • If 𝚇=𝚀, then 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is a quantum algorithm; if 𝚇=𝙲, then 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is classical.

  • If 𝚈=𝚀, then 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 is a quantum algorithm; if 𝚈=𝙲, then 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 is classical.

  • If 𝚉=𝚀, then the obfuscated encoding C^ is a quantum state; if 𝚉=𝙲, then C^ is a classical string.

While there are eight possible combinations of (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉), not all are meaningful. In particular, the case 𝚉=𝚀 only makes sense when both 𝚇=𝚀 and 𝚈=𝚀, since a classical obfuscator cannot generate a quantum state and a classical evaluator cannot take a quantum state as input. Accordingly, we focus on the five meaningful variants: (𝚀,𝚀,𝚀), (𝚀,𝚀,𝙲), (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲), (𝙲,𝚀,𝙲), and (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲).

We emphasize that, throughout, the circuit being obfuscated is always a classical circuit. This modeling choice only strengthens our results since our goal is to identify lower bounds of quantum iO333Note that obfuscation for quantum circuits implies obfuscation for classical circuits as a special case..

Assuming 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯, we show the following results:

  • (𝚀,𝚀,𝚀)-iO implies IND-CPA secure quantum symmetric key encryption (QSKE), where the secret key is classical but the ciphertext is quantum. In particular, it implies OWSGs and EFI pairs.

  • (𝚀,𝚀,𝙲)-iO implies IND-CPA secure symmetric key encryption (SKE) in the quantum-computation classical-communication (QCCC) model, referred to as QCCC SKE, where all communication is classical, but local computations, such as encryption and decryption, may be quantum. In particular, it implies EV-OWPuzz, OWPuzzs, OWSGs, QEFID pairs and EFI pairs.

  • (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲)-iO implies IND-CPA secure public key encryption (PKE) in the QCCC model, referred to as QCCC PKE. In particular, it implies EV-OWPuzz, OWPuzzs, OWSGs, QEFID pairs and EFI pairs.

  • (𝙲,𝚀,𝙲)-iO implies IND-CPA secure QCCC PKE and (post-quantum) OWFs. In particular, it implies all Microcrypt primitives implied by PRUs.

  • (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲)-iO implies IND-CPA secure PKE and (post-quantum) OWFs. In particular, it implies all Microcrypt primitives implied by PRUs.

We remark that the implication of (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲)-iO can be obtained via a straightforward adaptation of the construction in [38], as all components involved are classical, except that we consider quantum adversaries. Nonetheless, we believe that our proof is arguably simpler than that of [38], which requires cascaded obfuscation, i.e., obfuscating an already obfuscated circuit, whereas our approach avoids it. In addition, an advantage of our approach is that it only requires obfuscation for 3CNF formulas, rather than for general classical circuits. This resolves the open problem left by [38], namely, constructing OWFs from imperfectly correct iO under the assumption of worst-case hardness of 𝖭𝖯. We note, however, that this open problem has been recently resolved (in a stronger form that only requires witness encryption) by completely different techniques [31, 44].

1.2 Technical Overview

Throughout this technical overview, we assume the infinitely-often quantum worst-case hardness of 𝖭𝖯 (i.e., 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯). Our starting point is the Valiant-Vazirani theorem [52], which provides a randomized classical reduction from any 𝖭𝖯 instance to a 𝖴𝖯 instance.444𝖴𝖯 is a subclass of 𝖭𝖯 consisting of problems where every yes-instance admits a unique witness. This immediately implies that 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 implies 𝖴𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 as well. Therefore, in proving cryptographic implications, we may assume 𝖴𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 without loss of generality.

The case of (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲)-iO

We begin by focusing on the case of (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲)-iO, as the other cases build on similar ideas. In this setting, we construct a (post-quantum) OWF and a PKE scheme. Since a PKE scheme can be easily constructed from (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲)-iO and OWFs using the same approach as in the classical construction of [51], it suffices to focus on constructing OWFs.

Our main technical result is the following simple yet powerful statement. Let λ be the security parameter. For n and a string k{0,1}n, let Pk denote a circuit computing the point function with target k, i.e., Pk(k)=1 and Pk(k)=0 for all kk. Let Zn be a circuit computing the zero function on n-bit inputs, that is, Zn(k)=0 for all k{0,1}n. Then, for some polynomial m=m(λ), assuming 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯, we show that

𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk)c𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm), (2)

where k{0,1}m,555Here k{0,1}m means that k is sampled uniformly at random from {0,1}m. and c means computational indistinguishability against QPT distinguishers.666In the actual theorem, we account for the circuit sizes of Pk and Zm, but omit these details here for simplicity.

This indistinguishability directly implies the existence of OWFs. Intuitively, the distributions 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk) and 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm) should be statistically far, since the obfuscation of Pk is functionally equivalent to a point function, while the obfuscation of Zm is functionally equivalent to a constant-zero function. Moreover, since 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is assumed to be classical, both distributions are classically efficiently samplable. Such pairs of classically efficiently samplable, statistically far, but computationally indistinguishable distributions are known as EFID pairs [29, 12], and existentially equivalent to OWFs.777The proof of this fact in [29] only considers classical adversaries, but it extends to the post-quantum setting in a straightforward manner.

We now describe the idea for proving the computational indistinguishability between 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk) and 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm). As discussed above, we may assume 𝖴𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯. Therefore, to prove the above indistinguishability under the assumption, it suffices to show that any distinguisher between 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk) and 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm) can be used to recover the unique witness of a yes-instance of a 𝖴𝖯 problem.

Let x be a yes-instance of a 𝖴𝖯 language with a unique witness w{0,1}m, and let M be the corresponding verification algorithm. Our goal is to recover w given x and M. To do so, we take a uniformly random v{0,1}m and define a circuit V[x,v](z) that outputs 1 if M(x,vz)=1 and otherwise outputs 0. Note that V[x,v](z) outputs 1 only when z=wv, so it is functionally equivalent to the point function Pwv. Hence, by the security of iO, for each v{0,1}m, we have

𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,V[x,v])c𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pwv). (3)

Moreover, since v is chosen uniformly at random, wv is also uniformly random, and so

𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pwv)𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk), (4)

where denotes distributional equivalence and v,k{0,1}m. Therefore, a distinguisher that distinguishes 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk) with k{0,1}m from 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm) also distinguishes 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,V[x,v]) with v{0,1}m from 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm).

While V[x,v] and Zm are not functionally equivalent, they differ on only a single input, namely wv. It is known that any iO also satisfies the notion of differing-inputs obfuscation (diO) [6, 3, 11] in the single differing-input setting. This means that if one can distinguish two circuits that differ on only one input, then one can efficiently extract that input. Thus, a distinguisher between 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,V[x,v]) with v{0,1}m and 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm) can be used to extract wv.

Since v is chosen independently of both x and w, we can construct a reduction algorithm that chooses v on its own, extracts wv, and thereby recovers w. This completes the proof of the computational indistinguishability.

The case of (𝙲,𝚀,𝙲)-iO

In this setting, we construct a (post-quantum) OWF and a QCCC PKE scheme.

