QuantumCryptography
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Google tinkers with Chrome cryptosecurity to fight quantum hacks
Today's encryption is an arms race as digital security experts try to hold off hackers' attempts to break open user data. But there's a new tech on the horizon that even the NSA recognizes as crucial to protect against: quantum computing, which is expected to dramatically speed up attempts to crack some commonly-used cryptographic schemes. To get ahead of the game, Google is testing new digital security setups on single-digit populations of Chrome users.
Scientists create quantum entanglement at room temperature
Quantum entanglement, where two particles are inextricably linked, is a real thing. However, creating that odd behavior has been extremely difficult so far -- you have to cool things down to near absolute zero to pull it off on a significant scale. Or rather, you did. Researchers have successfully produced macro-scale quantum entanglement at room temperature through the one-two combo of an infrared laser (which aligned magnetic states) and electromagnetic pulses (for the actual entanglement). The experiment only included enough electrons and nuclei to fill the space of a blood cell, but that still amounts to linking "thousands" of particles.
Scientists confirm a cornerstone of quantum computing
Quantum physics theory has an odd but fundamental quirk: atoms in a quantum state aren't supposed to move as long as you're measuring them. It sounds preposterous, but Cornell University researchers have just demonstrated that it's real. The team noticed that the atoms in an extremely cold cloud of Rubidium gas wouldn't move around as long as they were under observation. The more often scientists used a laser to measure the behavior, the less movement they saw. They had to either tone the laser down or turn it off entirely for the atoms to shuffle around freely.
Scientists eye secure communications by slowing down light
We've already seen what fiber optics can do for internet speeds, and it looks like the medium could be used for quantum communications too. See, as EurekAlert tells it, scientists from the Vienna University of Technology have figured out a way to modify the material so it can be used to control the speed of light. The researchers successfully grafted cesium atoms to the fibers, allowing them to slow light down from its typical 671 million MPH pace to around 112 MPH (180 KPH). The researchers were able to bring the light to a complete stop and then restart it later, too -- something EurekAlert says in a pretty major step toward quantum internet. It'd be much more secure than what we have currently as well, given that professor Arno Rauschenbeutel says that quantum physics at its very core allows for a connection between sender and receiver and anyone tapping in won't go unnoticed. [Image credit: Shutterstock]
Entangled photons on a chip could lead to super-fast computers
Photon entanglement is one of the odder properties of quantum physics, but it promises a lot for computing -- if one photon can instantly affect another no matter how far away it is, you could make super-speedy computers and communications that aren't easily limited by physical distances. It hasn't been easy to get entanglement tech down to a manageable size, however, and that's where Italy's Università degli Studi di Pavia might just come to the rescue. Its researchers have developed a tiny emitter that could pump out entangled photons as part of an otherwise ordinary silicon chip. The device, which uses a ring shape to both rope in and emit light, measures just 20 microns across. That's hundreds of times smaller than existing devices, which are comparatively gigantic at a few millimeters wide.
Quantum data lock promises leak-proof security
Quantum cryptography is secure against intruders, since you can't intercept data in mid-flight without ruining it. The technology won't always stop leaks, however, which is why the University of Cambridge has developed a new protocol that keeps participants honest. The method combines the theories of both quantum physics and special relativity to preserve data in a locked state that isn't readable unless the sender provides a key; the laws of physics prevent anyone from decrypting the info beforehand. While we won't see any practical application of this quantum lock for a while, it could prove vital to financial traders and others who can't always trust their contacts.
Toshiba's quantum access networking promises spy-proof encryption for groups
Quantum cryptography is crack-proof by its nature -- you can't inspect data without changing it -- but the available technology is currently limited to one-on-one connections. Toshiba has developed a quantum access networking system that could bring this airtight security to groups as large as 64 people. The approach gives each client a (relatively) basic quantum transmitter, and routes encrypted data through a central, high-speed photon detector that returns decryption keys. Such a network would not only secure entire workgroups, but lower the cost of encrypting each user. Quantum access networks won't be useful across internet-scale distances until researchers improve the signal integrity, but there may be a time when surveillance agencies will run out of potential targets.
