Chinese scientists’ ‘really’ random numbers could create unhackable emails, super secure credit cards

A team of Chinese quantum physicists working in the field of random number generation have made a breakthrough that could have significant implications for digital security.

According to an article published in the academic journal Nature on Thursday, the team led by Chinese scientist Pan Jianwei succeeded in using quantum mechanics to generate strings of numbers that are guaranteed to be random. By their nature, such “real” random numbers are impossible to predict and once converted into codes for use in encrypting emails or credit card numbers would provide unprecedented levels of security.

“Both classical cryptography and quantum communication need real random numbers as safeguards,” said Pan, who works as a quantum physicist at the University of Science and Technology of China.

“If the devices currently used to generate random numbers are hacked, all the information encrypted by such devices will not be safe any more,” he said.

Scientists did not figure out how to generate genuine random numbers until recently, as traditional methods – using either algorithms or chips – rely on predictable Newtonian mechanics.

Pan and his team generated 62.5 million bits of quantum-certified random bits, or 181 bits per second, during four days of experiments, the report said.