
A hacker can attack the electronic devices used for information transmission
Researchers at the University of York have shown that a new quantum-based procedure for distributing secure information along communication lines could be successful in preventing serious security breaches
Securing highly sensitive information, such as hospital records and bank details, is a major challenge faced by companies and organisation throughout the world.
Standard communication systems are vulnerable to hacks, where encrypted information can be intercepted and copied. It is currently possible for hackers to make a copy of transmitted information, but it would not be possible to read it without a method of breaking the encryption that protects it.
This means that information might be secure for a period of time, but there is no guarantee that it would be secure forever, as supercomputers in development could potentially decipher particular encryptions in the future.
Researchers at York investigated a prototype, based on the principles of quantum mechanics, that has the potential to side-step the vulnerabilities of current communications, but also allow information to be secure in the future.
Powerful attack
Dr Cosmo Lupo, from the University of York’s Department of Computer Science, said: “Quantum mechanics has come a long way, but we are still faced with significant problems that have to be overcome with further experimentation.
“One such problem is that a hacker can attack the electronic devices used for information transmission by jamming the detectors that are used to collect and measure the photons that carries information.
“Such an attack is powerful because we assume that a given device works according to its technical specifications and will therefore perform its job. If a hacker is able to attack a detector and change the way it works, then the security is unavoidably compromised.”
“The principles of quantum mechanics, however, allows for communication security even without making assumptions on how the electronic devices will work. By removing these assumptions we pay the price of lowering the communication rate, but gain in improving the security standard.”
Two signals
Instead of relying on possibly compromised electronic components at the point at which information needs to be detected and read, the researchers found that if the untrusted detectors existed at a separate point in the communications – somewhere between the sender and receiver – the communication was far more secure.
The detector would receive a combination of two signals, one from the sender and one from the receiver. The detector would only be able to read the result of this combined signal, but not its component parts.
Dr Lupo said: “In our work, not only have we provided a first rigorous mathematical proof that this ‘detector- independent’ design works, but we have also considered a scheme that is compatible with existing optical fibre communication networks.
“In principle our proposal can allow for the exchange of unbreakable codes across the internet without major changes in the actual infrastructure.
“We are still at prototype stage, but by finding ways to reduce the cost of these systems, we are that much closer to making quantum communications a reality.”
Learn more: Quantum step forward in protecting communications from hackers
The Latest on: Communication security
via Google News
The Latest on: Communication security
- Push to better manage cyber-security risks in critical infrastructureon March 2, 2021 at 2:01 pm
Organisations running Singapore's critical information infrastructure (CII), such as telecommunication networks and public transport systems, will be asked to better manage their vendors' ...
- Using AI-Powered Technology to Improve Campus Safety and Communicationon March 2, 2021 at 1:29 pm
Learn how the integration of AI-powered technology into crisis response procedures can be instrumental in supporting threat assessment teams.
- Alcatraz forms biometric access control distribution partnership with IES Communicationson March 2, 2021 at 1:25 pm
IES Communications will strengthen its access control portfolio with touchless autonomous biometric solution Alcatraz Rock.
- Battling cyber-threats takes collaboration between compliance, information securityon March 2, 2021 at 8:54 am
LifePoint Health's VP for Compliance Program Operations/Chief Privacy Officer Ellen Hunt and VP/CISO Andy Heins share how they work "hand in glove" to protect their company's data from bad actors.
- International Companies' Request for Ultra-Secure Communications In High-Risk Areas Met By Mercury's Stealth Modeon March 2, 2021 at 8:30 am
Mercury Powered by Secured Communications, the Ultra-Secure Corporate Communications Platform, Offers Stealth Mode™ Option to Users For Ultimate Security ...
- Application Security Backsliding, Over 70% of Organizations Say Their Portfolio Is More Vulnerableon March 2, 2021 at 6:12 am
Ponemon and WhiteSource report on application security indicates that most large enterprise-scale organizations feel that their portfolio of applications has become more vulnerable recently.
- GAO: CBP Should Improve Communication on Forced Labor to Strengthen Trade Enforcementon March 2, 2021 at 5:03 am
CBP uses several tools to enforce Section 307, which prohibits the importation of goods made with forced labor. For example, CBP may issue a withhold release order (WRO) when information reasonably ...
- The future of near-field communication-based wireless sensingon March 2, 2021 at 4:05 am
Near-field communication (NFC) emerged as a high-security, wireless, short-range, data exchange technology nearly two decades ago; its ability to simultaneously transfer power and data between devices ...
- WebNIC Adds Value to Its Partners With New Sectigo Web Securityon March 2, 2021 at 2:40 am
An acclaimed domain registrar in the Southeast Asia region Web Commerce Communications Limited dba WebNIC has just recently introduced the availability of a new web security service Sectigo Web to its ...
via Bing News