To construct a OWF, we use the same argument as in the (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲) setting. Notably, that construction does not rely on the assumption that 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 is classical, so the proof remains valid even when 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 is quantum.888Interestingly, the proof remains valid even if 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 is inefficient.

For constructing a QCCC PKE scheme, we again follow the classical construction of [51]. The only difference is that evaluating the obfuscated program now involves quantum computation, making the encryption algorithm quantum and thus yielding a QCCC PKE scheme.

The case of (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲)-iO

In this setting, we construct a QCCC PKE scheme. Since 𝖮𝖻𝖿 cannot be derandomized in this setting, it is unlikely that OWFs can be constructed. Therefore, we need a different approach from the classical construction of [51].

We begin by noting that the following indistinguishability still holds in this setting:

𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk)c𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm), (5)

where k{0,1}m. Based on this, we construct a QCCC PKE scheme as follows:

  • Key generation: Choose k{0,1}m, and output the public key P^k𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk) and the secret key k.

  • Encryption: On input a public key P^k and a message 𝗆𝗌𝗀, define a classical circuit C[P^k,𝗆𝗌𝗀] that takes k{0,1}m as input and outputs 𝗆𝗌𝗀 if 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(P^k,k)=1, and outputs otherwise. Here, we assume for simplicity that 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 is deterministic (see the full proof in Section 5.3 for how to handle randomized 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅). The ciphertext is defined as C^[P^k,𝗆𝗌𝗀]𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,C[P^k,𝗆𝗌𝗀]).

  • Decryption: On input a ciphertext C^[P^k,𝗆𝗌𝗀] and the secret key k, evaluate the obfuscated circuit on input k and output the result 𝗆𝗌𝗀.

The correctness of the scheme follows directly from the correctness of the iO.

We now argue IND-CPA security of the scheme. First, consider a hybrid where the public key is replaced with 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm). This is computationally indistinguishable from the real scheme by the indistinguishability between 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk) and 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm), which has already been established.

Next, consider a second hybrid where the ciphertext is replaced with 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm). This is indistinguishable from the previous hybrid because, when the public key is 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm), the circuit C[𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm),𝗆𝗌𝗀] is functionally equivalent to the zero function regardless of the message 𝗆𝗌𝗀, and hence its obfuscation is indistinguishable from that of Zm by the security of iO.

In the final hybrid, the ciphertext reveals no information about the message 𝗆𝗌𝗀, so the scheme satisfies IND-CPA security.

The case of (𝚀,𝚀,𝙲)-iO

In this setting, we construct a QCCC SKE scheme.

The idea is quite simple. We construct a QCCC SKE scheme for single-bit messages as follows: let k{0,1}m be the secret key. To encrypt the message 0, output the ciphertext 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm); to encrypt the message 1, output 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk). Decryption is performed by evaluating the obfuscated program (i.e., the ciphertext) on input k and outputting the result, which will be either 0 or 1 accordingly.

While we have already established the indistinguishability between 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm) and 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk), this alone is not sufficient to guarantee IND-CPA security of the above scheme. However, by carefully examining the proof of this indistinguishability, one can see that it extends to the case where the distinguisher is given multiple samples from the respective distributions, all generated using the same secret key k. This extension immediately implies the IND-CPA security of the scheme.

The case of (𝚀,𝚀,𝚀)-iO

In this setting, we construct a QSKE scheme, where the secret key is classical but the ciphertext is quantum. The construction is exactly the same as in the (𝚀,𝚀,𝙲) case described above. The only difference is that the output of 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is a quantum state, which means the ciphertexts are quantum. As a result, the scheme realizes QSKE rather than QCCC SKE.

2 Preliminaries

Notations

We use standard notations of quantum computing and cryptography. We use λ as the security parameter. [n] means the set {1,2,,n}. For a finite set S, xS means that an element x is sampled uniformly at random from the set S. 𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅 is a negligible function, and poly is a polynomial. PPT stands for (classical) probabilistic polynomial-time and QPT stands for quantum polynomial-time. We refer to a non-uniform QPT algorithm as a QPT algorithm with polynomial-size quantum advice. We stress that the running time of the algorithm can be polynomial in λ rather than in logλ. For an algorithm A, yA(x) means that the algorithm A outputs y on input x.

2.1 Cryptographic Primitives

Here, we give definitions of basic cryptographic primitives.

Definition 1 (One-Way Functions (OWFs)).

A function f:{0,1}{0,1} is a (quantumly-secure) one-way function (OWF) if it is computable in classical deterministic polynomial-time, and for any QPT adversary 𝒜, there exists a negligible function 𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅 such that

Pr[f(x)=f(x):x{0,1}λ,x𝒜(1λ,f(x))]𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ). (6)
Definition 2 (Quantum Symmetric Key Encryption (QSKE) [50]).

A QSKE scheme is a tuple (𝖦𝖾𝗇,𝖤𝗇𝖼,𝖣𝖾𝖼) of QPT algorithms with the following syntax:

  • 𝖦𝖾𝗇(1λ)𝗌𝗄: A key generation algorithm takes the security parameter 1λ as input and outputs a classical secret key 𝗌𝗄.

  • 𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗌𝗄,𝗆𝗌𝗀)𝖼𝗍: An encryption algorithm takes a secret key 𝗌𝗄 and a message 𝗆𝗌𝗀{0,1} as input and outputs a (possibly mixed) quantum ciphertext 𝖼𝗍.

  • 𝖣𝖾𝖼(𝗌𝗄,𝖼𝗍)𝗆𝗌𝗀: A decryption algorithm takes a secret key 𝗌𝗄 and a ciphertext 𝖼𝗍 as input and outputs a message 𝗆𝗌𝗀{0,1}.

We require the following correctness and IND-CPA security:

  • Correctness: For all 𝗆𝗌𝗀{0,1} of polynomial length in λ,

    Pr[𝗆𝗌𝗀=𝗆𝗌𝗀:𝗌𝗄𝖦𝖾𝗇(1λ)𝖼𝗍𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗌𝗄,𝗆𝗌𝗀)𝗆𝗌𝗀𝖣𝖾𝖼(𝗌𝗄,𝖼𝗍)]1𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ). (7)
  • IND-CPA Security: For a security parameter λ and a bit b{0,1}, consider the following game between a challenger and an adversary 𝒜:

    1. 1.

      The challenger runs 𝗌𝗄𝖦𝖾𝗇(1λ).

    2. 2.

      𝒜 can make arbitrarily many classical queries to the encryption oracle, which takes a message 𝗆𝗌𝗀{0,1} as input and returns 𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗌𝗄,𝗆𝗌𝗀).

    3. 3.

      𝒜 chooses (𝗆𝗌𝗀0,𝗆𝗌𝗀1)({0,1})2 of the same length and sends them to the challenger.

    4. 4.

      The challenger runs 𝖼𝗍b𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗌𝗄,𝗆𝗌𝗀b) and sends 𝖼𝗍b to 𝒜.

    5. 5.

      Again, 𝒜 can make arbitrarily many classical queries to the encryption oracle.

    6. 6.

