Quantum data locking demonstrated for the first time
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.0210052
Science News : Proposed 10 years ago, quantum data locking is a method for encrypting information by encoding the entire message, not just the encryption key, in a quantum system. Now Daniel Lum of the University of Rochester in New York and his colleagues have demonstrated the technique for the first time. They defined the state of a photon as their message and then encrypted it by using an equation to scramble the photon’s wave function. That ensured the photon would arrive at the intended location on the detector only if the receiver knew the same equation. Although the demonstration is an important step toward secure quantum communication, the technique may not be practical when applied to real-world messages.