Researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Cambridgen have successfully conducted the UK’s first long-distance, ultra-secure data transfer using a quantum communications network.
In years to come, quantum computers will be able to perform calculations exponentially faster than classical computers. As such, they pose a threat to cyber security as their brute computational strength means they will be able to break current encryption standards protecting data.
This has spurred efforts to develop new quantum-proof approaches to secure communications, including quantum key distribution (QKD). QKD allows cryptographic keys, which are generated from a sequence of polarised photons, to be shared in a way that makes it physically impossible to eavesdrop without being detected.
In the past few years, researchers across the globe have been working to build and use quantum communication networks.
However, none have been successful in building a large, long-distance network that can handle both...