      𝒜 outputs b.

    We say that a QSKE scheme satisfies the IND-CPA security if for any QPT adversary 𝒜,

    |Pr[b=1b=1]Pr[b=1b=0]|𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ). (8)
 Remark 3.

In the above definition, we only consider security against QPT adversaries that receive a single copy of the quantum ciphertext 𝖼𝗍b. However, by a standard hybrid argument, such single-copy security is equivalent to security against QPT adversaries that receive 𝖼𝗍bt(λ) for any polynomial t.

We define SKE and PKE schemes in the quantum-computation classical-communication (QCCC) model, in which all local computations are quantum and all communication is classical.

Definition 4 (QCCC SKE [37]).

A QCCC SKE scheme is defined similarly to a QSKE scheme as defined in Definition 2 except that a ciphertext 𝖼𝗍 output by 𝖤𝗇𝖼 is required to be classical.

Definition 5 (QCCC Public Key Encryption (QCCC PKE) [37]).

A QCCC PKE scheme is a tuple (𝖦𝖾𝗇,𝖤𝗇𝖼,𝖣𝖾𝖼) of QPT algorithms with the following syntax:

  • 𝖦𝖾𝗇(1λ)(𝗉𝗄,𝗌𝗄): A key generation algorithm takes the security parameter 1λ as input and outputs a classical public key 𝗉𝗄 and classical secret key 𝗌𝗄.

  • 𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗉𝗄,𝗆𝗌𝗀)𝖼𝗍: An encryption algorithm takes a public key 𝗉𝗄 and a message 𝗆𝗌𝗀{0,1} as input and outputs a classical ciphertext 𝖼𝗍.

  • 𝖣𝖾𝖼(𝗌𝗄,𝖼𝗍)𝗆𝗌𝗀: A decryption algorithm takes a secret key 𝗌𝗄 and a ciphertext 𝖼𝗍 as input and outputs a message 𝗆𝗌𝗀{0,1}.

We require the following correctness and IND-CPA security:

  • Correctness: For all 𝗆𝗌𝗀{0,1} of polynomial length in λ,

    Pr[𝗆𝗌𝗀=𝗆𝗌𝗀:(𝗉𝗄,𝗌𝗄)𝖦𝖾𝗇(1λ)𝖼𝗍𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗉𝗄,𝗆𝗌𝗀)𝗆𝗌𝗀𝖣𝖾𝖼(𝗌𝗄,𝖼𝗍)]1𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ). (9)
  • IND-CPA Security: For a security parameter λ and a bit b{0,1}, consider the following game between a challenger and an adversary 𝒜:

    1. 1.

      The challenger runs (𝗉𝗄,𝗌𝗄)𝖦𝖾𝗇(1λ) and sends 𝗉𝗄 to 𝒜.

    2. 2.

      𝒜 chooses 𝗆𝗌𝗀0,𝗆𝗌𝗀1({0,1})2 of the same length and sends them to the challenger.

    3. 3.

      The challenger runs 𝖼𝗍b𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗉𝗄,𝗆𝗌𝗀b) and sends 𝖼𝗍b to 𝒜.

    4. 4.

      𝒜 outputs b.

    We say that a QCCC PKE scheme satisfies the IND-CPA security if for any QPT adversary 𝒜,

    |Pr[b=1b=1]Pr[b=1b=0]|𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ). (10)

We omit definitions of other cryptographic primitives, such as EV-OWPuzzs [20], OWPuzzs [37], OWSGs [50], QEFID pairs [20], PRUs [36], and EFI pairs [12], since we obtain them only as corollaries. For their definitions, we refer the reader to the respective cited works. One remark regarding the definition of OWSGs is that, unless stated otherwise, we refer to OWSGs with mixed-state outputs as defined in [50].

2.2 Complexity Theory

Here we explain basic complexity classes we use.

Definition 6 (i.o.BQP).

A promise problem Π=(Πyes,Πno) is in 𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 if there exist a QPT algorithm Q and infinitely many λ such that for all xΠyesΠno,

  • if xΠyes{0,1}λ, then Pr[1Q(x)]2/3.

  • if xΠno{0,1}λ, then Pr[1Q(x)]1/3.

Definition 7 (UP).

A promise problem Π=(Πyes,Πno) is in 𝖴𝖯 if there exist a classical polynomial-time (deterministic) Turing machine M and a polynomial m such that

  • if xΠyes, then there exists a unique w{0,1}m(|x|) such that M(x,w)=1.

  • if xΠno, then for all w{0,1}m(|x|), M(x,w)=0.

The following lemma follows from the Valiant-Vazirani theorem [52].

Lemma 8.

If 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯, then 𝖴𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯.

3 Definitions of Quantum Obfuscation

We introduce definitions of quantum indistinguishability obfuscation for classical circuits and its variants.

Definition 9 (Quantum iO for Classical Circuits).

A quantum indistinguishability obfuscator (quantum iO) for classical circuits consists of two QPT algorithms (𝖮𝖻𝖿,𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅) with the following syntax:

  • 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,C)C^: An obfuscation algorithm takes the security parameter 1λ and a classical circuit C as input and outputs a quantum state C^, which we refer to as an obfuscated encoding of C.

  • 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^,x)y: An evaluation algorithm takes an obfuscated encoding C^ and a classical input x as input and outputs a classical output y.

We require the following correctness and security.

  • Correctness: For any family {Cλ}λ of polynomial-size classical circuits of input length nλ, and for any polynomial p, there exists N such that

    PrC^λ𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Cλ)[x{0,1}nλ,Pr[𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^λ,x)=Cλ(x)]11p(λ)]11p(λ) (11)

    holds for all λN, where the inner probability is taken over the randomness of the execution of 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^λ,x).

  • Security: For any families {C0,λ}λ and {C1,λ}λ of polynomial-size classical circuits such that C0,λ and C1,λ are functionally equivalent and of the same size, and for any non-uniform QPT adversary 𝒜,

    |Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,C0,λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,C1,λ))]|𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ). (12)
 Remark 10.

The correctness notion defined above may seem strong, as it requires that the evaluation returns the correct output for all inputs simultaneously with overwhelming probability. However, this stronger guarantee can be generically achieved assuming only a quantum iO with a weaker, input-wise correctness – that is, for each fixed input, the evaluation returns the correct output with overwhelming probability. To achieve stronger correctness, we can simply repeat the obfuscation algorithm multiple times to obtain independent copies of the (possibly quantum) obfuscated encoding. To evaluate the program on a given input, we evaluate each fresh copy of the obfuscated program on that input and take a majority vote of the outputs. By choosing the number of copies to be sufficiently large, the failure probability on any fixed input can be reduced exponentially. A union bound then implies that the overall probability of failure on any input remains negligible. This argument closely parallels the classical case presented in [38, Appendix B], and we therefore omit the details.

 Remark 11.

In the above definition, we only consider security against QPT adversaries that receive a single copy of the obfuscated program 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Cb,λ). However, by a standard hybrid argument, we can show that such single-copy security is equivalent to security against adversaries that receive 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Cb,λ)t(λ) for any polynomial t.

 Remark 12.

