A method, system, electronic device, and computer-readable storage medium for secure data traceability in a quantum-enhanced semantic communication network throughout its entire lifecycle.

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of network data security technology, specifically a method and system for secure traceability of semantic communication network data throughout the entire lifecycle of quantum-enhanced tags. The advantages of this invention are: utilizing the physical non-cloning and true randomness of quantum entropy sources, it generates unique identifiers for devices and data that cannot be simulated by software or physically copied, fundamentally eliminating identity deception and pseudo-random number attacks; by strongly binding quantum semantic tags to data and designing a complete set of protocols covering generation, transmission, verification, separation, and tracking, it achieves end-to-end trusted and controllable data from "birth" to "destruction"; the security mechanism directly acts at the semantic unit level, supporting fine-grained access control, integrity protection, and traceability auditing of the semantic content itself and its context; the verification process primarily relies on efficient cryptographic operations and trusted queries, eliminating the need for encryption and decryption of all data content, resulting in low communication and computational overhead.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of network data security technology, and in particular to a method, system, electronic device, and computer-readable storage medium for full lifecycle semantic communication network data security tracing using quantum-enhanced tags. Background Technology

[0002] Semantic communication, as a core enabling technology for 6G and future intelligent networks, shifts its focus from transmitting raw bit streams to conveying the meaning of information. This paradigm shift breaks down the traditional data packet-centric security boundaries, exposing semantic content, data sources, and flow paths to unprecedented risks of forgery, tampering, and privacy breaches. Current semantic communication systems lack a lightweight security mechanism that can strongly bind data to its source and maintain this binding relationship verifiable and controllable throughout its entire lifecycle.

[0003] In existing technologies, data tagging technology can be used to improve data discoverability and management efficiency, while quantum random numbers can provide true randomness and unpredictability based on physical laws. However, using these technologies alone is insufficient to address the new security challenges in semantic communication scenarios: 1) Source credibility: How to reliably attribute semantic messages (such as "road open") to their real, unforgeable physical data sources; 2) Lifecycle controllability: How to ensure fine-grained security and compliance control throughout the entire lifecycle of data, from semantic generation and propagation to verification and destruction; 3) Scalable verification: How to achieve low-overhead, automated verification and auditing of massive, heterogeneous edge data streams.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a new security architecture that can deeply integrate the security foundation of the quantum physics layer with the security requirements of the semantic application layer, so as to build a reliable, traceable and efficient security foundation for semantic communication. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a method and system for secure traceability of semantic communication network data throughout the entire lifecycle of quantum-enhanced tags, effectively solving the deficiencies of the prior art.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this invention provides a method for secure tracing of semantic communication network data throughout its entire lifecycle using quantum-enhanced tags, comprising the following steps: S1. Device Registration and Quantum Entropy Source Binding: When a device first connects to the network, its physical fingerprint of quantum entropy source is extracted and registered and bound in the Quantum Trust Center to establish the association between the device's logical identity and physical fingerprint. S2. Quantum Semantic Tag Generation: When data is generated at the semantic application layer, the tag generation process is triggered. A true random number from the quantum perturbation layer is obtained as the entropy seed, and the hash value of the data payload is calculated as the data fingerprint. Combined with the generation device identifier, timestamp, and data type metadata, the above elements are fused using cryptographic methods to generate a unique quantum semantic tag, which is then attached to the data object. S3, Tag-Aware Secure Semantic Transmission: During the data transmission phase, the sender sends out semantic data with quantum semantic tags. The transmission mechanism ensures the synchronous delivery and consistency of tags and data. The receiver or network intermediate node performs traffic identification and preliminary filtering based on the tags. S4. Tag Verification and Data Usage: After receiving tagged data, the data consumer executes a verification process, including parsing the tag to check access authorization, recalculating the hash value of the received data for integrity verification, and querying the validity of the device identifier in the tag to the quantum trust center to verify the authenticity and freshness of the source. S5. Tag Lifecycle Management: During the data governance phase, secure separation or traceability of tags is performed based on predefined policies, data owner requests, or regulatory requirements.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also provides a quantum-enhanced tag-based full-lifecycle semantic communication network data security traceability system for implementing the above method, characterized in that it includes a semantic application layer, a tag and identification layer, and a quantum perturbation layer; The quantum perturbation layer includes a quantum random number management unit, a quantum trust center, a quantum key distribution device, and a quantum secure transmission gateway. It is used to generate unclonable physical fingerprints for devices based on quantum entropy sources and register and bind them, provide high-entropy true random number sources for the upper layer, and perform device access authentication based on physical fingerprints. The tag and identifier layer is connected to the quantum perturbation layer and the semantic application layer. The tag and identifier layer is used to receive true random numbers and device physical fingerprints from the quantum perturbation layer, as well as business semantic information from the semantic application layer, and to generate, verify, manage and track quantum semantic tags. The semantic application layer is used to perform deep semantic parsing, cross-modal concept alignment and contextual reconstruction on multimodal raw data, generate structured semantic units, and request the corresponding quantum semantic tag from the tag and identifier layer when generating or processing any semantic unit, and bind the tag to the semantic unit.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also provides an electronic device, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that the processor performs the above-described method.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, characterized in that the computer program implements the above method when executed by a processor.

