CQSA: Byzantine-robust Clustered Quantum Secure Aggregation in Federated Learning
arXiv:2602.22269v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Federated Learning (FL) enables collaborative model training without sharing raw data. However, shared local model updates remain vulnerable to inference and poisoning attacks. Secure aggregation schemes have been proposed to mitigate these attacks. In this work, we aim to understand how these techniques are implemented in quantum-assisted FL. Quantum Secure Aggregation (QSA) has been proposed, offering information-theoretic privacy by encoding client updates into the global phase of multipartite entangled states. Existing QSA protocols, however, rely on a single global Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state shared among all participating clients. This design poses fundamental challenges: fidelity of large-scale GHZ states deteriorates rapidly with the increasing number of clients; and (ii) the global aggregation prevents the detection of Byzantine clients. We propose Clustered Quantum Secure Aggregation (CQSA), a modular aggregation fr
arXiv:2602.22269v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Federated Learning (FL) enables collaborative model training without sharing raw data. However, shared local model updates remain vulnerable to inference and poisoning attacks. Secure aggregation schemes have been proposed to mitigate these attacks. In this work, we aim to understand how these techniques are implemented in quantum-assisted FL. Quantum Secure Aggregation (QSA) has been proposed, offering information-theoretic privacy by encoding client updates into the global phase of multipartite entangled states. Existing QSA protocols, however, rely on a single global Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state shared among all participating clients. This design poses fundamental challenges: fidelity of large-scale GHZ states deteriorates rapidly with the increasing number of clients; and (ii) the global aggregation prevents the detection of Byzantine clients. We propose Clustered Quantum Secure Aggregation (CQSA), a modular aggregation framework that reconciles the physical constraints of near-term quantum hardware along with the need for Byzantine-robustness in FL. CQSA randomly partitions the clients into small clusters, each performing local quantum aggregation using high-fidelity, low-qubit GHZ states. The server analyzes statistical relationships between cluster-level aggregates employing common statistical measures such as cosine similarity and Euclidean distance to identify malicious contributions. Through theoretical analysis and simulations under depolarizing noise, we demonstrate that CQSA ensures stable model convergence, achieves superior state fidelity over global QSA.
Executive Summary
This article proposes Clustered Quantum Secure Aggregation (CQSA), a novel framework for quantum-assisted Federated Learning (FL) that addresses the limitations of existing Quantum Secure Aggregation (QSA) protocols. CQSA employs a modular aggregation approach, partitioning clients into small clusters that perform local quantum aggregation using high-fidelity, low-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states. The server analyzes statistical relationships between cluster-level aggregates to identify malicious contributions. Through theoretical analysis and simulations, the authors demonstrate that CQSA ensures stable model convergence and achieves superior state fidelity compared to global QSA. This breakthrough has significant implications for the scalability and security of FL in the near-term quantum era.
Key Points
- ▸ CQSA offers a modular aggregation framework for FL that reconciles physical constraints of near-term quantum hardware with the need for Byzantine-robustness.
- ▸ The proposed approach partitions clients into small clusters, each performing local quantum aggregation using high-fidelity, low-qubit GHZ states.
- ▸ The server analyzes statistical relationships between cluster-level aggregates to identify malicious contributions.
Merits
Strength in addressing physical constraints
CQSA's modular aggregation framework effectively addresses the physical constraints of near-term quantum hardware, enabling the scalability of FL in the near-term quantum era.
Superior state fidelity
CQSA achieves superior state fidelity compared to global QSA, ensuring stable model convergence and robust security in FL.
Demerits
Scalability limitations
CQSA's performance may be limited by the number of clusters and the statistical relationships between cluster-level aggregates, which could impact scalability in large-scale FL systems.
Dependence on statistical measures
CQSA's Byzantine-robustness relies on statistical measures such as cosine similarity and Euclidean distance, which may not be effective in all scenarios or against sophisticated attacks.
Expert Commentary
The proposed CQSA framework is a groundbreaking contribution to the field of quantum-assisted FL, addressing critical limitations in existing QSA protocols. The modular aggregation approach and use of high-fidelity, low-qubit GHZ states demonstrate a deep understanding of the physical constraints of near-term quantum hardware. While CQSA has significant merits, its scalability limitations and dependence on statistical measures are critical areas for further research and development. As FL continues to gain traction in industries and applications, CQSA offers a promising solution for ensuring the security and scalability of these systems in the near-term quantum era.
Recommendations
- ✓ Further research is needed to investigate the scalability limitations of CQSA and develop more effective statistical measures for Byzantine-robustness.
- ✓ CQSA should be integrated into existing FL systems and frameworks to evaluate its performance and effectiveness in real-world applications.