Communication and Quantum Technology

The security of voice calls can be compromised with ease as the radiations and communication waves between 1 cell phone tower to another can be tapped and the information can be intercepted by a malicious person. To tackle the problem of leakage of information through voice calls the concept of linking communication technology to quantum cryptology was theorised.

Quantum technology is an emerging field of physics that is based on the principles of quantum mechanics. The word quantum in physics is defined as the minimum amount of any physical entity or property involved in an interaction between particles. This interaction of particles of two or more entities forms the foundation of quantum cryptology.

The laws of quantum physics allow the photons or light particles to be in a state of superposition i.e., represented in multiple combinations of binary digits (0 and 1) at an instant in time. These combinations are termed qubits .

In classical cryptography, hackers use brute force to identify private keys from the public key to decrypt important data. However, in quantum cryptology, we deal with Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) process where keys are symmetrical and are randomly generated in real-time making them virtually un-hackable.

The security of encrypted data solely depends on the strength of the key used to encrypt that information. The mathematical complexity along with the permutations and combinations that the keys have undergone decides how easy it is to decrypt the data. Due to the complex and random nature of keys that are generated through the Quantum Key Distribution process, quantum cryptography is being considered as a mode of communication between the authorities responsible for the defence and safety of a country.

In December 2020, DRDO of India conducted successful trials of QKD to showcase secure communication. The Quantum-based security solution against eavesdropping was validated at a 12-km range and 10 dB reduction over the fibre optic channel.

The development of such an incredible technology is indeed a remarkable achievement.However,the said technology is miles away from seeing widespread usage across the globe.A crucial reason behind this anomaly is the lack of exploration and knowledge regarding the depths of Qalong with the absence of required tools to perform the above-mentioned exploration.

The negligence of people regarding the security of communication technology is also a reason why the mass production of devices that can help us combine quantum cryptography with information security is still a problem that is to be solved by tech giants and innovators.

In October 2019, Google introduced its 53-qubit processor Sycamore , a quantum computer that performed a complex calculation within 3 minutes 33 seconds or 200 seconds which would have taken the world’s most powerful supercomputer 10,000 years to compute.

The introduction of powerful machines had made it mandatory to introduce solutions to the risk they shadow upon our private information, making the development of quantum cryptography the need of the hour.

QKD is a way to secure the network from code-breaking even by a quantum computer which ensures the information is safely transferred from one point to another without any eavesdropping or tapping into the information.

The encrypted data is sent as classical bits (0s and 1s) but the keys are generated concurrently and are then sent in the quantum state to avoid the person trying to access the information and decoding the data.