[0010] The present invention has the following advantages: 1. The quantum-enhanced tag's full lifecycle semantic communication network data security traceability method and system is fundamentally reliable. It utilizes the physical non-cloning and true randomness of quantum entropy sources to generate unique identifiers for devices and data that cannot be simulated by software or physically copied, thus eliminating identity deception and pseudo-random number attacks at the source.

[0011] 2. The quantum-enhanced tag's full lifecycle semantic communication network data security traceability method and system is secure throughout the entire lifecycle. By strongly binding quantum semantic tags to data and designing a complete set of protocols covering generation, transmission, verification, separation, and tracking, it achieves end-to-end trust and controllability of data from "birth" to "destruction".

[0012] 3. The quantum-enhanced tag's full lifecycle semantic communication network data security traceability method and system features semantic-level fine-grained control, with security mechanisms directly applied at the semantic unit level. It supports fine-grained access control, integrity protection, and traceability auditing of the semantic content itself and its context, better meeting the security requirements of semantic communication.

[0013] 4. The quantum-enhanced tag's full lifecycle semantic communication network data security traceability method and system is lightweight and efficient. The tag itself is small in size, and the verification process mainly relies on efficient cryptographic operations and trusted queries. It does not require encryption and decryption of all data content, and has low communication and computing overhead. It is suitable for large-scale, low-latency edge intelligence scenarios such as the Internet of Things and the Internet of Vehicles. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the system structure of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0015] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art should understand that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the invention.

[0016] The quantum-enhanced tag-based full-lifecycle semantic communication network data security traceability system provided by this invention has the following core architecture: Figure 1 As shown, it mainly consists of a semantic application layer, a tagging and identification layer, and a quantum perturbation layer, connected sequentially from top to bottom. The layers communicate and exchange data through clearly defined interfaces.

[0017] The quantum perturbation layer, serving as the physical security foundation of the entire system, is responsible for providing a source of trust based on quantum physics principles. In practical implementation, this layer should deploy the following key components: Quantum Random Number Management Unit (QRNMS): Employs a true random number generator based on quantum entropy sources, such as quantum vacuum fluctuations and single-photon detection, to generate high-entropy, unpredictable random number sequences, providing entropy seeds for upper-level tag generation.

[0018] The Quantum Trusted Center (QTC) acts as a trusted third-party organization or distributed node cluster, responsible for managing and maintaining the physical fingerprint information of all connected devices. When a device connects for the first time, the Quantum Trusted Center extracts and registers its quantum entropy source, such as the unique physical fingerprint generated by the unique physical characteristics of the device's built-in quantum random number generator, and strongly binds this fingerprint to the device's logical identity.

[0019] Quantum key distribution (QKD) devices are used to securely distribute keys based on the principles of quantum mechanics in communication processes that require encryption, ensuring unconditional security during key transmission.

[0020] Quantum-secure transmission gateway: Responsible for performing access authentication based on device physical fingerprints at the network boundary, ensuring that only legally registered devices can access the network and participate in the data generation and tag attachment process.

