Unveiling Hidden Vulnerabilities in Quantum Systems by Expanding Attack Vectors through Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle

Unveiling Hidden Vulnerabilities in Quantum Systems by Expanding Attack Vectors through Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Unveiling Hidden Vulnerabilities in Quantum Systems by Expanding Attack Vectors through Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle Jose Rosas Bustos, Jesse Van Griensven Thé, Roydon Frayser This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4979824/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study uncovers novel vulnerabilities within Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocols that extend beyond traditional implementation flaws, such as loopholes. These newly identified vulnerabilities arise from the complex interaction between Bell Inequalities (BIs) and Hidden Variable Theories (HVTs), further exacerbated by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle (HUP). Through a combination of theoretical analysis, simulations, and quantum experiments, we reveal critical security weaknesses that challenge the core assumptions of today's quantum cryptography. While these vulnerabilities differ from known loopholes, when considered alongside them and traditional cyberattacks, they present a significant threat to the robustness of QKD and quantum integrity systems. These results provide a new perspective to rethink current quantum security frameworks to ensure the robustness of future quantum cryptographic and quantum integrity protocols. Physical sciences/Physics/Quantum physics/Quantum information Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing/Information technology Quantum Key Distribution Bell Inequalities Hidden Variable Theories Quantum Cryptography Heisenberg Uncertainty Quantum Security Attack Strategies Quantum System Weaknesses Quantum Integrity Full Text Additional Declarations (Not answered) Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4979824","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":355614292,"identity":"415d4fea-b446-4cbc-960c-9e8142667753","order_by":0,"name":"Jose Rosas Bustos","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYwdYCBHyogQ7wWyQYwxcBDrGUHGAwOEKuFefbhwx9+/LmTuPlGjuHnDxX3ePjZGxg//MDnsL60NMnetmeJ227kGEscOFPMI9lzgFmyB5+WHh4zBt6Gw0AtuRskDrYl8BjcSGDD6zygFuOPf/4cTtw8I3fzj4P/IFoY/+DXYiDNw3Y4cYNE7jaJgw0QLcz4bWFLk5Zte2Y848z7bxZnjiUA/XKwWRpf7Bj2MB/++ObPHdn+9rTkGxU1CXL87M0HP77Bp6UBi81YxJCAPF7ZUTAKRsEoGAUgAABRuFPplvPFtAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1902-1293","institution":"University of Waterloo","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jose","middleName":"Rosas","lastName":"Bustos","suffix":""},{"id":355614293,"identity":"85700fa1-2096-4d1a-b553-18f5547efbcd","order_by":1,"name":"Jesse Van Griensven Thé","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Waterloo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jesse","middleName":"Van Griensven","lastName":"Thé","suffix":""},{"id":355614294,"identity":"8b1d38b9-b00e-49f1-85da-67c0bd875dd4","order_by":2,"name":"Roydon Frayser","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Waterloo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Roydon","middleName":"","lastName":"Frayser","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-08-26 18:45:06","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4979824/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4979824/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":65270897,"identity":"d123f96c-4337-40da-8c89-01c401fcf5bb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-25 12:54:56","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":850413,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"HiddenVulnerabilitiesinQuantumSystemsAttackVectorsinBellInequalityBasedSystemsv1.1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4979824/v1_covered_a21e9083-7326-4bfe-8684-664f46c388c2.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"(Not answered)","formattedTitle":"Unveiling Hidden Vulnerabilities in Quantum Systems by Expanding Attack Vectors through Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Quantum Key Distribution, Bell Inequalities, Hidden Variable Theories, Quantum Cryptography, Heisenberg Uncertainty, Quantum Security, Attack Strategies, Quantum System Weaknesses, Quantum Integrity","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4979824/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4979824/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This study uncovers novel vulnerabilities within Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocols that extend beyond traditional implementation flaws, such as loopholes. 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