Unbreakable Crypto: Who Needs It?
Source: E-Week
A New York-based startup on Monday announced that it has a working prototype of a device capable of employing quantum cryptography to encode keys on existing high-speed networks. However, cryptographers say the system likely holds little value for enterprises.
MagiQ Technologies Inc. is among the first companies to announce its intention to sell a commercial solution based on the concept of quantum cryptography. Code-named Navajo, the system comprises an appliance at either end of the communications link, capable of generating keys and encoding them one photon at a time.
Quantum cryptography relies on the properties of photons and the laws of quantum mechanics, which dictate that an eavesdropper wouldn't be able to read or even observe a photon without changing its state. That would alert the receiver that the message had been intercepted and was no longer secure.
