October 09, 2008
'Unbreakable' encryption unveiled
Roland Pease at BBC News:
Perfect secrecy has come a step closer with the launch of the world's first computer network protected by unbreakable quantum encryption at a scientific conference in Vienna.
The network connects six locations across Vienna and in the nearby town of St Poelten, using 200 km of standard commercial fibre optic cables.
Quantum cryptography is completely different from the kinds of security schemes used on computer networks today.
These are typically based on complex mathematical procedures which are extremely hard for outsiders to crack but not impossible given sufficient computing resources or time.
But quantum systems use the laws of quantum theory, which have been shown to be inherently unbreakable.
The basic idea of quantum cryptography was worked out 25 years ago by Charles Bennett of IBM and Gilles Brassard of Montreal University, who was in Vienna to see the network in action.
More here.
Posted by Abbas Raza at 11:01 PM | Permalink
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