[0021] The tagging and identification layer is the core management layer of the system, acting as a bridge between the upper and lower layers. In practice, this layer is typically deployed on devices or network nodes in the form of software middleware or dedicated security chips. Its main functions include: Tag generation: The system receives a true random number seed from the quantum perturbation layer, a device physical fingerprint or its derived device identifier, and the hash value (H(Data)) of the data to be processed from the semantic application layer, along with related semantic metadata (such as generation timestamp, data type, semantic context information, etc.). These elements are then fused and calculated using a secure tag generation function F(·). This function F(·) can be implemented as a keyed hash function such as HMAC-SHA256 or a lightweight symmetric encryption algorithm such as AES-GCM to generate authentication tags, ensuring that the output quantum semantic tags are unique, unforgeable, and unpredictable.

[0022] Tag Verification: When data with quantum semantic tags is received, this layer is responsible for executing the verification logic. As shown in Figure 3, the verification process includes: parsing the tag content to obtain metadata and making access control decisions; recalculating the hash value of the received data and comparing it with the "data fingerprint" embedded in the tag to verify data integrity; querying the quantum trust center to check the status of the device identifier within the tag, such as whether it is valid or has been deregistered, to verify the authenticity and freshness of the data source and prevent replay attacks.

[0023] Tag Management and Tracking: Maintains tag status information, supports secure tag separation operations based on policies, i.e., deregisters tags in the Quantum Trust Center, causing subsequent data verification to fail, and performs full lifecycle tracing based on tag embedded information and associated event logs.

[0024] The semantic application layer is geared towards specific semantic communication business applications, such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) collaborative sensing and industrial IoT intelligent diagnostics. During implementation: This layer integrates a semantic parsing engine, which can perform deep semantic analysis, cross-modal information alignment, and contextual understanding on multimodal raw data (such as images, text, audio, point clouds, etc.) from sensors or other sources, generating structured semantic units. For example, it can parse a camera image into the semantic information "there is a pedestrian 100 meters ahead".

[0025] When generating or processing any semantic unit, this layer actively calls the application programming interface (API) provided by the tag and identifier layer to request the generation or verification of the corresponding quantum semantic tag, and then tightly binds the finally generated tag to the semantic unit. During data transmission, it ensures that the tag and semantic data are transmitted collaboratively.

[0026] Based on the above system architecture, the implementation steps of the data security traceability method of the present invention throughout its entire lifecycle are as follows: S1. Device registration and binding with quantum entropy source: When a new terminal device, such as a Roadside Unit (RSU) or Onboard Unit (OBU) in a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) network, attempts to connect to the network for the first time, the system initiates a registration process. The Quantum Trust Center in the quantum perturbation layer activates the device's built-in quantum entropy source, extracting its unique physical fingerprint—for example, a feature value obtained from analyzing the output characteristics of a quantum random number generator. Subsequently, the Quantum Trust Center binds this physical fingerprint to the logical identity information submitted by the device, such as its MAC address and serial number, and records it in a secure registration database. Only after registration is complete is the device authorized to participate in subsequent data generation and tag attachment processes.

[0027] S2, Quantum Semantic Tag Generation: Let's take a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) scenario as an example. When the sensors of a Roadside Unit (RSU) capture traffic data, such as detecting obstacles through cameras and LiDAR, the semantic application layer first processes the raw data to generate semantic units, such as "a stationary vehicle detected at coordinates (X,Y)". Then, the tag generation process is triggered: The label and identifier layer requests a true random number as an entropy seed from the quantum random number management unit of the quantum perturbation layer.

[0028] Simultaneously, the hash value of the semantic unit's content is calculated, such as using the SHA-256 algorithm, to obtain the data fingerprint.

[0029] Obtain the device identifier of the RSU, which has been registered and bound in S1.

[0030] Collect relevant metadata, such as the timestamp of data generation, data type (traffic event), semantic importance level, etc.

[0031] The tag and identifier layer calls a predefined tag generation function F(·), such as HMAC, whose key is securely distributed and managed by the system. It performs a mixed calculation on all the above input elements to generate a fixed-length, unique, and cryptographically secure quantum semantic tag.