We require the security of iO to hold against non-uniform quantum QPT adversaries, even though our final goal is to construct cryptographic primitives with uniform security. This is because a uniform version of the security, where a uniform QPT adversary 𝒜 chooses two functionally equivalent circuits C0 and C1 and then tries to distinguish obfuscations of them, would not suffice for our purpose, since we must consider a reduction algorithm that hardwires an arbitrary choice of an 𝖭𝖯 instance into the circuits. Although this point is not explicitly discussed, we believe the same applies even in the classical setting of [38]. In addition, we note that the non-uniform security notion aligns more closely with the standard formalization in the literature on iO.

Definition 13 (Variations of Quantum iO).

For (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉){𝚀,𝙲}3, (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉)-iO for classical circuits is defined similarly to quantum iO for classical circuits as defined in Definition 9 except that:

  • If 𝚇=𝙲, 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is a PPT algorithm whereas if 𝚇=𝚀, 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is a QPT algorithm;

  • If 𝚈=𝙲, 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 is a PPT algorithm whereas if 𝚈=𝚀, 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 is a QPT algorithm;

  • If 𝚉=𝙲, an encoding C^ output by 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is a classical string whereas if 𝚉=𝚀, C^ is a quantum state.

 Remark 14.

While there are 8 possible choices for (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉), some of them are meaningless. In particular, it makes sense to have 𝚉=𝚀 only if 𝚇=𝚈=𝚀 since classical 𝖮𝖻𝖿 cannot output quantum C^ and classical 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 cannot take quantum C^ as input. Thus, there are 5 meaningful choices: (𝚀,𝚀,𝚀), (𝚀,𝚀,𝙲), (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲), (𝙲,𝚀,𝙲), and (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲). (𝚀,𝚀,𝚀)-iO corresponds to quantum iO as defined in Definition 9 and (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲)-iO corresponds to (post-quantum) classical iO. We stress that we consider obfuscation of classical circuits and security against quantum adversaries in all the variant.

In the security definition of iO, the two circuits are required to be functionally equivalent, that is, they must agree on all inputs. The notion of differing-inputs obfuscation (diO) [6, 3, 11] relaxes this requirement by allowing circuits that may differ on some inputs, as long as those inputs are hard to find. This results in a strictly stronger security notion than iO. It is known that in the classical setting, iO and diO are equivalent when the number of differing inputs is polynomial. We observe that this equivalence extends to the quantum setting as well. For our purposes, we present the definition of diO in the case where there is only a single differing input, which suffices for our applications.

Definition 15 (Single-Point Differing-Inputs Obfuscation (diO)).

For (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉){𝚀,𝙲}3, (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉)-single-point diO for classical circuits is defined similarly to (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉)-iO except that the security is replaced with extractability defined as follows:

  • Extractability (for single-differing-point): For any QPT adversary 𝒜 and any polynomial p, there exist a QPT algorithm 𝖤𝗑𝗍 and a polynomial q for which the following holds. For any pair of families of polynomial-size classical circuits {C0,λ}λ and {C1,λ}λ, such that for each λ, C0,λ and C1,λ have the same size and input length, and differ on at most a single input, and for any family of polynomial-size classical strings {zλ}λ, the following holds for all sufficiently large λ:

    Pr[b=b:b{0,1}C^λ𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Cb,λ)b𝒜(1λ,C^λ,C0,λ,C1,λ,zλ)]12+1p(λ) (13)
    Pr[C0,λ(x)C1,λ(x):x𝖤𝗑𝗍(1λ,C0,λ,C1,λ,zλ)]1q(λ). (14)
 Remark 16.

Zhandry [53] observed that defining diO involves subtle challenges when considering security against quantum adversaries with quantum advice. In contrast, we restrict our attention to quantum adversaries with classical advice. As a result, these complications do not arise in our setting, allowing us to define diO in a manner that closely mirrors the classical definition from [11].

In the classical advice setting considered above, the equivalence between iO and single-point diO can be proven using essentially the same argument as in the classical case, as shown in [11].

Lemma 17 (Adapted from [11]).

For (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉){𝚀,𝙲}3, if (𝖮𝖻𝖿,𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅) is an (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉)-iO for classical circuits, then it is also (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉)-single-point diO for classical circuits.

4 Main Technical Theorem

We prove a technical theorem that is the basis of all our cryptographic implications.

Let smin be a polynomial such that, for any m and any k{0,1}m, there exist classical circuits of size at most smin(m) that compute the following functions on m-bit inputs:

  • the point function at target point k, which outputs 1 on input k and 0 on all other inputs; and

  • the zero function, which outputs 0 on all m-bit inputs.

For m, k{0,1}m, and ssmin(m), let Pk,s denote a canonical classical circuit of size s that computes the point function on the target point k, and let Zm,s be a canonical classical circuit of size s that computes the zero-function on m-bit inputs. Here, “canonical” refers to a fixed but arbitrary choice of circuit construction, provided that the descriptions of Pk,s and Zm,s are computable in classical polynomial time from (k,1s) and (1m,1s), respectively. The specific choice of canonical circuits does not affect our results.

Then we prove the following theorem.

Theorem 18.

Suppose 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 and (𝖮𝖻𝖿,𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅) is an (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉)-iO for classical circuits for (𝚇,𝚈,𝚉){𝚀,𝙲}3. Then, there are classical-polynomial-time-computable polynomials m and s such that for any polynomial , the following two distributions (over classical bit strings if 𝚉=𝙲 and over quantum states if 𝚉=𝚀) are computationally indistinguishable against uniform QPT adversaries:

  • 𝒟0(λ): Sample k{0,1}m(λ), run P^k,s(λ)i𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk,s(λ)) for i[(λ)], and output (1λ,P^k,s(λ)1,P^k,s(λ)2,,P^k,s(λ)(λ)).

  • 𝒟1(λ): Run Z^m(λ),s(λ)i𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm(λ),s(λ)) for i[(λ)] and output (1λ,Z^m(λ),s(λ)1, Z^m(λ),s(λ)2, , Z^m(λ),s(λ)(λ)).

Proof of Theorem 18.

By Lemma 8, we have 𝖴𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯. Then, there exists a promise problem Π=(Πyes,Πno)𝖴𝖯 such that Π𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯. By the definition of 𝖴𝖯, there exist a polynomial m and a deterministic polynomial-time Turing machine M such that

  • If xΠyes, then there exists a unique w{0,1}m(|x|) such that M(x,w)=1.

  • If xΠno, M(x,w)=0 for any w{0,1}m(|x|).

Without loss of generality, we can assume that m is classical-polynomial-time-computable because we can pad w so that its length matches (an upper bound of) the running time of M.

