Secure Quantum Handshakes: Quantum Network Verification Via Simon's Algorithm

Abstract: Quantum networking represents the future of secure communication, enabling fundamentally new capabilities through quantum information exchange. However, these networks require secure, high-fidelity quantum communication channels, and they require every participating node to be a genuine quantum device. Currently, there is no reliable method to verify whether clients entering a quantum network truly possess quantum computational capability and are connecting over robust channels. In this work, we introduce a client-validation protocol that functions as a proof-of-quantum-capability handshake. Our protocol secures a quantum network against classical spoofers, noisy quantum computers, and genuine quantum devices connecting with the network over noisy or insecure channels. We validate the efficacy of this protocol through numerical simulations under erasure, dephasing, and depolarizing noise models.