Mint explainer: Startup helps military make quantum leap into secure comms

After successful trials, the Indian Army is issuing a Request for Proposal to QNu Labs for the purchase of QKD systems. Defense Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar termed the event as a fitting success story of Atmanirbhar Bharat as QNU Labs has indigenously developed the technology. India joins the US, Canada, China and some European countries developing QKDs for strategic and commercial use.

The QKD project was curated by Innovation for Defense Excellence (iDEX) and the Defense Innovation Organization (DIO). Launched in April 2018, iDEX is a defense technology incubator aimed at achieving self-reliance and fostering innovation. QNu Labs won an open challenge started by iDEX.

In February this year, DRDO and IIT Delhi demonstrated a QKD link between Prayagraj and Vindhyachal in Uttar Pradesh, a distance of over 100 kilometres.

QKD may seem like just another esoteric technique, but its application has far-reaching implications for everyone. This is why many countries are rushing to build QKDs for both military and civilian use.

What is QKD?

QKD is a data encryption technique based on quantum mechanics, as opposed to existing encryption techniques which are based on mathematics. As computing power increases, existing data encryption methods based on complex mathematical calculations will no longer be as secure.

QKD is so called because it encapsulates data in quantum states. Roughly speaking, an unknown quantum state is measured when it is measured. QKD uses this principle to secure communications between two parties from malicious third-party eavesdropping.

For two parties to communicate securely, QKD generates a shared random key that is used to encrypt and decrypt messages. QKD encodes each bit of the key on a single photon, a particle of light transmitted through an optical fiber. If a third party tries to listen, it must measure the key in some way. Any attempt to measure photons changes their encoding. And it turns the key, alerting both parties to the discrepancy.

According to Toshiba, a market leader in QKD, unlike other existing security solutions, QKD is protected from all future advances in mathematics and computing, including the data processing power of quantum computers.

Why does QKD matter so much?

Since communication channels are involved in everything nowadays, any disruption in a channel can cause havoc. You could lose your privacy, your money or, if someone hacks into your home’s electricity grid. Firms can lose money and confidential business data to hackers. During a war, a country’s defense and infrastructure systems can be completely disabled by hacking. In short, data security has become as important as the security of life.

As computing technology advances, new ways to hack computer networks emerge. Interestingly, while quantum computing is a threat to existing encryption methods, the world is looking to QKD, a solution based on quantum mechanics.

The rapid spread of Internet technologies in every walk of life may have made life easier, but it has also left us vulnerable. We are as secure as our data. Defence, banking, aerospace, healthcare, corporate, pharmaceuticals and critical R&D sectors will benefit from QKD technology as data security is critical in these sectors.

Why is QKD important for India?

Although any country wants the latest technology for its defense systems, the one-word answer to the question why India needs it so much is China.

According to the claims made by China, it is miles ahead of India in QKD. While India has demonstrated capability for QKD linkages over a distance of 100 km, China claims to have built a QKD network spanning 4,600 km – the longest in the world – which includes a link between Shanghai and Beijing. Is.

QKD works best through fiber-optic transmission, so it needs an elaborate physical infrastructure. It even has its limitations as signals attenuate over long distance transmission. Free-space transmission via satellites is an option, although it also has its own challenges as photons are sensitive to light. Satellite transmission does not rule out attenuation of the signal. It is in the early stages of development but China is leading the effort.

Last month, China’s Lijian quick-reaction rocket carried a satellite into space that will perform QKD experiments in low-Earth orbit. In 2016, China launched the world’s first QKD satellite Mozi and achieved QKD transmission between two ground stations 2,600 km apart.

Thanks to Mozi, the free-space QKD transmission is part of China’s Beijing-Shanghai network. Such a large QKD network is not possible with optical fiber cables. Mozi also plays an important role in China’s public infrastructure. China’s electricity grid, which is the largest in the world, is protected with free-space QKD technology through Mozi.

It is clear that China, protected by QKD technology, will not need war to defeat India, which has traditional defenses for communication systems. A series of cyber attacks can disable India to such an extent that it will not be able to fight effectively.

India has also demonstrated free-space QKD capability, but it does not compare with China. Last year, the Indian Space Research Organization demonstrated free space QKD communication at a distance of just 300 meters. China claims that its capacity is thousands of kilometers. The broadcast was performed between two line-of-sight buildings on campus at the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad.

If you believe China’s claims and compare them with India’s achievement, India has a long way to go.

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