"Focus On Cybersecurity: Researchers Develop Photonic Encryptions"

As cybercrime incidents continue to rise, a consortium of research institutes, private enterprises, and universities has formed the Silhouette project to develop solutions for encrypting data in the optical domain that is considered safe from tampering and eavesdropping. Fraunhofer IZM researchers are involved in this campaign and are working on a cost-effective method for the precise coupling of microelectronic components to make data transmissions safer and more secure. Protecting sensitive data, particularly in open processes, requires the development of reliable electronics, which the German Ministry of Education and Research is funding through its "Trustworthy Electronics" campaign. One solution is using optical transmission, which is considered much safer from wiretapping and promises much faster operating speeds. The Silhouette project's research consortium is developing a modular standardized platform with an electro-optical interposer as the interface for converting electronic signals into optical signals, transmitting them to their intended recipient, validating them, and translating them back into electronic signals. The project's experts are dedicated to making this novel process compatible with existing hardware solutions as a critical step toward new hybrid systems for future cryptography. The team is developing and integrating the interposer's microelectronic and opto-electronic components. They chose optical waveguides to channel the light signals because they provide far more efficient transmissions than conventional lenses or mirrors. The cost of this increased efficiency is the high precision required when coupling the waveguides in order to achieve lossless transmissions and make it a viable medium for calculations with the optical data package. This article continues to discuss the Silhouette project aimed at developing solutions for encrypting data in the optical domain. 

IDW reports "Focus On Cybersecurity: Researchers Develop Photonic Encryptions"