(EurasianTimes) Ashish Dangwal reports that chinese scientists claim to have set a world record for the longest quantum secure direct communication (QSDC), transferring information securely over 100 Km (62 miles) and surpassing former distance of 18.5K. IQT-News summarizes Dangwal’s article below.
Long Guilu, the developer of quantum-based secure direct communication technology, and his team announced that they have achieved a new distance record by safely transmitting data over 100 Km (62 miles), reported South China Morning Post. The longest QSDC distance published before this breakthrough was 18.5 Km.
Despite transmission speeds being slow (0.54 bits per second) it was a major improvement over Long’s previous record of 18.5 Km set in 2020, two decades after he devised the device that can identify and prevent eavesdropping threats. “The rapid progress of quantum computing causes anxiety over the security of those traditional communications,” the Chinese quantum team wrote.
Long, a Tsinghua University physics professor and vice-president of the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, noted the transmission speeds, saying they were good enough for phone calls and text messaging at roughly 30 Km.
He claimed that the technology was ready to be integrated with standard encryption techniques to create a secure network with classical relay points. “If we replace parts of the internet today, where more eavesdropping attacks happen, with quantum channels, those parts will have the added ability to sense and prevent eavesdropping, making communication even safer,” Long added.
The most notable aspect is that any eavesdropping attempt during quantum transmission would be spotted, whereas information at the relay points would be safeguarded by classical encryption. “The experiment shows that intercity quantum secure direct communication through the fiber is feasible with present-day technology,” the team noted, adding that the technique also has “great potential” to secure the 6G technology.
<https://eurasiantimes.com/china-claims-world-record-in-quantum-communications/>
Sandra K. Helsel, Ph.D. has been researching and reporting on frontier technologies since 1990. She has her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.