Chinese Scientists Break Record, Successfully Create World's Most Secure Quantum Communication

Chinese scientists reportedly managed to break the world record for making Quantum Secure Direct Communication (QSDC) (photo: Chadd Maden / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Chinese scientists reportedly managed to break a world record for creating Quantum Secure Direct Communication (QSDC), transferring information securely over a distance of 100 km (62 miles).

QSDC technology developer Long Guilu and his team broke the record from the previous 18 km (11 miles) in 2020.

Although the transmission speed is very slow at 0.54 bits per second, it is still good enough for the encryption of text messages and phone calls over a distance of 30 km (19 miles).

QSDC uses the principle of entanglement to secure the network. Quantum physics states that entangled particles are intertwined so that if you change the property of one by measuring it, the other will also change immediately, effectively making hacking impossible.

Guilu's work could eventually lead to anti-hack communications, as any eavesdropping attempts on the quantum line could be detected immediately.

Guilu, who is also a physics professor at Tsinghua University and vice president of the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, noted the transmission speeds, stating they were good enough for phone calls and text messages around 30 km.

He claims the technology is ready to be integrated with standard encryption techniques to create a secure network with classic relay points.

"If we replace parts of the internet today, where more eavesdropping attacks occur, with quantum channels, those parts will have the added ability to sense and prevent eavesdropping, making communications even more secure", Guilu said as quoted from Engadget, Tuesday, April 19.

For example, it says Guilu is like a bank account password, it can be communicated securely between two devices 90 Km apart using three 30 Km quantum channels linked by two relay points and protected by encryption.

With this technology, every eavesdropping attempt during quantum transmission will be visible, while the information at the relay point will be protected by classical encryption.

"Experiments show that direct quantum-secure communication between cities via fiber is feasible with current technology", said the Guilu team.

They added that this technique also has great potential to secure the 6G technology that China claims is being initiated.

As information quoted from Eurasiantimes, China has made progress in the use of the quantum technology industry. In recent years, they made several advances in quantum technology, such as the world's first quantum satellite, a 2,000 Km quantum communication line between Beijing and Shanghai, and the prototype of the world's first optical quantum computing machine.

In addition, one of Beijing's goals for its 14th five-year plan, ending in 2025, is to build an intercity quantum demonstration network based on safe relays.

And in November last year, the goal was also included in the team of the city's international science and technology innovation center in the development plan.

The observations were published in the journal Light: Science & Applications in early April in an article entitled “Realization of quantum secure direct communication over 100 Km of fiber with time bin and phase quantum states.”