Unbreakable Quantum Encryption Demonstrated

By Richard Grigonis, Executive Editor, IP Communications Group Quantum cryptography, or Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), leverages the mysterious physics of the ultra-small world to provide absolutely secure communication. Essentially, two parties produce and share a random bit string known only to them, which is used as a key to encrypt and decrypt messages. QKD is used to distribute the key, not to transmit messages per se. The key is used with a standard encryption algorithm to encrypt and decrypt the message, which is sent over any standard communications channel, even the Internet. What makes quantum cryptography unique is that the key used to encode the data are photons, tiny particles of light that are noticeably subject to the so-called Heisenberg Uncertainty principle, which essentially states that we change whatever... [read full story]