New Defense Weapon No Fear of Hackers with Quantum Computers

Related Vendors

KIT Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

When the quantum computer arrives, the fear of data theft increases. Because quantum computers can virtually crack anything conventional. However, now a defense strategy is coming from KIT.

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed a method with partners that can reliably protect internet connections today against the quantum technology of tomorrow, as they say. Why have they given it thought? Well, the problem is that the rapid advancements in the development of quantum computers pose a far greater threat to data security and encrypted communication than conventional systems. This is because the common encryption methods are based on the difficulty of decomposing large numbers into their prime factors—that is, numbers that are only divisible by one and themselves, as the KIT researchers further explain. This process is extremely cumbersome for conventional computers and therefore time-consuming. However, a quantum computer is hardly bothered by this. And anyone who knows the prime factors of a large number can break the encryption. To prevent this, the scientists resort to cryptography ...

Fiber Optic Know-How Instead of Specialized Equipment

Quantum attacks, as the experts note, can indeed be countered with classical cryptography methods. The magic words are symmetric encryption. For this to work, both parties must exchange a virtual key before establishing the encrypted connection, in order to be able to decode the transmitted data later. Although this is secure against eavesdropping, it has so far only been feasible with complicated and expensive equipment, as noted. Now it works with conventional hardware! At KIT, it has been possible to perform quantum key exchange using standard hardware from fiber optic communication. This means a nationwide deployment is possible within five years. Thus, the global telecommunications network could become secure against eavesdropping.

New Algorithms Prevent Data Theft

Recently, the experts were also able to successfully demonstrate the system. This was done as part of a real-time experiment at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (TUM), Germany. A video was transmitted over a fiber optic cable on the campus, which was protected by quantum key exchange. Researchers at KIT developed novel algorithms for key reconciliation, as reported. These ensured that both parties wanting to establish an encrypted connection have an absolutely identical key, while still keeping the connection secure against eavesdropping. The new algorithms for key reconciliation are considered a crucial step in ensuring secure connections. They dynamically adapted to changing conditions and prevented hackers from stealing information from the key exchange.

Project Partners and Funding

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funded the project "Development of high-performance transmission components for quantum-secure communication over fiber optic cables in metro and wide area networks" (DE-QOR) with 3.7 million dollars. Of this, KIT received approximately 380,000 dollars. Project partners alongside KIT and ADVA Network Security GmbH include the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Leibniz University Hannover, Microwave Photonics GmbH, and Creonic GmbH.

Smart-Factory

Access solutions for the Smart Factory - Industry 4.0