"Chip-Based Devices Improve Practicality of Quantum-Secured Communication"

Quantum computers will render current encryption algorithms obsolete. Today's encrypted data could be exposed by attackers through the use of quantum computers, posing a significant threat to the privacy of data stored and handled by the government, healthcare sector, financial firms, and more. As the era of fully developed quantum computer approaches, the exploration of post-quantum data protection methods must continue. The secure communication method, quantum key distribution (QKD), uses particles of light known as photons to encode data in qubits, which are transmitted to a sender and receiver as an encryption key. In the Optical Society's (OSA) journal for high-impact research, Optica, researchers from the University of Bristol, UK, discuss the demonstration of smaller, more robust, and less expensive chip-based QKD devices. The development of these devices brings us closer to the widespread adoption of quantum-secured communication. This article continues to discuss how the new QKD devices improve upon secure communication and how researchers demonstrated the use of these devices. 

Science Daily reports "Chip-Based Devices Improve Practicality of Quantum-Secured Communication"