Quantum Cryptography: Ensuring Secure Communication in the Digital Age | Rupert Ursin | TEDxTUWien

Privacy and security of our internet communication become vital in a time of autonomous driving, flying and digitized power plants.

Quantum technology comes with a promise to make internet communication safe again, this time protected by a law of physics. According to quantum mechanics, two entangled light particles (photons), remain connected, even if they move away from each other over arbitrary distances. If, for example, the direction of the light oscillation (polarization) is measured to be along a certain axis on one of these particles, the other particle will be found to also oscillate in this direction in a measurement and vice versa. There is no communication needed between the particles, they are in a so-called quantum mechanically entangled state with each other. With the help of quantum cryptography, code keys can be transmitted in a tap-proof manner - if a third party tries to eavesdrop, the system immediately sounds the alarm, as entanglement is gone and hence can be detected. In a classical communication, one cannot determine if a message was read already. To decrypt a quantum entanglement encrypted conversation, a hacker would have to bend the laws of natural sciences, says Dr. Rupert Ursin.

Dr. Ursin is senior group leader at the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, Austria. His main research focus is the development of quantum communication and information processing technologies, especially for free-field transmission up to satellites, but also for fiber-based systems. He is co-founder of the startup Quantum Technology Laboratory GmbH – QTLabs.


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This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx Dr. Ursin is senior group leader at the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, Austria. His main research focus is the development of quantum communication and information processing technologies, especially for free-field transmission up to satellites, but also for fiber-based systems. He is co-founder of the startup Quantum Technology Laboratory GmbH – QTLabs. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx