Secure Communication using Quantum Cryptography

Ali H. Askar
6 min readSep 12, 2019

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The performance of quantum cryptography in securing communication cannot be overemphasized. It uses the present knowledge of physics rather than mathematics in the development of a cryptosystem that cannot be defeated (Acín et al., 2007, p. 230). Deutsch (2006, p.281) gives clear understanding of quantum cryptography when he argues that it depends on the use of individual waves/particles of light (photon) and their characteristic quantum properties to build up a cryptosystem that is unbreakable — basically because it is difficult to quantify the quantum condition of any system without aggravating that system. Generally, using quantum cryptography, the encryption is in a manner that if an intruder who is the third party in a communication tries to access the information, the bits are disturbed, and hence the concerned parties will know that someone tried to tamper with the information contained therein.

The breakthrough of quantum cryptography is an assurance of secure communications. Some scientific theories have despised the fact that quantum cryptography is capable of achieving perfect security in communication. Be that as it may, the performance of quantum cryptography in securing communication cannot be overemphasized. It uses the present knowledge of physics rather than mathematics in the development of a cryptosystem that cannot be defeated (Acín et al., 2007, p. 230). The meaning of this is that the system is secure from any compromise without the consent of the message sender or the receiver. This differentiates it from traditional cryptographic systems which relied on mathematics as their key security model aspect (Ekert, 2001, p.661). The meaning of the word quantum is the essential performance of the tiniest particles of energy and matter: theory of quantum gives an explanation on anything in existence and cannot be violated. In this article, facts and discussions are provided on how secure communication is achieved through quantum cryptography.

Quantum cryptography depends on the use of individual waves/particles of light (photon) and their characteristic quantum properties to build up a cryptosystem that is unbreakable — basically because it is difficult to quantify the quantum condition of any system without aggravating that system according to Deutsch (2006, p.281).

QKD is described as a sort of quantum encryption in which a password that is secret is shared between two parties at distant places (normally named Alice and Bob in thought tests). That password or key which is secret is appropriated as bits of quantum information so that if a busybody (usually referred to as Eve) attempts to catch the message, the bits will be bothered and Alice and Bob will know that someone compromised the transfer of the message. If the key isn’t bothered, it can be utilized to encrypt communications that are sent over a medium that is not secure (Bernstein et al., 2009, p.35; Gisin et al., 2002, p.145).

The research was done by Cambridge University and Toshiba’s European research branch figured out how to accelerate the rate at which information can be safely transmitted utilizing quantum cryptography. It’s an advancement that could prepare for speedier, ultra-secure correspondences that are difficult to keep an eye on.

Huge numbers of the encryption strategies that guard online information depend on an electronic key which is hard for PCs to split — for example, requiring the recognizable proof of two huge prime numbers, which standard PCs are exceptionally poor at. Be that as it may, if an effective quantum PC were to be manufactured, it could figure out these kinds of code easily and risk the security of computerized communications (Bennett, 2002, p.3121; Gottesman et al., 2004, p.136).

The main encryption strategy that has been confirmed to be secure if connected effectively — quantum PCs or not — is the alleged “one-time pad.” Here’s the way it functions: first, it starts with the creation of a digital key comprising of an irregular bits’ sequence. The key is then safely sent to the recipient and kept private. At that point, the sender can encode his message by adding the message’s bits to the arbitrary bits of the key. The code is deemed genuinely uncrackable under these conditions.

According to Scarani and Renner (2008, p.200), keeping the key secret can be a test, yet quantum material science can save the situation. That is on account of the peculiar and great properties of quantum mechanics make it so that if somebody somehow happened to attempt and block it, the key itself would change and both the sender and the recipient would promptly take note.

Up to now this one-time key, which preferably should be in any event as long as the message itself, must be sent at moderate information rates of a couple of hundred bits for every second. Fortunately, scientists Lucian Comandar and associates have now figured out how to build that bitrate ten thousand-overlay up to a considerably more workable 1Mbps, in an essential advance toward viable and secure computerized correspondences.

Wang (2005, p.230) contends that the information transmission rates for the secret key have been moderate because the safe convention adds multifaceted nature to the framework as a moment photon locator and an element amongst sender and the recipient that must quantify photons originating from the two parties. “The convention depends on meddling photons on a beam splitter,” Comandar tells Gizmag. “The convention works just with happenstance checks between two detectors instead of single relies on one detector. What’s more, because the likelihood of a single tally is lower than [100 percent], the likelihood of an occurrence check is even lower.”

Also, laser heartbeats can be anxious and eccentric: for this situation, a 35 picoseconds heartbeat could move by as much as ten picoseconds in time, presenting commotion that ground the exchange rates nearly to a stop (Hughes et al., 2007, p.3; Jennewein et al., 2000, p.472). The scientists could expand exchange speeds significantly by covering two laser beats: by infusing photons from another laser into the first, the analysts could trigger the beats at an exact time. These shorter, more exact heartbeats empower significantly quicker information rates.

“The convention I have been dealing with is still in its improvement stages,” Commander lets us know, “it was proposed just four years prior, and the first test execution was three years back. So, there is still an opportunity to get better.” The following stages will incorporate endeavoring to actualize upgrades in the majority of the parts of the system.

In a nutshell, despite some scientists recently expressing their concerns that quantum cryptography is prone to hacking and compromise from outside, the system is safest for secure communication. The encryption is in a manner that if an intruder who is the third party in a communication tries to access the information, the bits are disturbed, and hence the concerned parties will know that someone tried to tamper with the information contained therein.

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Ali H. Askar
Ali H. Askar

Written by Ali H. Askar

A Quant Trader | Data Scientist | can I help you? linkedin.com/in/ali-h-askar

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