PRESS RELEASE: Terra Quantum AG, one of Europe‘s leading Quantum technology pioneers, announced that a global quantum communication line, 100 percent protected from hackers, is a step closer to reality. Terra Quantum researchers have shown the theoretical ability to distribute quantum keys over a distance of more than 40,000 kilometers, or the rough circumference of our planet.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is the concept on which a theoretically„hacker-proof“ communication lines will be built. QKD promises unconditional security of data communication and has widespread commerical application, across banking, government communication and consumer technology. It works by transmitting photons in particular quantum states to generate a secure cryptographic key. This key can then be used to encrypt data sent over an ordinary, non-quantum connection.
Markus Pflitsch, founder and CEO of Terra Quantum said, “Until now, QKD had a critical limitation: distance. The greater the distance a signal travels, the more data leaks. This creates an opportunity for hackers to extract data. Terra Quantum has created superfast, 1 GB per second quantum key distribution over distances of more than 40,000 km. Such a speed enables the usage of one-time pad encryption protocols, which are proven to be unhackable.”
Why is Quantum Key Distribution so powerful?
In a network linked by quantum connections, the laws of physics would make eavesdropping impossible. This is in contrast to standard cryptography, whose strength lies in mathematical equations; although these equations are complex, they will at some stage in the future be able to be cracked by computers with sufficient power.
How does the Terra Quantum solution work?
The Terra Quantum Protocol rests on laws of quantum physics. First, the Second Law of Thermodynamics prevents the backward collection of information carried away by randomly scattered waves due to inevitable photon scattering when propagating along the communication line.
Second, the electromagnetic waves’ fundamental quantum discreteness discovered by Max Planck prevents information leakage by arbitrary small portions. Finally, although cloning of the unknown quantum state is impossible, cloning photons, appearing in known quantum states used in the Terra Quantum Protocol, is a feasible task. The cloned photons obey Bose-Einstein statistics which allows them to accumulate in a single state, enabling the work of quantum amplifiers. This empowers the secure transmission of information over, in principle, arbitrary long distances.
The vital element of the proposed protocol is the physical control over the transmission line. Notably, the proposed procedure of line control is universal and applies to any quantum cryptographic protocol.
A paper on the study is available here.
Source: Terra Quantum
TERRA QUANTUM is a Swiss based deep tech company focused on Quantum technology applications founded in 2019 led by senior finance executive and former CERN Quantum physicist Markus Pflitsch and is backed by Europe’s leading VC firm Lakestar. The company is developing a portfolio of leading Quantum applications including hardware components and software for Quantum computers, Quantum communication and cryptography solutions and is extremely active in the designing of Quantum algorithms for all types of available Quantum machines applicable in various industries. Visit us on LinkedIn and our website.
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