For the sake of contradiction, let us assume that for any classical-polynomial-time-computable polynomial s, the following holds: There exist polynomials and p, and a uniform QPT algorithm 𝒜 such that

Prk{0,1}m(λ)[1𝒜(1λ,P^k,s(λ)1,,P^k,s(λ)(λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,Z^m(λ),s(λ)1,,Z^m(λ),s(λ)(λ))]1p(λ) (15)

holds for infinitely many λ, where P^k,s(λ)i𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk,s(λ)) and Z^m(λ),s(λ)i𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm(λ),s(λ)) for each i[(λ)]. Our goal is to construct a QPT algorithm that solves Π for infinitely many input lengths, thereby showing that Π𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯. To do this, it suffices to show that there exist a QPT algorithm and a polynomial r such that for infinitely many λ

Pr[M(x,w)=1:w(x)]1r(λ) (16)

is satisfied for all xΠyes{0,1}λ. Then, a QPT algorithm 𝒞 that on input x{0,1}λ, runs w(x) and outputs M(x,w) satisfies,

  • if xΠyes, Pr[1𝒞(x)]=Pr[M(x,w)=1:w(x)]1r(λ),

  • if xΠno, Pr[1𝒞(x)]=Pr[M(x,w)=1:w(x)]=0,

for infinitely many λ. The completeness-soundness gap is 1/r(λ)=1/poly(λ) and therefore Π𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯.

In the remaining part, we show the existence of a polynomial r and a QPT algorithm that satisfy Equation 16. There exists a family {Vλ[x,v]}λ of polynomial-size classical circuits such that for each λ, Vλ[x,v] is parametrized by x{0,1}λ and v{0,1}m(λ), operates on m(λ) bits, and computes the function

Vλ[x,v](z):={1if M(x,vz)=10otherwise, (17)

where the description of Vλ[x,v] is computable in classical polynomial time from (x,v). Let s(λ) be the size of Vλ[x,v]. Then, s is classical-polynomial-time-computable because there exists a Turing machine that on input 1λ, computes 1m(λ), computes the description of Vλ[1λ,1m(λ)] from (1λ,1m(λ)), and outputs s(λ)=|Vλ[1λ,1m(λ)]|. We can choose s such that s(λ)smin(m(λ)) by adding dummy gates that do not change the functionality of Vλ[x,v].

For each xΠyes and v{0,1}m(|x|), V|x|[x,v] has the same functionality with Pwv,s(|x|), where w{0,1}m(|x|) is the unique witness for x.

Then, by the security of iO, for any uniform QPT algorithm 𝒜 and for any polynomial b, there exists N such that

|Pr[1𝒜(1λ,V^x,v1,,V^x,v(λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,P^wv,s(λ)1,,P^wv,s(λ)(λ))]|1b(λ) (18)

for all v{0,1}m(λ), all xΠyes{0,1}λ and all λ such that λN, where V^x,vi𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Vλ[x,v]) and P^wv,s(λ)i𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pwv,s(λ)) for each i[(λ)]. Then, for the QPT algorithm 𝒜 that satisfies Equation 15, there exist infinitely many λ such that for all xΠyes{0,1}λ,

Prv{0,1}m(λ)[1𝒜(1λ,V^x,v1,,V^x,v(λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,Z^m(λ),s(λ)1,,Z^m(λ),s(λ)(λ))] (19)
=Prv{0,1}m(λ)[1𝒜(1λ,P^v,s(λ)1,,P^v,s(λ)(λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,Z^m(λ),s(λ)1,,Z^m(λ),s(λ)(λ))] (20)
+Prv{0,1}m(λ)[1𝒜(1λ,V^x,v1,,V^x,v(λ))]Prv{0,1}m(λ)[1𝒜(1λ,P^v,s(λ)1,,P^v,s(λ)(λ))] (21)
=Prv{0,1}m(λ)[1𝒜(1λ,P^v,s(λ)1,,P^v,s(λ)(λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,Z^m(λ),s(λ)1,,Z^m(λ),s(λ)(λ))] (22)
+Prv{0,1}m(λ)[1𝒜(1λ,V^x,v1,,V^x,v(λ))]Prv{0,1}m(λ)[1𝒜(1λ,P^wv,s(λ)1,,P^wv,s(λ)(λ))] (23)
1p(λ)12p(λ)(By Equations 15 and 18.) (24)
=12p(λ), (25)

where V^x,vi𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Vλ[x,v]), P^k,s(λ)i𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk,s(λ)), and Z^m(λ),s(λ)i𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm(λ),s(λ)) for each i[(λ)]. Let us consider the following QPT algorithm :

  1. 1.

    Take (1λ,C^1,,C^(λ),Vλ[x,v],Zm(λ),s(λ)) as input, where C^i{V^x,vi,Z^m(λ),s(λ)i} for all i[(λ)].

  2. 2.

    Run b𝒜(1λ,C^1,,C^(λ)).

  3. 3.

    Output b.

By Equation 25, there exist infinitely many λ such that for all xΠyes{0,1}λ,

𝔼v{0,1}m(λ)[Pr[1(1λ,V^x,v1,,V^x,v(λ),Vλ[x,v],Zm(λ),s(λ))] (26)
Pr[1(1λ,Z^m(λ),s(λ)1,,Z^m(λ),s(λ)(λ),Vλ[x,v],Zm(λ),s(λ))]] (27)
=Prv{0,1}m(λ)[1𝒜(1λ,V^x,v1,,V^x,v(λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,Z^m(λ),s(λ)1,,Z^m(λ),s(λ)(λ))] (28)
12p(λ). (29)

For each λ and each x{0,1}λ, define a set

𝖦𝗈𝗈𝖽λ,x:= (30)
{v{0,1}m(λ):Pr[1(1λ,V^x,v1,,V^x,v(λ),Vλ[x,v],Zm(λ),s(λ))]Pr[1(1λ,Z^m(λ),s(λ)1,,Z^m(λ),s(λ)(λ),Vλ[x,v],Zm(λ),s(λ))]14p(λ)}. (31)

By Equation 29,

12p(λ) Prv{0,1}m(λ)[v𝖦𝗈𝗈𝖽λ,x]+(1Prv{0,1}m(λ)[v𝖦𝗈𝗈𝖽λ,x])14p(λ). (32)

Thus, for infinitely many λ and for all xΠyes{0,1}λ,

Prv{0,1}m(λ)[v𝖦𝗈𝗈𝖽λ,x]14p(λ)1. (33)

By Lemma 17, (𝖮𝖻𝖿,𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅) is also a single-point diO for classical circuits. Therefore, there exist a QPT algorithm 𝖤𝗑𝗍 and a polynomial q such that the following holds: There exist infinitely many λ such that for all xΠyes{0,1}λ and all v𝖦𝗈𝗈𝖽λ,x,

Pr[Vλ[x,v](z)Zm(λ),s(λ)(z):z𝖤𝗑𝗍(1λ,Vλ[x,v],Zm(λ),s(λ))]1q(λ). (34)

By using such 𝖤𝗑𝗍, we construct a QPT algorithm as follows:

  • Take x{0,1} as input. Set λ|x|.

  • Compute m(λ). Here m(λ) is the classical-polynomial-time-computable polynomial that corresponds to the witness length for x.

  • Sample v{0,1}m(λ).

  • Compute s(λ). Here s(λ) is the classical-polynomial-time-computable polynomial that corresponds to the size of Vλ[x,v].

