Resurrected Dundee Satellite Station to host quantum Optical Ground Station Dundee Satellite Station's home turf at Scotland's Errol Aerodrome is to host an Optical Ground Station to test and demonstrate satellite quantum secure communications. The name may sound familiar. Dundee Satellite Station Ltd. is a phoenix rising from the ashes of the University of Dundee Satellite Receiving Station (DSRS), …
In Dundee, offshore oil rig workers have to wait in hotels for their helicopters to carry them to the oil rigs for their month long shifts.
"Quantum secure communications (another weapon in the armory against cyber attacks) usually run along terrestrial fiber links, but are limited by distance. The hope is that the use of satellites will allow quantum communications to be sent securely all over the world."
Can you fake GPS? So can you fake the satellite quantum key exchange?
Can I suggest that both the transmitting station and the receiving ground station are trusted, and thus can share a large private key (even a one time pad if needed), ensuring total security. So satellite transmissions don't need quantum key exchange to be secure, its the quantum key exchange that needs the satellite to be secure. That's not a good thing.
As to whether quantum key encryptions actually works, you would want to send that across the most easily accessible connection, so the maximum number of attackers can test your key exchange. Sending it via satellite from Dundee is more like obsfucation.Your attacker now has to travel up Dundee on some crap train or flight, stay in a crap overpriced oil-worker hotel, bring satellite signal electronics with them.... yet if the key exchange actually worked, none of this would be necessary.
"In Dundee, offshore oil rig workers have to wait in hotels for their helicopters to carry them to the oil rigs for their month long shifts."
I don't think that's true. Oil workers get their helicopters from Aberdeen. The hotels may be over-priced (I couldn't say, I have a rather nice room in my house...), but they're not oil-worker hotels.
Have you ever been to Dundee?
As John 110 asks " have you ever actually been to Dundee".
The vast majority of folks travelling to/from production platforms and/or drilling / accommodation semi-subs use helicopters out of Aberdeen or Shetland (and have done since the seventies).
Dundee Riverside (DND / EGPN) sees some charters, GA and regular Loganair flights along with a very occasional helicopter.
Errol - the site of the satellite station - nowadays has only a few GA movements.
Re TFA, heartening to see the engineering folks out-maneuvering the bean-counters for a change .
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