Encryption Technique Said to be Unbreakable

[Nancy Noell Burk]

 From Edupage <http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html>, 
November 15, 2002:

ENCRYPTION TECHNIQUE SAID TO BE UNBREAKABLE

Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new form of
quantum cryptography that sends encrypted data at speeds of 250
megabits per second and is, according to the reasearchers, unbreakable.
Whereas other methods of quantum cryptography work by sending
individual photons, the new technique sends large bundles of photons.
According to Paul Kwiat, a professor of physics at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a leading authority on quantum
cryptography, the technique is extremely secure because "an
eavesdropper can't tap into it without disturbing the photons." If the
photons are disturbed, he said, they're gone. Quantum technologies
remain a long way from commercial use, but some observers say
cryptography could be the first of the quantum technologies to enter
real-world applications.

ZDNet, 15 November 2002
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-965957.html



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