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Quantum cryptographic systems cracked by lasers, leaving no trace

• sp332 16y ago
  This is based on the difference between theory and practice. QC is still theoretically secure, but the equipment isn't perfect. The attackers overwhelm the detector and basically "pwn" it, making it click whenever they want. Here's an in-depth explanation, plus a how-to slide presentation and live demo from the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin (it's in English with a heavy German accent): http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/events/3576.en.html http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/events/3576.en.h...
• tptacek 16y ago
  Obligatory: http://rdist.root.org/2008/10/24/quantum-cryptography-is-useless/ http://rdist.root.org/2008/10/24/quantum-cryptography-is-use... Quantum cryptography (not quantum computing) is one of those concepts that appeals to the public and the more theoretically-minded, but is next to useless for providing actual security.
• tbrownaw 16y ago
  ...just what kind of detectors do these things use!? Perfectly dark with occasional single photons looks indistinguishable from bright with occasional brighter pulses, that seems odd.
• uxp 16y ago
  I get annoyed when companies that provide the "Next-Gen" of some kind of technology claim to be open for their systems to be attacked in an educational and controlled environment, but fail to do so. Specifically, this sentence: > Ribordy and Zavriyev stress that the open versions of their systems that are sold to university researchers are not the same as those sold for security purposes, which contain extra layers of protection. Granted, I can see how they would be unwilling to provide the same system to a school or university that they do to a company that pays them full price. They are a business. It sounds more like "Thank you Mario, but our princess is in another castle!"