[0032] Finally, this label is bound to the semantic unit "a stationary vehicle was detected at coordinates (X,Y)" to form a tagged semantic data packet.

[0033] S3, Tag-Aware Secure Semantic Transmission: The RSU broadcasts the semantic data packets bound to the tags. The network transmission protocol needs to ensure the synchronization and consistency of the tags and semantic data during transmission, preventing tags from becoming separated from the data or being tampered with. Receiving nodes, such as nearby vehicles or intermediate nodes in the network, such as edge servers, can perform rapid identification and traffic filtering based on the tags; for example, only receiving data verified by trusted RSU tags.

[0034] S4. Label Verification and Data Usage: After receiving labeled semantic data from the RSU, the vehicle does not use it immediately. Instead, the tag and identification layer on the vehicle first performs a verification process. a) Parsing and Authorization Check: Parse the quantum semantic tags to obtain metadata such as device ID and data type, and determine whether the vehicle has permission to use this type of data.

[0035] b) Integrity verification: The vehicle recalculates the hash value of the received semantic data ("A stationary vehicle was detected at coordinates (X,Y)") and compares it with the data fingerprint parsed from the tag. If they do not match, it indicates that the data has been tampered with during transmission, and the data is discarded.

[0036] c) Source and freshness verification: The verification module on the vehicle sends a query request to the quantum trust center to verify whether the device ID in the tag is valid and whether the registration status is normal, and may combine information such as timestamps to determine the freshness of the data.

[0037] Only if all the above verification steps pass will the vehicle trust the semantic information and use it for subsequent applications such as route planning or driving decisions. If any verification fails, the data will be discarded or marked as untrusted.

[0038] S5. Tag Lifecycle Management: Throughout the entire data lifecycle, the system supports fine-grained management of tags: Secure Separation: If semantic data, such as vehicle trajectories involving personal privacy, needs to be "forgotten" or anonymized due to compliance requirements, the data owner or administrator can initiate a request. The system does not directly delete the original data, which may still be needed for anonymized statistical analysis. Instead, the quantum semantic tag corresponding to the data is marked as "cancelled" or "invalid" at the Quantum Trust Center. Subsequently, any node attempting to verify the data's tag will be rejected due to source verification failure, thus achieving the logical "destruction" of the data or revocation of access permissions, satisfying data compliance requirements such as the GDPR's right to be forgotten.

[0039] Source tracing: In the event of a security incident, such as receiving false traffic information, auditors can extract the quantum semantic tags of the data involved. By parsing the metadata embedded in the tags, such as device identifiers and timestamps, and querying the distributed ledger maintained by the Quantum Trust Center to record the event hash chain of key events such as tag generation, verification, and cancellation, the complete flow path of the data can be accurately reconstructed, including which RSU generated the data, when it was generated, which nodes it passed through, and which vehicles received it. This enables rapid and accurate determination of responsibility and evidence collection for security incidents.

[0040] The above describes the implementation of this invention in detail, using the vehicle-to-everything (V2X) collaborative perception scenario. It is understood that this invention is also applicable to other intelligent network scenarios, such as immersive communication in 6G networks, control command security in the Industrial Internet, and multi-source data fusion in smart cities. Its core lies in establishing a consistently trusted digital identity for semantic data through quantum-enhanced tags, achieving the security goals of root-source trustworthiness, full traceability, and fine-grained controllability.

[0041] In summary, this invention utilizes the physical non-cloning and true randomness of quantum entropy sources to generate unique identifiers for devices and data that cannot be simulated by software or physically copied, thus eliminating identity deception and pseudo-random number attacks at the source. By strongly binding quantum semantic tags to data and designing a complete set of protocols covering generation, transmission, verification, separation, and tracking, it achieves end-to-end trusted and controllable data from "birth" to "destruction." The security mechanism directly operates at the semantic unit level, supporting fine-grained access control, integrity protection, and traceability auditing of the semantic content itself and its context. This better meets the security requirements of semantic communication. The tags themselves are small in size, and the verification process mainly relies on efficient cryptographic operations and trusted queries, eliminating the need for encryption and decryption of all data content. This results in low communication and computational overhead, making it suitable for large-scale, low-latency edge intelligence scenarios such as the Internet of Things and the Internet of Vehicles.

