<div dir="ltr"><h1 style="margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:24pt;font-family:'Times New Roman'"><b>Future Nokia phones could send quantum-coded texts<u></u><u></u></b></h1><ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman'"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt">17:14 16 April 2014 by <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/search?rbauthors=Michael+Slezak" target="_blank"><b>Michael Slezak</b></a><u></u><u></u></span></font></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman'"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt">For similar stories, visit the <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/topic/computer-crime" target="_blank"><b>Computer crime</b></a> and <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/topic/quantum-world" target="_blank"><b>Quantum World</b></a>Topic Guides<u></u><u></u></span></font></li>
</ul><p style="margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman'"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt">Quantum cryptography could be the star feature of your next cellphone. The first pocket-sized quantum encryption device has been created in collaboration with the Finnish phone-maker Nokia, and could let you send completely secure messages – although you will need to plug it into a quantum phone booth to do so.<u></u><u></u></span></font></p>
<p style="margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman'"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt">Secure internet transactions mostly use <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19926691.900-interview-the-golden-age-of-cryptography.html" target="_blank">public key cryptography</a>, which is pretty good but can in principle be hacked by a sneaky eavesdropper or someone with a powerful enough computer. Using a <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228365.100-quantum-keys-let-submarines-talk-securely.html" target="_blank">quantum key</a>, which cannot be duplicated without destroying the original, could make codes unbreakable. However, so far only banks and other big corporations can afford the bulky, expensive equipment required.<u></u><u></u></span></font></p>
<p style="margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman'"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt">Now, an international team led by Anthony Laing at the University of Bristol, UK, has shrunk the quantum encoder by splitting the traditional system in two. A large "server", which could one day be about the size of a case of beer, would contain the bulky elements like a laser and a single-photon generator.<u></u><u></u></span></font></p>
<p style="margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman'"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt">The server would send photons through a fibre-optic cable into a tiny device which could be embedded in a mobile phone. The device includes a waveguide that alters the state of photons passing through it, encrypting the message. It then spits the altered photons out into the fibre-optic cable and back to the server.<u></u><u></u></span></font></p>
<h3 style="margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:13.5pt;font-family:'Times New Roman'"><b>Just plug in<u></u><u></u></b></h3><p style="margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman'">
<font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt">To send data with complete security, you would just plug in your phone. It's like using an ATM, says team member <a href="http://www.griffith.edu.au/science-aviation/school-biomolecular-physical-sciences/staff/mirko-lobino" target="_blank">Mirko Lobino</a> at Griffiths University in Brisbane, Australia. It could be used to make secure financial transactions or transmit sensitive data like health records.<u></u><u></u></span></font></p>
<p style="margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman'"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt"><a href="http://photonics.anu.edu.au/qoptics/personal/benbuchler.php" target="_blank">Ben Buchler</a> at the Australian National University in Canberra says the idea makes quantum cryptography a more practical option. He says people should be looking for something completely secure, especially with the recent revelations that the US National Security Agency might have back-door access to traditional encryption techniques. The possibility of quantum computers on the horizon would <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24812-entangled-spies-why-the-nsa-wants-a-quantum-computer.html" target="_blank">make current encryption obsolete</a>.<u></u><u></u></span></font></p>
<p style="margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman'"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt">Lobino says Nokia are interested in integrated quantum technology and have already patented the system, although he doesn't know if they will be using it in a commercial product.<u></u><u></u></span></font></p>
<p style="margin-right:0cm;margin-left:0cm;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman'"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12pt">Journal reference: <a href="http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.130501" target="_blank"><i>Physical Review Letters</i>, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.130501</a></span></font></p>
<div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr">Dr.Hugo D.Scolnik<br>Profesor Consulto Titular<br>Departamento de Computación<br>Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales<br>Universidad de Buenos Aires<br><a href="http://www.dc.uba.ar" target="_blank">www.dc.uba.ar</a><br>
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