The quantum revolution cannot exist without secure communication

Hagai Isenberg, Chief Scientist at QuantLR and Professor at the Rakeh Institute of Physics at the Hebrew University shared with the participants of the ChipEX2020 Digital conference the challenges facing the development of quantum encryption of optical fibers, which will not be hacked even by quantum algorithms

Like everything, quantum computing can be divided into three parts: quantum processing, communication (an upgrade of two fields that are still the basis of computing today) and in addition - a new field - the use of quantum algorithms and methods to improve measuring devices (for example CT the size of a shoe box).

Prof. Hagai Isenberg, chief scientist at QuantLR and professor at the Rakeh Institute of Physics at the Hebrew University, shared with the viewers at the ChipEX2020 Digital conference that will be held on September 16 the challenges facing the development of quantum encryption of optical fibers, which will not be hacked even by quantum algorithms. Isenberg is a physicist

"In the field of quantum processing or calculation, we want both the calculation cells and the logic gates to work according to quantum theory - which means that they have the possibility to simultaneously handle much more than zeros and ones, and in the field of communication - if we can move quantum bits from place to place, we can create more secure communication lines.

"When talking about encryption of a communication line in current technology, a multi-layered approach should be used, but the most important layer is the first layer - creating a shared secret. The people communicating with each other need to have a shared key that will be unique to both of them and will be transmitted via a secret chain of bits. All layers will collapse if the eavesdropper can mimic what we did in the other encryption steps based on the key. This stage today in communication is done with the help of algorithms, the most common of which is RSA, where the S is named after Prof. Adi Shamir from the Weizmann Institute, which is based on a public key and a private key.

What RSA and other methods have in common is that at their center is a mathematical puzzle that is easy to ask but difficult to answer, in the case of RSA it is the multiplication of two large prime numbers, when I only know the final result and not the multiplied numbers. "The emphasis is that it is very difficult to hack these methods, but not impossible. If I give you the number 15 and at the end say 3 times 5. All the time there are challenges on the Internet of deciphering the longer and longer prime numbers. We also know that there are entities that eavesdrop on the encrypted information and will decrypt it at the first opportunity when this is possible. However, there is also information that we do not want to be disclosed even in many years - such as security information or medical information."
"And the problem of problems - the theorists who developed the quantum computer showed about 25 years ago that if and when a full-scale quantum computer is built, it will be possible to run algorithms on it that will break RSA easily - efficiently and quickly. For a quantum computer this problem is extremely easy.”

"The protocol of quantum encryption appeared already in 1984, without it being relevant at all. No one tried to implement it either, but as soon as they realized that the quantum computers existed, this protocol was also adopted. If I use a quantum key I can produce an uncrackable encryption. Our company and this technology in general is looking for ways to take existing optical communication networks and, with minimal changes and minimal financial investment, transfer the encryption to them. Single photons need to be transferred. can use the same fibers that are used for communication today, and integrate the encryption on the communication networks."

In the panel, moderated by Roni Lifshitz, editor, TechTime website, Eisenberg said that this is one of the first commercial applications that can be built using existing means. "You don't need hundreds of millions of dollars to develop it and it is already sold and installed and it uses quantum bits. In fact, it is a combination of transmission of quantum bits in communication lines that enable encryption at a new level that was not possible before," he said.

He told about the company's use of light to transmit information. "Light is a classical phenomenon, but it is made up of very small packets called photons, and in huge numbers. If you know how to code, control and create information in this amount then you can maintain wired communication - and not only measure that it was there but also know how to measure information back. Our company's expertise is to do this with the most standard means that exist, taken from the world of optical communication, and the transfer is ultimately via optical fibers where we transfer the quantum aspects from place to place," he said.

Do you have your own equipment that creates a photon stream?
"This equipment is called a communication laser and the whole trick is to know how to control it and control that inside the optical fiber there will only be one photon. This is a large and controlled attenuation, and what is difficult is to put quantum information on the photon and then measure it. As mentioned, we do it with off-the-shelf means, of normal classical communication in order to make it cheaper, and also so that there is an easy integration into the system"

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• A method that allows quantum encrypted information to move in a targeted manner through the air
• A Singaporean researcher has developed a quantum encryption chip
• Scientists managed to "freeze" a beam of light
• The start-up company in the field of quantum encryption 'Quant-AL-R' recorded an achievement in protecting optical fiber networks