Toshiba claims new encryption technique
Quantum cryptography said to provide more secure, less expensive alternative to traditional communication channels.
Researchers at Toshiba's European research laboratory in Cambridge, England, developed what they claim is a new, more secure encryption technique to detect third party eavesdropping, reported the New York Times.
Quantum key distribution, a form of quantum cryptography, is an experimental technique that is more practical and less expensive than existing methods.
Current digital encryption systems rely on the ability of two computer users to exchange a key composed of a string of numbers, which establishes a secure communication channel. The Toshiba technology relies on encoding the key in a stream of quantum photons that are specially polarized to provide a more secure connection.
"One of the attractive things about quantum cryptography is that security comes in the form of the laws of nature," Andrew Shields, assistant managing director of Toshiba Research Europe, said in an interview with the newspaper.