Secure cryptography with real-world devices is now a realistic possibility
New research published in Nature describes how an international team of researchers have, for the first time, experimentally applied a type of quantum cryptography considered to be the ‘most’, ‘bug proof’ means of communication. In an experiment that builds on three decades of fundamental research, experimental work at the Department of Physics, University of Oxford – with theoretical contributions from ETH Zurich, EPFL, University of Geneva in Switzerland, and the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy Commission (CEA). ) – demonstrates a complete quantum key distribution protocol that is immune to the physical device vulnerabilities and defects that interfere with current quantum protocols. This experiment proved a much stronger form of security than can be achieved today using classic computers. Existing ‘quantum key distribution’ (QKD) implementations rely on communication between ‘trusted’ quantum devices (and thus offer potential for quantum hacking). The newly demonstrat