[0042] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for secure traceability of semantic communication network data throughout its entire lifecycle using quantum-enhanced tags, characterized in that: Includes the following steps: S1. Device registration and quantum entropy source binding: When a device first accesses the network, its physical fingerprint of quantum entropy source is extracted and registered and bound in the quantum trust center to establish the association between the device's logical identity and physical fingerprint, and the device number registered by the device is defined as the device identifier. S2. Quantum Semantic Tag Generation: When data is generated at the semantic application layer, the tag generation process is triggered. A true random number from the quantum perturbation layer is obtained as the entropy seed, and the hash value of the data load is calculated as the data fingerprint. The three elements of generating device identifier, timestamp, and data type metadata are combined and cryptographic methods are used to fuse the three elements to generate a unique quantum semantic tag, which is then attached to the data object. S3, Tag-Aware Secure Semantic Transmission: During the data transmission phase, the sender sends out semantic data with quantum semantic tags. The transmission mechanism ensures the synchronous delivery and consistency of tags and data. The receiver or network intermediate node performs traffic identification and preliminary filtering based on the tags. S4. Tag Verification and Data Usage: After receiving tagged data, the data consumer executes a verification process, including parsing the tag to check access authorization, recalculating the hash value of the received data for integrity verification, and querying the validity of the device identifier in the tag to the quantum trust center to verify the authenticity and freshness of the source. S5. Tag Lifecycle Management: During the data governance phase, secure separation or traceability of tags is performed based on predefined policies, data owner requests, or regulatory requirements.

2. The method for secure traceability of semantic communication network data throughout the entire lifecycle of quantum-enhanced tags according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S2, the quantum semantic tag generation function adopts a keyed hash function or a lightweight symmetric encryption algorithm.

3. The method for secure traceability of semantic communication network data throughout the entire lifecycle of quantum-enhanced tags according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S4, the data is only used for subsequent semantic processing or decision-making after all verifications have passed.

4. The method for secure traceability of semantic communication network data throughout the entire lifecycle of quantum-enhanced tags according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S5, the secure separation involves deregistering the corresponding tag at the quantum trust center without deleting the original data, causing subsequent verification to fail and achieving compliant data exit.

5. The method for secure traceability of semantic communication network data throughout the entire lifecycle of quantum-enhanced tags according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S5, the source tracing involves parsing the metadata and event hash chain embedded in the tag, querying the distributed ledger in the trusted center, and reconstructing the entire lifecycle flow path of the data from its generation to its current state.

6. A quantum-enhanced tag-based full-lifecycle semantic communication network data security traceability system, used to implement the method described in any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that: It includes a semantic application layer, a tagging and identification layer, and a quantum perturbation layer; The quantum perturbation layer includes a quantum random number management unit, a quantum trust center, a quantum key distribution device, and a quantum secure transmission gateway. It is used to generate unclonable physical fingerprints for devices based on quantum entropy sources and register and bind them, provide high-entropy true random number sources for the upper layer, and perform device access authentication based on physical fingerprints. The tag and identifier layer is connected to the quantum perturbation layer and the semantic application layer. The tag and identifier layer is used to receive true random numbers and device physical fingerprints from the quantum perturbation layer, as well as business semantic information from the semantic application layer, and to generate, verify, manage and track quantum semantic tags. The semantic application layer is used to perform deep semantic parsing, cross-modal concept alignment and contextual reconstruction on multimodal raw data, generate structured semantic units, and request the corresponding quantum semantic tag from the tag and identifier layer when generating or processing any semantic unit, and bind the tag to the semantic unit.

7. The quantum-enhanced tag-based full-lifecycle semantic communication network data security traceability system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The quantum random number management unit in the quantum perturbation layer provides true random numbers based on the quantum entropy source, and the multimodal raw data processed by the semantic application layer includes at least one of images, text, and audio.

8. The quantum-enhanced tag-based full-lifecycle semantic communication network data security traceability system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The quantum semantic tag generated by the tag and identifier layer is a unique and unpredictable identifier that is generated by fusing quantum random numbers, data content hash values, device identifiers, and semantic metadata.

9. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that, When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

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