Home > News Centre > QinetiQ's 'free-space' quantum cryptography solution enhances world's first Quantum Network
06 June 05
QinetiQ's 'free-space' quantum cryptography solution enhances world's first Quantum Network
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With the addition of QinetiQ's free-space solution to the DARPA Quantum Network, the total number of fully operational nodes on the world's first quantum cryptography network now stands at ten - and all are protected using BBN Technologies' 'industrial-strength' protocols that 'route around' eavesdroppers.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency sponsored Quantum Network, with a team led by BBN, has been continuously operating through telecommunications fibres under the streets of Cambridge Mass since June 2004, linking the BBN, Harvard University and Boston University campuses with non-stop, highly secure communications. QinetiQ's free-space (through-the-air) solution enhances the BBN's network by providing additional secure communications links between line of sight points and this system was installed without disrupting any existing infra structure.
QinetiQ was also recently invited to demonstrate to top banks and other City firms at the Bank of England and the DTI how quantum cryptography - the secure optical transmission of messages and encryption 'keys' for protecting information via a secure infrastructure - could help make financial institutions around the globe even more secure in the future.
Lord Sainsbury at the recent DTI event called for quantum cryptography technology to be taken forward. It is anticipated that a number of pilot schemes will be needed to position the UK to participate fully in setting global standards for this technology.
"Whilst the existing communication systems are widely considered as secure, quantum cryptography offers the only protection against quantum computing, and all future networks will undoubtedly combine both through the air and fibre-optic technologies," explained Dr Brian Lowans, QinetiQ's Quantum and Micro Photonics Team Leader. "Passing information through the air is flexible and quick to install while fibre can be used in complex local routing. However, satellites are critical for global routing of keys for today's businesses and we could soon be relaying quantum keys around the globe, providing uniquely secure communications capabilities."
About BBN Technologies
BBN Technologies, an advanced technology and research and development firm, is focused on solving some of the world's most pressing problems. From national security, information security, speech recognition and language translation, to integrating disparate systems and networks, BBN has been at the forefront of technological change for over 50 years.
Known for pioneering the development of the ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet, BBN continues to create advances in Internet and networking technologies through its work on ad hoc networking, the semantic web, quantum communications, and advanced protocols. Building on its substantial list of firsts, BBN operates the first metro quantum cryptography network, the first real-time foreign broadcast monitoring system, and has developed the world's first stereoscopic digital mammography system. For more information on BBN Technologies, visit www.bbn.com.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency sponsored Quantum Network, with a team led by BBN, has been continuously operating through telecommunications fibres under the streets of Cambridge Mass since June 2004, linking the BBN, Harvard University and Boston University campuses with non-stop, highly secure communications. QinetiQ's free-space (through-the-air) solution enhances the BBN's network by providing additional secure communications links between line of sight points and this system was installed without disrupting any existing infra structure.
QinetiQ was also recently invited to demonstrate to top banks and other City firms at the Bank of England and the DTI how quantum cryptography - the secure optical transmission of messages and encryption 'keys' for protecting information via a secure infrastructure - could help make financial institutions around the globe even more secure in the future.
Lord Sainsbury at the recent DTI event called for quantum cryptography technology to be taken forward. It is anticipated that a number of pilot schemes will be needed to position the UK to participate fully in setting global standards for this technology.
"Whilst the existing communication systems are widely considered as secure, quantum cryptography offers the only protection against quantum computing, and all future networks will undoubtedly combine both through the air and fibre-optic technologies," explained Dr Brian Lowans, QinetiQ's Quantum and Micro Photonics Team Leader. "Passing information through the air is flexible and quick to install while fibre can be used in complex local routing. However, satellites are critical for global routing of keys for today's businesses and we could soon be relaying quantum keys around the globe, providing uniquely secure communications capabilities."
About BBN Technologies
BBN Technologies, an advanced technology and research and development firm, is focused on solving some of the world's most pressing problems. From national security, information security, speech recognition and language translation, to integrating disparate systems and networks, BBN has been at the forefront of technological change for over 50 years.
Known for pioneering the development of the ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet, BBN continues to create advances in Internet and networking technologies through its work on ad hoc networking, the semantic web, quantum communications, and advanced protocols. Building on its substantial list of firsts, BBN operates the first metro quantum cryptography network, the first real-time foreign broadcast monitoring system, and has developed the world's first stereoscopic digital mammography system. For more information on BBN Technologies, visit www.bbn.com.
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