Making network communications unhackable

CST Global has developed Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) emitter and detector technologies as part of a UK-funded, government project. These technologies can enable totally secure, network communications. QKD suits mission-critical, client server applications, where unbreakable security codes prevent hacking and malicious attack. QKD can be applied to existing IT infrastructures and offers a high-security, data transmission option within the rapidly expanding, optical communications market*.

Wednesday, 26th February 2020 Posted 4 years ago in by Phil Alsop

QKD has been developed as part of CST Global’s core competence in Quantum technologies. QKD is a result of CST Global’s involvement in the QR-SPLED,government-funded project and the ‘Single Photon Infrared Detectors for Quantum Systems’ project with Amythest research and Lancaster University.

QKD requires a single-photon, Quantum Light Source (QLS) to transmit data and a Single-Photon Detector (SPD) to receive it. CST Global has both QLS and SPD technologies developed to microscale, through government-funded projects. The SPD receiver also operates at room temperature, instead of at the impractical, cryogenic temperatures of previous solutions.

Andrew McKee, CTO at CST Global, explains, “High-security authentication of client server sessions in today’s IT infrastructures are encrypted via a secure, HTTPS key server. CST Global’s QKD solution will also do this, however, it can encrypt every single packet of data within a session, in real time, making it significantly more secure. However, QKD’s speed allows direct client servercommunications and it will detect tamper attempts, aborting ‘suspect’ sessions. This makes QKD-based network security totally un-hackable.”

CST Global’s QKD solution operates at room temperature and is potentially small enough, cheap enough and practical enough for deployment in pc, server or smartphone applications. The company is actively seeking a commercial partner interested in developing a dedicated, nanoscale chip for widespread use.