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Quantum internet could keep us safe from spying eyes
You can’t hack it (Image: Chris Stowers/Panos)
QUANTUM networks are quietly spreading across the world. With secure quantum connections linking up cities, people can communicate in the knowledge that the laws of physics will prevent eavesdropping. Eventually, there may even be a global quantum internet.
When former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden uncovered the extent of government spying, that underlined the need for more secure communications, says Don Hayford of Battelle, a research organisation in Columbus, Ohio. “Even before Snowden we decided there were things coming up in the future that meant people should start looking at something better.”
That something is called quantum key distribution (QKD). The technique transmits photons in particular quantum states to generate a secure cryptographic key, with which you can encrypt data sent over an ordinary, non-quantum connection. QKD is far more secure than standard cryptography, which relies on hard mathematical problems that can theoretically be cracked, given enough computing power. Any attempt to intercept a quantum key, however, will disturb the photon’s quantum states, alerting users not to use the key (see “Unbeatable security”).
Source: http://philosophers-stone.co.uk/wordpress/2014/09/quantum-internet-could-keep-us-safe-from-spying-eyes/