  • Run z𝖤𝗑𝗍(1λ,Vλ[x,v],Zm(λ),s(λ)).

  • Output zv.

Then, for infinitely many λ,

Pr[M(x,w)=1:w(x)] (35)
Pr[v𝖦𝗈𝗈𝖽λ,xVλ[x,v](z)Zm(λ),s(λ)(z):v{0,1}m(λ);z𝖤𝗑𝗍(1λ,Vλ[x,v],Zm(λ),s(λ))] (36)
1q(λ)(4p(λ)1), (37)

holds for all xΠyes{0,1}λ. We have the QPT algorithm and a polynomial r(λ):=q(λ)(4p(λ)1) that satisfy Equation 16, and therefore we complete the proof.

5 Cryptographic Implications

In this section, we use Theorem 18 to demonstrate cryptographic implications of various quantum iO variants (as defined in Definition 13), when combined with the worst-case hardness of 𝖭𝖯.

5.1 Q-Obf, Q-Eval, and Q-Encoding

Here, we study implications of (𝚀,𝚀,𝚀)-iO, where both 𝖮𝖻𝖿 and 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 are quantum algorithms and an obfuscated encoding C^ is a quantum state. We prove the following theorem:

Theorem 19.

Suppose 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 and there exists (𝚀,𝚀,𝚀)-iO for classical circuits. Then there exists an IND-CPA secure QSKE scheme.

Proof of Theorem 19.

By Theorem 18, there exist classical-polynomial-time-computable polynomials m and s such that for any polynomial , the following two distributions over quantum states are computationally indistinguishable:

  • 𝒟0(λ): Sample k{0,1}m(λ), run P^k,s(λ)i𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk,s(λ)) for i[(λ)], and output (1λ,P^k,s(λ)1,,P^k,s(λ)(λ)).

  • 𝒟1(λ): Run Z^m(λ),s(λ)i𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm(λ),s(λ)) for i[(λ)] and output (1λ,Z^m(λ),s(λ)1,, Z^m(λ),s(λ)(λ)).

Without loss of generality, it suffices to construct an IND-CPA secure QSKE scheme (𝖦𝖾𝗇,𝖤𝗇𝖼,𝖣𝖾𝖼) for single-bit message. We construct (𝖦𝖾𝗇,𝖤𝗇𝖼,𝖣𝖾𝖼) as follows:

  • 𝖦𝖾𝗇(1λ)𝗌𝗄: Take the security parameter 1λ as input, compute m(λ), and sample k{0,1}m(λ). Output 𝗌𝗄:=k.

  • 𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗌𝗄,b)𝖼𝗍: Take the secret key 𝗌𝗄 and a message b{0,1} as input. Let C0:=Zm(λ),s(λ) and C1:=P𝗌𝗄,s(λ). Sample C^b𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Cb) and output 𝖼𝗍:=C^b.

  • 𝖣𝖾𝖼(𝗌𝗄,𝖼𝗍)b: Take 𝗌𝗄 and 𝖼𝗍 as input. Run b𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(𝖼𝗍,𝗌𝗄) and output b.

The correctness of (𝖦𝖾𝗇,𝖤𝗇𝖼,𝖣𝖾𝖼) follows from the correctness of iO: For all b{0,1},

Pr[b=b:𝗌𝗄𝖦𝖾𝗇(1λ);𝖼𝗍𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗌𝗄,b);b𝖣𝖾𝖼(𝗌𝗄,𝖼𝗍)] =Pr[b=b:k{0,1}m(λ);C^b𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Cb);b𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^b,k)] (38)
=Pr[𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^b,k)=Cb(k):k{0,1}m(λ);C^b𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Cb)] (39)
1𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ). (40)

We show the IND-CPA security of (𝖦𝖾𝗇,𝖤𝗇𝖼,𝖣𝖾𝖼). In the IND-CPA security game of (𝖦𝖾𝗇,𝖤𝗇𝖼,𝖣𝖾𝖼), it suffices to consider any QPT adversary that makes polynomially many queries only on message 1 to the encryption oracle because the ciphertext for message 0 can be computed without the secret key by simply running 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm(λ),s(λ)). Thus, our goal is to show that for any polynomial t, the following two distributions are computationally indistinguishable:

  • 𝒟0(λ): Sample 𝗌𝗄𝖦𝖾𝗇(1λ), run 𝖼𝗍1i𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗌𝗄,1) for i[t(λ)] and 𝖼𝗍1𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗌𝗄,1), and output (𝖼𝗍11,,𝖼𝗍1t(λ),𝖼𝗍1).

  • 𝒟1(λ): Sample 𝗌𝗄𝖦𝖾𝗇(1λ) run 𝖼𝗍1i𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗌𝗄,1) for i[t(λ)] and 𝖼𝗍0𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗌𝗄,0), and output (𝖼𝗍11,,𝖼𝗍1t(λ),𝖼𝗍0).

When (λ)=t(λ)+1, the distribution 𝒟0(λ) is identical to the distribution 𝒟0(λ). Thus, for any polynomial t and for any QPT adversary 𝒜,

|Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝒟0(λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝒟1(λ))]| (41)
=|Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝒟0(λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝒟1(λ))]| (42)
|Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝒟0(λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝒟1(λ))]| (43)
+|Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝒟1(λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝒟1(λ))]| (44)
𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ)+|Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝒟1(λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝒟1(λ))]|.(By Theorem 18.) (45)

To show the computational indistinguishability between 𝒟0(λ) and 𝒟1(λ), it suffices to show that 𝒟1(λ) and 𝒟1(λ) are computationally indistinguishable. For the sake of contradiction, assume that there exist polynomials t and p and a QPT algorithm 𝒜 such that

1p(λ) |Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝒟1(λ))]Pr[1𝒜(1λ,𝒟1(λ))]| (46)
=|Pr[1𝒜(1λ,Z^m(λ),s(λ)1,,Z^m(λ),s(λ)t(λ),Z^m(λ),s(λ)t(λ)+1)] (47)
Prk{0,1}m(λ)[1𝒜(1λ,P^k,s(λ)1,,P^k,s(λ)t(λ),Z^m(λ),s(λ)t(λ)+1)]| (48)

for infinitely many λ, where Z^m(λ),s(λ)i𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm(λ),s(λ)) and P^k,s(λ)i𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk,s(λ)) for i[t(λ)+1]. Let us consider a QPT algorithm that on input (1λ,C^b1,,C^bt(λ)), runs Z^m(λ),s(λ)𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm(λ),s(λ)) and b𝒜(1λ,C^b1,,C^bt(λ),Z^m(λ),s(λ)), and outputs b. Then,

|Pr[1(1λ,Z^m(λ),s(λ)1,,Z^m(λ),s(λ)t(λ))]Prk{0,1}m(λ)[1(1λ,P^k,s(λ)1,,P^k,s(λ)t(λ))]| (49)
=|Pr[1𝒜(1λ,Z^m(λ),s(λ)1,,Z^m(λ),s(λ)t(λ),Z^m(λ),s(λ)t(λ)+1)] (50)
Prk{0,1}m(λ)[1𝒜(1λ,P^k,s(λ)1,,P^k,s(λ)t(λ),Z^m(λ),s(λ)t(λ)+1)]| (51)
1p(λ) (52)

for infinitely many λ. This contradicts Theorem 18 and therefore the distributions 𝒟1(λ) and 𝒟1(λ) are computationally indistinguishable. Hence we complete the proof of IND-CPA security.

