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Quantum computing
TechScience & Research

Increased security in quantum communication achieved by Chinese, Oxford scientists

  • This new research could help accelerate China’s efforts to develop hacking-resistant communications networks
  • Quantum communication takes advantage of the laws of quantum physics to protect data

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China's Micius quantum communication satellite, the world's first, was used to study the entanglement-based distribution of quantum secret keys between two spots on Earth. Photo: Handout
Coco Feng

Physicists have extended the capabilities of secure quantum communication tenfold, marking a step forward in efforts to establish hack-proof network communications, according to a study published by scientific journal Nature on Monday.

The latest research used China's Micius satellite, the world's first quantum communication satellite, launched in 2016, to conduct so-called entanglement-based distribution of quantum secret keys – a secure communications method that implements a cryptographic protocol – between two spots on Earth at a rate of 0.12 bits per second.

Those two sites, both equipped with quantum telescopes, are located in China’s northwest Qinghai province and the western Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which are more than 1,000 kilometres apart. Entanglement is a phenomenon in quantum physics in which a pair of entangled particles remain connected and affect each other even when separated by great distances.

“Our method not only increases the secure distance on the ground tenfold, but also increases the practical security of quantum key distribution to an unprecedented level,” the study, co-authored by scientists from China and the University of Oxford in Britain, said.

Chinese quantum physicist Pan Jianwei speaks at the opening ceremony of the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2018 at Guiyang, capital of southwest Guizhou province, in May 2018. Photo: Xinhua
Chinese quantum physicist Pan Jianwei speaks at the opening ceremony of the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2018 at Guiyang, capital of southwest Guizhou province, in May 2018. Photo: Xinhua

Those involved in the study include Artur Ekert, a professor of quantum physics at Oxford’s Mathematical Institute; Wang Jianyu, a researcher who leads the Shanghai branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); and Pan Jianwei, who is lead scientist of Quantum Experiments at Space Scale – the government-backed research project in the field.

Their latest research could help accelerate China’s efforts to develop hacking-resistant communications networks, while burnishing the country’s credentials as a quantum technology powerhouse. Scientists in this field seek to harness the distinct properties of atoms, photons and electrons to create more powerful tools for processing information.
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