Quantum encryption inches closer to reality | Tech News on ZDNet

Quantum encryption inches closer to reality | Tech News on ZDNet:

"Quantum encryption inches closer to reality
By Michael Kanellos
URL: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5204725.html

A team of researchers has set a speed record for a type of quantum encryption, a sign that the theoretically uncrackable system for encrypting documents could find a home commercially.

Researchers from Acadia Optronics working with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said they have come up with a system that can transmit a stream of individual photons at a rate of 1 million bits a second. That's about 100 times faster than comparable quantum encryption systems. At that rate, it becomes practical to send encrypted video or other protected material, according to NIST.

Quantum encryption involves sending data by way of photons, the smallest unit of light. The photons are polarized, or oriented, in one of four different directions. Eavesdroppers cause detectable changes in the orientation, which in turn prevents them from getting secret information. "

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