[Todos] Future Nokia phones could send quantum-coded texts

[Hugo Scolnik]

*Future Nokia phones could send quantum-coded texts*

   - 17:14 16 April 2014 by *Michael
Slezak*<http://www.newscientist.com/search?rbauthors=Michael+Slezak>
   - For similar stories, visit the *Computer
crime*<http://www.newscientist.com/topic/computer-crime>
    and *Quantum World* <http://www.newscientist.com/topic/quantum-world>Topic
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Quantum cryptography could be the star feature of your next cellphone. The
first pocket-sized quantum encryption device has been created in
collaboration with the Finnish phone-maker Nokia, and could let you send
completely secure messages – although you will need to plug it into a
quantum phone booth to do so.

Secure internet transactions mostly use public key
cryptography<http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19926691.900-interview-the-golden-age-of-cryptography.html>,
which is pretty good but can in principle be hacked by a sneaky
eavesdropper or someone with a powerful enough computer. Using a
quantum key<http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228365.100-quantum-keys-let-submarines-talk-securely.html>,
which cannot be duplicated without destroying the original, could make
codes unbreakable. However, so far only banks and other big corporations
can afford the bulky, expensive equipment required.

Now, an international team led by Anthony Laing at the University of
Bristol, UK, has shrunk the quantum encoder by splitting the traditional
system in two. A large "server", which could one day be about the size of a
case of beer, would contain the bulky elements like a laser and a
single-photon generator.

The server would send photons through a fibre-optic cable into a tiny
device which could be embedded in a mobile phone. The device includes a
waveguide that alters the state of photons passing through it, encrypting
the message. It then spits the altered photons out into the fibre-optic
cable and back to the server.
*Just plug in*

To send data with complete security, you would just plug in your phone.
It's like using an ATM, says team member Mirko
Lobino<http://www.griffith.edu.au/science-aviation/school-biomolecular-physical-sciences/staff/mirko-lobino>
at
Griffiths University in Brisbane, Australia. It could be used to make
secure financial transactions or transmit sensitive data like health
records.

Ben Buchler <http://photonics.anu.edu.au/qoptics/personal/benbuchler.php> at
the Australian National University in Canberra says the idea makes quantum
cryptography a more practical option. He says people should be looking for
something completely secure, especially with the recent revelations that
the US National Security Agency might have back-door access to traditional
encryption techniques. The possibility of quantum computers on the horizon
would make current encryption
obsolete<http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24812-entangled-spies-why-the-nsa-wants-a-quantum-computer.html>
.

Lobino says Nokia are interested in integrated quantum technology and have
already patented the system, although he doesn't know if they will be using
it in a commercial product.

Journal reference: *Physical Review Letters*, DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.130501<http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.130501>

-- 
Dr.Hugo D.Scolnik
Profesor Consulto Titular
Departamento de Computación
Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales
Universidad de Buenos Aires
www.dc.uba.ar
TE      : +5411 4576 3359
Mobile: +5411 4970 6665
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