“Unhackable” Quantum Internet
Today’s internet is a network that connects millions of computers and devices in different parts of the world over radio waves. But thanks to the Quantum Internet, signals are carried using quantum particles instead of radio waves so that the particle from one end of the world can reach the other. The Quantum Internet is an extraordinary network of quantum devices that allows some information to be exchanged in an environment that uses the strange laws of quantum mechanics. This event, in theory, gives the Quantum Internet unprecedented capabilities that are impossible to achieve with today’s web applications.
In the quantum world, data is encoded in a qubit state created in quantum devices such as a Quantum Computer or Quantum Processor. For example, the Quantum Internet involves sending qubits over a network of multiple physically separated quantum devices.
This may sound like the standard internet to you. However, sending qubits through a quantum channel rather than a classical channel is cited as the most significant difference in an effective system of so-called “The Quantum States” of particles’ behavior at the most miniature scale, which has created delight and horror among scientists for decades.
One of the most exciting details that researchers armed with qubits have discovered is security. In the case of classical communication, most data is secured by distributing a shared key with the sender and receiver and then using that public key to encrypt the message. The receiver can then use their key to decrypt the data finally.
Today’s security of most classical communications is based on an algorithm for generating difficult but impossible keys to crack. That’s why scientists are trying to make this communication process quantum-based. This concept is central to the emerging field of cybersecurity called quantum key distribution (QKD).
QKD (Quantum Key Distribution) network works by transmitting the key encoded in quantum bits called qubits between endpoints over a fiber optic cable. Qubits are typically polarized photons that can travel along with fiber optic cables. Any attempt to capture the quantum key destroys the qubit’s sensitive quantum state and the information it holds, warning endpoints that intrusion has occurred. This detectability of intrusions ensures the security of data transmission in the Quantum Internet.
In classical communication, most data transmission begins with the sender and receiver sharing a key. Communication is then secured by using this public key to encrypt the message. The receiver then decodes the data with the key.
Quantum Internet: Working System
Today’s internet network uses bits that can represent a value of 0 or 1. On the other hand, the Quantum Network uses the qubit, the quantum bit, which can take an infinite number of deals and is also used in Quantum Computers. This will provide more bandwidth to the Quantum Internet and communicate with other computers.
In short, this system will make it easier to access websites, applications, some browsers, and techniques that cannot be accessed with today’s internet.
What forms the basis of the Quantum Internet: it takes advantage of another quantum feature called entanglement to communicate between two devices. When two qubits interact and become entangled, they share specific interdependent properties. When the qubits are entangled, any change in one particle in the pair will also cause changes in the other, even if they are physically separated.
Quantum Internet and Today’s Internet
- Quantum Internet is much faster than the internet using today.
- Quantum Internet will offer more protection than standard internet.
- It will also work on quantum key distribution, which provides unbreakable security systems.
- Thanks to the Quantum Internet, programs that internet users cannot access today will be accessible.
“Unhackable” Quantum Internet
It is predicted that the internet based on quantum physics will be the essential component to provide secure communication in the future. This is why building quantum networks is the goal of many governments. In recent years, ways have been found to transfer photon pairs over fiber optic cables in a way that is completely protected from the information carried inside them. Entanglement, a quantum property of atomic particles, is at the center of the method. But entangled particles are difficult to produce and even more difficult to transmit over long distances. Therefore, quantum repeaters must expand the network and offer a seamless connection over great distances.
The goal of quantum researchers is to take networks first to a national level and then to a global level.