Quantum cryptography keys ride the lightning on existing fiber lines
Quantum computing has teased us with its potential for some time, but we won't be seeing qubits in our laptops anytime soon. However, science has also sought to leverage quantum physics in cryptography, and a recent breakthrough will allow for quantum encryption over fiber optic cables already in use. Researchers from Toshiba and Cambridge University discovered that they could transmit and receive encryption keys using pulses of quantum light and a specialized photodetector. The trick was to build a detector with a gate capable of both sensing a single photon and opening for just one tenth of one billionth of a second at the precise time that the photon arrives. Knowing the timing of the photon's arrival with such precision allows the quantum light to be captured and filtered out from other light pulses carrying regular data in the cable. Why all the effort to use quantum light? Well, if any quantum photon carrying an encryption key is intercepted during transmission, it's permanently changed. This, in turn, alerts those intended to receive the info that the encryption key may have been compromised. Previously, quantum encryption keys could be exchanged, but only if sent using a dedicated fiber line, which isn't a cost-effective solution. This new method allows keys to be sent via existing lines already in operation transmitting data, so no dedicated fiber need be installed. In testing, simultaneous 1 Mbps quantum key data rates and 1 Gbps regular data rates were achieved, and one researcher told BBC News that the technology is "not too far away" from being used to secure financial networks. For now, the new quantum key distribution method remains in the lab, but you can read all about it at the source below.
Quantum cryptography: now ready for space travel
It's been awhile since we've heard of any major advancements in the world of quantum cryptography, but at long last the silence is being broken by a squad of jubilant Austrian physicists. As the story goes, a team from Austria's Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) managed to send "entangled photons" 90 miles between the Spanish islands of Las Palmas and the Balearics. Calling the ephemeral test successful, the crew has boldly asserted that it's now feasible to send "this kind of unbreakable encrypted communication through space using satellites." Funny -- last we remember, quantum cryptography still had a few kinks to work through here beneath the stratosphere.
Researchers demo "unbreakable encryption" based on quantum cryptography
Call us devilish, but we just can't help but love these types of stories. Here we have yet another overly confident group of researchers grossly underestimating the collective power of the hacking underground, as gurus from all across Europe have joined together to announce "the first commercial communication network using unbreakable encryption based on quantum cryptography." Interestingly enough, quantum cryptography has already been cracked in a kinda-sorta way, but that's not stopping these folks from pushing this claim hard to government agencies, financial institutions and companies with distributed subsidiaries. We've no doubt this stuff is pretty secure, but the last time we heard someone utter a claim similar to this, we saw him uncomfortably chowing down on those very words merely months later.[Via Physorg]
Quantum cryptography to keep Swiss votes private
In what's being hailed as "one of the first public uses of quantum cryptography," Genevian voters who take part in the upcoming national elections can rest assured that their votes will remain a secret. Reportedly, the "city-state will use quantum technology to encrypt election results as they are sent to the capital on October 21st." A computer, provided by id Quantique, will be set up in Geneva to "fire photons down a fiber-optic link to a receiver 62-miles away," which should be sufficient to keep any potential eavesdroppers at bay. 'Course, where there's a will, there's typically a way.
Quantum cryptography kinda sorta hacked
It's always only a matter of time. A little less than a year after the first quantum cryptographic network was demoed, a group of researchers at MIT have announced a working implementation of a hack that's been around in theory since 1998 but never implemented. Skirting around ol' Wernie Heisenberg and that Principle of his, the team exploited quantum entanglement to read the encryption keys encoded in photon polarizations from their momentums, avoiding detection by either end -- in other words, doing what was once thought impossible by cryptographers. The system isn't perfect, however -- in this early incarnation it can only nab 40% of transmitted data before giving itself away, and more importantly, it requires the invention of a "quantum non-demolition box" before the attacker can be anywhere but the same room as the receiver, since right now both attacker and receiver need to be using the same photon detector. Sounds like that might put a damper on that whole "undetectable" thing. Still, the researchers sound upbeat -- they're saying the work proves that no secret is truly safe. We're just wondering if they're pushing MIT to rename their department SETEC ASTRONOMY.
First quantum cryptographic data network demoed
With so much sensitive data traveling among governmental agencies, financial institutions, and organized crime rackets, the need for ultra-secure communication has never been higher, and now it seems like the holy grail of unbreakable encryption is almost upon us. Researchers from Northwestern University and Massachusetts-based BBN Technologies recently joined forces to demonstrate what's being hailed as the world's first fully-functional quantum cryptographic data network, as the system leverages the quantum entanglement properties of photons for both data transfer as well as key distribution. The magic of quantum cryptography lies in the fact that not only can two parties exchange the so-called keys without the risk of an eavesdropper ever being able to fully ascertain their values, but the simple act of eavesdropping on an encrypted data transfer can easily be detected on both ends of the line. This current breakthrough combined Northwestern's data encryption method (known as AlphaEta) with BBN's key encryption scheme to enable a completely secure fiber optic link between BBN's headquarters and Harvard University, a distance of nine kilometers. As you might imagine, the entire project was funded by a $5.4 million grant from DARPA, an agency which has a vested interest in transmitting data that not even a theoretical quantum computer could crack. It will be a while before this technology filters down to the consumer, but when it does, you can bet that BitTorrenting pirates will be beside themselves with joy.[Via Slashdot]