Since IND-CPA secure QSKE implies OWSGs and EFI pairs [50, 37, 9], we have the following corollary.

Corollary 20.

Suppose 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 and there exists (𝚀,𝚀,𝚀)-iO for classical circuits. Then there exist OWSGs and EFI pairs.

5.2 Q-Obf, Q-Eval, and C-Encoding

Here, we study implications of (𝚀,𝚀,𝙲)-iO, where both 𝖮𝖻𝖿 and 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 are quantum algorithms, but an obfuscated encoding C^ is classical. This can be regarded as an iO in the QCCC model. We prove the following theorem:

Theorem 21.

Suppose 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 and there exists (𝚀,𝚀,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits. Then there exists an IND-CPA secure QCCC SKE scheme.

Proof of Theorem 21.

The proof of this theorem is quite similar to Theorem 19. The only difference is that the output of 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is a classical string rather than a quantum state. The proof of Theorem 19 heavily relies on Theorem 18 that is also valid for (𝚀,𝚀,𝙲)-iO. Thus, we can easily extend the proof of Theorem 19 to the (𝚀,𝚀,𝙲)-iO.

IND-CPA secure QCCC SKE implies IND-CPA secure QSKE and EV-OWPuzz. Since IND-CPA secure QSKE implies OWSGs [50] and EV-OWPuzz implies OWPuzz, QEFID pairs, and EFI pairs [37, 20], we have the following corollary.

Corollary 22.

Suppose 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 and there exists (𝚀,𝚀,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits. Then there exist EV-OWPuzz, OWPuzz, OWSGs, QEFID pairs, and EFI pairs.

5.3 Q-Obf, C-Eval, and C-Encoding

Here, we study implications of (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲)-iO, where 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is a quantum algorithm, 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 is a classical algorithm, and an obfuscated encoding C^ is classical. We prove the following theorem:

Theorem 23.

Suppose 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 and there exists (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits. Then there exists an IND-CPA secure QCCC PKE scheme.

To prove this theorem, we first show that (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲)-iO can be modified to satisfy a stronger notion of correctness that holds even for fixed randomness.

Lemma 24.

Suppose that there exists (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits. Then there exists (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits that satisfies the fixed randomness correctness, defined below:

  • Fixed randomness correctness: For any family {Cλ}λ of polynomial-size classical circuits of input length nλ,

    PrC^λ𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Cλ)rλ[x{0,1}nλ,𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^λ,x;r)=Cλ(x)]1𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ) (53)

    where λ denotes the randomness space of 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^λ,x), and 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^λ,x;r) denotes the execution with the fixed randomness r.999We assume without loss of generality that the randomness space of 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^λ,x) only depends on λ and does not depend on Cλ and x.

Proof of Lemma 24.

The correctness (as in Definition 9) implies that, for any family {Cλ}λ of polynomial-size classical circuits of input length nλ and for any x{0,1}nλ,

PrC^λ𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Cλ)rλ[𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^λ,x;r)=Cλ(x)]1𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ)2/3. (54)

Thus, if we modify 𝖮𝖻𝖿 to run M=O(λ+nλ) times to output M independently generated obfuscated encodings of Cλ, and 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 to evaluate each of the M obfuscated encodings and take the majority result, we can ensure that it satisfies101010Due to the modifications to 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅, λ is also updated accordingly; it now consists of M-tuples of the randomness used in the original 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅.

PrC^λ𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Cλ)rλ[𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^λ,x;r)=Cλ(x)]12(λ+nλ). (55)

By taking the union bound over x{0,1}nλ it implies Equation 53. Moreover, the modification of 𝖮𝖻𝖿 and 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 does not affect the security. Thus, this completes the proof of Lemma 24. Then we prove Theorem 23.

Proof of Theorem 23.

Let (𝖮𝖻𝖿,𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅) be a (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits. By Lemma 24, we can assume that it satisfies fixed randomness correctness without loss of generality. Let m and s be polynomials as in Theorem 18. Then we construct a QCCC PKE scheme (𝖦𝖾𝗇,𝖤𝗇𝖼,𝖣𝖾𝖼) as follows:

  • 𝖦𝖾𝗇(1λ): Choose k{0,1}m(λ), and compute P^k,s(λ)𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk,s(λ)), where we recall that Pk,s(λ) denotes the canonical circuit of size s(λ) for the point function with target k. Output the classical public key 𝗉𝗄(1λ,P^k,s(λ)) and the classical secret key 𝗌𝗄k.

  • 𝖤𝗇𝖼(𝗉𝗄=(1λ,P^k,s(λ)),𝗆𝗌𝗀): Choose rλ where λ is the randomness space of 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(P^k,s(λ),k) for k{0,1}m(λ). Let C[P^k,s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀,r] be a classical circuit that takes k{0,1}m(λ) as input and outputs 𝗆𝗌𝗀 if 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(P^k,s(λ),k;r)=1 and 0 otherwise. Compute C^[P^k,s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀,r]𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,C[P^k,s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀,r]). Output the ciphertext 𝖼𝗍=C^[P^k,s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀,r].

  • 𝖣𝖾𝖼(𝗌𝗄=k,𝖼𝗍=C^[P^k,s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀,r]): Compute 𝗆𝗌𝗀𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^[P^k,s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀,r],k) and output 𝗆𝗌𝗀.

By the correctness of (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲)-iO, the above scheme clearly satisfies the correctness of PKE.

Below, we prove that it satisfies the IND-CPA security. For any QPT adversary 𝒜 and b{0,1}, we consider the following hybrid experiments:

H1,b:

This is the original IND-CPA security experiment. That is, it works as follows:

  1. 1.

    The challenger generates P^k,s(λ)𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk,s(λ)) for k{0,1}m(λ), and sends 𝗉𝗄=(1λ,P^k,s(λ)) to 𝒜.

  2. 2.

    𝒜 chooses 𝗆𝗌𝗀0,𝗆𝗌𝗀1({0,1})2 of the same length and sends them to the challenger.

  3. 3.

    The challenger generates C^[P^k,s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀b,r]𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,C[P^k,s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀b,r]) for rλ, and sends 𝖼𝗍b=C^[P^k,s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀b,r] to 𝒜.

  4. 4.

    𝒜 outputs b, which is the output of the experiment.

Our goal is to prove that |Pr[H1,0=1]Pr[H1,1=1]|𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ).

H2,b:

This is identical to H1,b except that 𝗉𝗄 is set to be Z^m(λ),s(λ)𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm(λ),s(λ)), and consequently 𝖼𝗍b is set to be C^[Z^m(λ),s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀b,r]𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,C[Z^m(λ),s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀b,r]) where we recall that Zm(λ),s(λ) denotes the canonical zero-function on m(λ)-bit inputs of size s(λ). By a straightforward reduction to Theorem 18 for the case of =1, we have |Pr[H1,b=1]Pr[H2,b=1]|𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ) for b{0,1}.

