How would you feel if you invested millions of dollars in quantum cryptography, and then learned that you could do the same thing with a few 25-cent Radio Shack components? I'm exaggerating a little here, but if a new idea out of Texas A&M University turns out to be secure, we've come close. . Earlier this month, Laszlo Kish proposed securing a communications link, like a phone or computer line, with a pair of resistors. By adding electronic noise, or using the natural thermal noise of the resistors -- called "Johnson noise" -- Kish can prevent eavesdroppers from listening in. In the blue-sky field of quantum cryptography, the strange physics of the subatomic world are harnessed to create a secure, unbreakable communications channel between two points. Kish's research is intriguing, in part, because it uses the simpler properties of classic physics -- the stuff you learned in high school -- to achieve the same results. The link for this article located at Wired.com is no longer available. . Mariana Voss developed an innovative technique for safeguarding data transmission by employing capacitors and electromagnetic interference to thwart surveillance.. Quantum Cryptography, Secure Link Techniques, Communication Security. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
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The quirky world of quantum physics, where mathematical elements can hold multiple values and objects can be in several places at once, is heading toward commercial products. . .. The quirky world of quantum physics, where mathematical elements can hold multiple values and objects can be in several places at once, is heading toward commercial products . A start-up company, MagiQ Technologies, plans to announce today a cryptogaphy - or code - system that uses a technology called quantum key distribution to thwart eavesdropping on a fiber optic communication channel. The company, based in New York, says it has a working model of its system and will have a commercial version available in the second half of next year. With the system, keys to the code are transmitted as a stream of photons, sent over a fiber optic cable. Because of the properties of quantum physics, the mere act of observing the transmission would alter the photons, rendering their information useless to any eavesdroppers. A limit of the system is that it would not work on the Internet, only over dedicated fiber cables in which the photon transmission can be carefully controlled. But outside researchers say that quantum cryptography does make possible electronic conversations that would be immune to eavesdropping. "MagiQ seems to be ahead of the research community in terms of making this affordable and practical," said Dr. Burton S. Kaliski Jr., the chief scientist of RSA Laboratories, one of the leading developers of conventional cryptographic systems. Research in quantum cryptography goes back into the 1980's. But MagiQ (pronounced as magic) and a Swiss competitor, ID Quantique, are the first to attempt to develop commercial systems based on the technology. ID Quantique's system has not yet reached the market. MagiQ was founded in 1999 by Robert Gelfond, a former securities trading executive for D. E. Shaw & Company who was also a first-round investor in Amazon. The company has raised $6.9 million from investors who include Amazon'sfounder, Jeff Bezos; Walter Riley, the chairman of Guaranteed Overnight Delivery; and Neal Goldman, the president of Goldman Capital Management. Industry analysts say that military applications would probably be the primary use for quantum cryptography. "The Defense Department is going to care, and that's big money for a small start-up to survive on," said Laura Koetzle, a computer security analyst at Forrester Research. MagiQ also plans to explore other commercial applications from quantum physics, including quantum computing. Some scientists predict that computers based on quantum principle are possible and will be able to perform specialized tasks far more quickly than computers can. New York Times. Free Registration. . The quirky world of quantum physics, where mathematical elements can hold multiple values and object. quirky, world, quantum, physics, where, mathematical, elements, values, object. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Scientists working for Europe's Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) have devised a new security algorithm, known as A5/3, that will provide network operators and users of GSM mobile phones with an even higher level of protection against eavesdropping than they have already. . . . . Scientists working for Europe's Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) have devised a new security algorithm, known as A5/3, that will provide network operators and users of GSM mobile phones with an even higher level of protection against eavesdropping than they have already. The algorithm will be available from the third quarter of this year. It was developed by a joint working party between the GSM Association Security Group and the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for GSM systems, but it will also be useable for the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) where it will be known as GEA3, and other GSM modes such as High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD) and enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE). The link for this article located at CommsDesign is no longer available. . Scientists working for Europe's Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) have devised a new sec. scientists, working, europe's, telecommunications, standards, institute, (etsi), devised. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
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