Waalre had a real first on Thursday afternoon: launching the first quantum-secured video connection. The live connection was between Mayor Marcel Oosterveer and Alderman Peet van de Loo. A quantum-secured connection is impossible to hack according to the TU/e research team.
Novelty
The first live connection took place in Waalre, between Mayor Oosterveer in Het Huis van Waalre and Alderman Peet van de Loo in the office of WeConnect (in Waalre) under the observant eyes of the Quantum communications team of Eindhoven Technology University (TU/e). This milestone marks a major advancement in the security and encryption of communication networks. A method of data transfer enabled by quantum technology that is secured in such a way that it becomes virtually impossible for hackers to break in.
The groundbreaking technology is touted to be futuristic, so much so that it is impossible to compromise the security of keys even with the aid of “yet-to-be-developed” quantum computers.
Secure keys
TU/e researcher Sebastiaan Verschoor: “A connection between two people can be made with a secret key. Messages can be encrypted on one side and decrypted on the other. But the question is: ‘How do you get those keys?'”
At the moment, according to Verschoor, classical cryptography is still used for this. “There’s a lot of complicated math behind this. However, with this new system, we’re taking that math out and basing safety on quantum mechanics.”
Moreover, the quantum-safe video connection can also immediately detect whether an eavesdropping attempt or data manipulation occurs, says Verschoor. “Users can then immediately take measures to guarantee secure communication. For example, by creating a new key.”
Is it only genuises? (Bollebozen)
Do you have to be a real genius to understand a thing or two? “A bit,” laughs Verschoor of the Quantum communications team. “It is indeed not the simplest matter. What is really nice about this work is that you need a lot of facets.”
“I’m working on cryptography, while other colleagues are very good with fibre optics or communication technology. We also have people who try to take down the system. This ensures that we can really build reliable security.”
Marcel Menting, director of WeConnect Waalre: “The quantum-secured video connection lays the foundation for secure communication for the next 100 years.” This certainly also applies within the Brainport region, where, according to Menting, progress is being made in many areas compared to other regions in the Netherlands, including ICT. Menting adds, “Waalre can be a kind of ‘playground’ or ‘development garden’ for innovations. WeConnect would like to play a leading and facilitating role.”
Satellites
It is great that the first connection takes place via the fibre optic network of WeConnect, while Verschoor thinks that much more is possible. “Actually, it’s only important to send photons that remain polarised. In the long term, this can also be done via satellite connections.”
After all, there are big plans to connect all continents in the long term. This is only possible with satellite connections. “But also consider a country like Greece with many islands, and fibreglass cannot be installed just like that. They will also try to set up QED security with satellites.”
For Eindhoven News: Beena Arunraj
Source: WeConnect, Studio040 and Quantumdelta.
