Quantum crypto nearly ready to go mobile

While the world is still waiting for a full-blown quantum communications setup, quantum key distribution – QKD – is already a contested product market. Now, an international collaboration has shown that QKD can be brought to the smartphone. The project, carried out by the University of Bristol, Cambridge, Griffith University …

[Paul Crawford]

What is the application for this?

I mean, what real use is an uber-secure link to a smartphone that is likely to get lost and/or otherwise compromised by being basically a consumer-grade machine with (in most cases) damn-all in the way of regular security patches?

Put it another way, how often is the maths of https broken (as opposed to some dumb certificate issue) compared to Trojans or other hacks being deployed to end user's computing devices to achieve the same thing?

So full marks for ingenuity, but I am still kind of wondering who and what this will be used for in practice.

[Destroy All Monsters]

Re: What is the application for this?

I remember the Sarkozy being presented by a special mobile made by Thales with extra-special crypto sauce. Maybe it was just for phoning the wife while still being safe from Paparazzi or NSA forking the stream on the telecom switch, but I doubt it.

[Badvok]

Quantum Polarisers

How are Quantum Polarisers different to normal Polarisers?

[Real Ale is Best]

Re: Quantum Polarisers

They rotate your Quantums, obviosly!

[Pascal Monett]

Unless you reverse the polarity, in which case they invert them.

[supreme-overlord]

Sounds perfectly safe

Outsourcing over half the 'secure comms' to the remote server. They won't be dodgy at all, and under no conditions will hand over key information to the Govt.

The best security ideas involve some third party managing the security of pesky things like encryption.

[Destroy All Monsters]

Re: Sounds perfectly safe

Well, you better have some confidence in the point where your data comes out ... that's the starting point, innit?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Sounds perfectly safe

As I read it, it gives you a secure connection between the phone and the server. If users read that as between phone to phone, or between user to user, and forget it's "user to ISP/telecom" then their error and the NSAs boon. :D

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow. I was expecting some normal 128 or 256bit key with a branded chip called "Quantum-TM" on it as a buzzword bandwagon jump at the naive. But turns out it's actual QM mechanics and proper cryptography. Colour me surprised!

[Anonymous Coward]

Fascinating

QKD on a mobile phone is a huge advance.

AC/DC

[trottel]

Quantum Polariser

Geordie: Maybe if we charge the main display and emit an inverted polaron pulse through the accelerometer, it might create a feedback surge in the antenna that could initiate quantum polarisation. It is not pretty, but the best i can give you know.

Picard: Make it so.

... it is time for a real Star Trek sequel, not that "Into the darkness"-crap. I want old-school sci-fi.

[Wzrd1]

Re: Quantum Polariser

"... it is time for a real Star Trek sequel, not that "Into the darkness"-crap. I want old-school sci-fi."

Do you mean something that is *not* "hey, our ratings suck, let's have a war and raise the numbers a bit"?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re. quantum polariser

Where's my phaser already?

Being able to disintegrate stuff at the push of a button would be very handy.