Paper 2026/697 Original: eprint.iacr.org/2026/697 ↗

Post-Quantum Secure k-Times Traceable Ring Signature

Abstract

Ring signatures are cryptographic primitives that enable a user to sign a message on behalf of a group of users in an anonymous manner. The anonymity of the signer is the fundamental security property of ring signatures. However, unrestricted anonymity can be misused, as a malicious signer could use it to send spam or excessive messages. To address this issue, a controlled restriction on signer anonymity is required, which makes such schemes more practical. In this paper, we propose a k-times traceable ring signature scheme that allows the public key of the signer to be traced publicly if the signer exceeds a predetermined signing limit k. The novelty of our construction lies in its reliance on lattice-based assumptions, which ensure post-quantum security. Consequently, the proposed scheme is well-suited for practical deployment in the presence of emerging quantum threats. Our approach achieves competitive performance while providing stronger security guarantees, making it an appropriate candidate for modern cryptographic applications. We also present efficiency analysis and compare our scheme with existing constructions.