H3,b:

This is identical to H2,b except that 𝖼𝗍b is set to be Z^m(λ),s(λ)𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm(λ),s(λ)), where s(λ) is the size of C[Z^m(λ),s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀b,r]. (We assume without loss of generality that the size only depends on λ by padding.) By the fixed randomness correctness of the (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲)-iO, C[Z^m(λ),s(λ),𝗆𝗌𝗀b,r] is functionally equivalent to Zm(λ),s(λ) with overwhelming probability over the choice of r. Thus, by a straightforward reduction to the security of (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲)-iO, we have |Pr[H2,b=1]Pr[H3,b=1]|𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ) for b{0,1}.

Moreover, in H3,b, no information of b is given to 𝒜, and thus Pr[H3,0=1]=Pr[H3,1=1].

Combining the above, we obtain |Pr[H1,0=1]Pr[H1,1=1]|𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ). This completes the proof of IND-CPA security. IND-CPA secure QCCC PKE implies IND-CPA secure QSKE and EV-OWPuzz. Since IND-CPA secure QSKE implies OWSGs [50] and EV-OWPuzz implies OWPuzz, QEFID pairs, and EFI pairs [37, 20], we have the following corollary.

Corollary 25.

Suppose 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 and there exists (𝚀,𝙲,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits. Then there exist EV-OWPuzz, OWPuzz, OWSGs, QEFID pairs, and EFI pairs.

5.4 C-Obf, Q-Eval, and C-Encoding

Here, we study implications of (𝙲,𝚀,𝙲)-iO, where 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is a classical algorithm, 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 is a quantum algorithms, and an obfuscated encoding C^ is classical. We prove the following theorem:

Theorem 26.

Suppose 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 and there exists (𝙲,𝚀,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits. Then there exist OWFs and an IND-CPA secure QCCC PKE scheme.

To show Theorem 26, we rely on the following lemma:

Lemma 27 ([29]).

The following two conditions are equivalent:

  • There exist OWFs.

  • There exist pairs of classical-polynomial-time-samplable distributions that are statistically far but computationally indistinguishable.

Lemma 28 ([51]).

If there exist (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits and OWFs, then there exist IND-CPA secure PKE schemes.

In the construction of [51], the encryption algorithm runs 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅. Thus, by adapting their construction to (𝙲,𝚀,𝙲)-iO in which only 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 is quantum algorithm but both of 𝖮𝖻𝖿 and the obfuscated encoding are classical, we obtain QCCC PKE scheme in which only the encryption algorithm is quantum.

Corollary 29.

If there exist (𝙲,𝚀,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits and OWFs, then there exist IND-CPA secure QCCC PKE schemes.

Now we are ready to prove Theorem 26.

Proof of Theorem 26.

By Lemmas 27 and 29, it suffices to construct a pair of classical-polynomial-time-samplable distributions that are statistically far but computationally indistinguishable. By applying Theorem 18 for =1, there exist classical-polynomial-time-computable polynomials m and s such that the following two distributions are computationally indistinguishable:

  • 𝒟0(λ): Sample k{0,1}m(λ), run P^k,s(λ)𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk,s(λ)), and output P^k,s(λ).

  • 𝒟1(λ): Run Z^m(λ),s(λ)𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm(λ),s(λ)) and output Z^m(λ),s(λ).

Moreover both of 𝒟0(λ) and 𝒟1(λ) are classical-polynomial-time-samplable because m and s are classical-polynomial-time-computable and 𝖮𝖻𝖿 is a PPT algorithm. Thus, to complete the proof, we show that 𝒟0(λ) and 𝒟1(λ) are statistically far. To show this, we construct an unbounded-time distinguisher 𝒜 that distinguishes 𝒟0(λ) and 𝒟1(λ).

𝒜(C^):

Upon receiving an obfuscated encoding C^, it computes pk:=Pr[𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅(C^,k)=1] for all k{0,1}m(λ). If there is k{0,1}m(λ) such that pk1/2, it outputs 0, otherwise it outputs 1.

If C^=P^k,s(λ)𝒟0(λ), the correctness of the iO implies that Pr[pk1𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ)]1𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ) where the probability is taken over the randomness in the sampling procedure of 𝒟0. Thus, we have Pr[𝒜(C^)=0]1𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ). On the other hand, if C^=Z^m(λ),s(λ)𝒟1(λ), the correctness of the iO implies that Pr[k{0,1}m(λ),pk𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ)]1𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ) where the probability is taken over the randomness in the sampling procedure of 𝒟1. Thus, we have Pr[𝒜(C^)=1]1𝗇𝖾𝗀𝗅(λ). Therefore, 𝒟0(λ) and 𝒟1(λ) are statistically far and we complete the proof.

 Remark 30.

One might think that Theorem 26 directly follows from an adaptation of the technique of [38] since we can derandomize 𝖮𝖻𝖿 when it is classical. In fact, this is true in the perfectly correct case. On the other hand, this does not work in the imperfect case (as in Definition 9) since their proof in the imperfect setting involves obfuscation of an obfuscated circuit, but this is not possible in our setting since 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 is a quantum algorithm and thus cannot be obfuscated by iO for classical circuits as is considered in this paper.

Note that 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 and the existence of (𝙲,𝚀,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits imply all Microcrypt primitives since they imply the existence of OWFs (and therefore PRUs [46]).

5.5 C-Obf, C-Eval, and C-Encoding

Here, we study implications of (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲)-iO, where both 𝖮𝖻𝖿 and 𝖤𝗏𝖺𝗅 are classical algorithms and an obfuscated encoding C^ is classical. This is oftend referred to as post-quantum iO. We prove the following theorem:

Theorem 31.

Suppose 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 and there exists (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits. Then there exist OWFs and an IND-CPA secure PKE scheme.

Proof of Theorem 31.

This proof is essentially same as the proof of Theorem 26. By Lemmas 27 and 28, it suffices to construct a pair of classical-polynomial-time-samplable distributions that are statistically far but computationally indistinguishable. By applying Theorem 18 for =1, there exist classical-polynomial-time-computable polynomials m and s such that the distributions over 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Pk,s(λ)) and 𝖮𝖻𝖿(1λ,Zm(λ),s(λ)) are computationally indistinguishable, where k{0,1}m(λ). We can show that they are classical-polynomial-time-samplable and statistically far by adapting the same argument used in the proof of Theorem 26.

 Remark 32.

We could also prove Theorem 31 by a straightforward adaptation of [38]. On the other hand, an advantage of our approach is that it in fact only needs iO for 3CNF formulas rather than general classical circuits. Constructing OWFs from imperfect iO for 3CNF formulas was an open problem left by [38], and our alternative proof resolves this open problem, though the open problem itself was also recently resolved (in a stronger form) in [31, 44] by completely different techniques.

Note that 𝖭𝖯𝗂.𝗈.𝖡𝖰𝖯 and the existence of (𝙲,𝙲,𝙲)-iO for classical circuits imply all Microcrypt primitives since they imply the existence of OWFs.

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