World's first quantum-encrypted network launched-> 1
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117 writes "A scientific convention in Vienna has played host to the world's first computer network protected by quantum cryptography.
The network connects six locations across Vienna and in the nearby town of St Poelten, using 200 km of standard commercial fibre optic cables. Each node, housed in a different Siemens office (Siemens has provided the fibre links), contains a small rack of electronics — boxes about the size of a PC, and a handful of sensitive light detectors. From the detected photons, a totally secret numerical key can be distilled, which encodes the users' data much like the keys used in normal computer networks do.
The advantage is that no-one else can know the key without revealing themselves.
If one quantum link breaks down, the connections can be re-routed via other nodes, much as phone calls get re-routed automatically through a telecoms network, so that any two users on the network can remain in continuous secure contact."
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