Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi researchers have achieved an experimental breakthrough on secure quantum communication up to a distance of 380 kms in standard telecom fibre. It has a very low error rate, which can help safeguard financial transactions and secret codes.
According to officials, this long secure length is the highest achieved so far for the differential phase shift (DPS) quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol, not only in India but also globally.
Given the low quantum bit error rate (QBER), quantum communication is resistant to collective and individual attacks and can be used for a variety of applications such as securing financial transactions, medical records, and secret codes. State-of-the-art technology will not only help in reducing the need for trusted nodes for intercity or long-distance quantum key exchange, increasing the security of the cryptography scheme, but also prove to be a crucial step towards the commercial production of long-distance secure practical QKD devices, as per the officials.
