"Double Locked: Polymer Hydrogels Secure Confidential Information"

Developing highly secure but simple and inexpensive encryption to prevent data leakage and forgery is challenging. Therefore, a team of researchers has introduced a "double lock" method that encrypts data in a way that it can only be read at a specific window in temperate and time. Their double encryption system involves the use of thermoresponsive polymer hydrogels, which are cross-linked chain molecules with water integrated into their gaps. In addition to digital encryption methods, physical methods play an essential role as their decoding typically relies on external stimuli such as light or heat. Using multiple stimuli bolsters security but makes reading the data complex and unmanageable. According to the team, adding the time domain significantly increases the possibility of achieving the unity of security and simpleness. The encryption performed through the team's system based on thermoresponsive polymer hydrogels can only be decoded if the specific temperature and time windows are known. An infrared lamp, a water bath, a hairdryer, or even the human body can be used as a source of heat for decoding. This article continues to discuss the new encryption system introduced by the researchers that involves the use of thermoresponsive polymer hydrogels.

ScienceDaily reports "Double Locked: Polymer Hydrogels Secure Confidential Information"