A Cambridge–BT partnership is looking at how networks could be made ‘unhackable’ using quantum key distribution (QKD). By making use of the fact that photons are individual particles of light with quantum mechanical properties, the researchers are designing a protocol for sending a secret key, which can then be used to encrypt and decrypt messages, from one place to another. To trial the technology, Cambridge and BT designed and implemented the longest quantum secured network running from the BT campus, near Ipswich, to Cambridge.
Added 16 November 2022; updated 2 May 2023.