Two residents of the Skolkovo Foundation’s IT cluster have teamed up to work on a secure communications system using quantum cryptography technology devised by Russian Quantum Centre (RQC) in conjunction with existing telecoms infrastructure developed by T8.
Quantum communication uses the fundamental laws of physics to protect information. The technology uses single photons whose state changes irreversibly if anyone tries to intercept the information exchange, meaning it is impossible to eavesdrop on the information channel without the holders of the shared quantum key noticing.
The joint project will use T8's DWDM technology to build a new hybrid system. Photo: T8.
The mass application of quantum cryptography requires the creation of hybrid systems that can use existing telecoms infrastructure and equipment, T8 and RQC said in a joint press release announcing the signing of a cooperation agreement. Pooling their resources will make it possible to create a commercially viable ultra-secure communications system made in Russia, the statement said.
“The integration of technology for the quantum cryptography of information into modern telecoms systems will allow us to create a technologically unique product that will undoubtedly see market demand,” said Ruslan Yunusov, director of RQC, which has been working on quantum communication technology since 2014, and has developed a technology for transmitting a quantum key for encrypted information over a distance of up to 30 kilometres.
T8 is a leading company in the development and application of DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) systems, in which a number of optical carrier signals are combined in a single optical fibre using varying wavelengths of laser light.
The companies say combining their technologies will both significantly increase data protection within telecoms networks and make it possible to provide a data exchange speed of up to 100 and 400 gigabytes per second. This speed will be made possible by the use of T8’s fibre-optic platform, which will be used to build a new hybrid system.
“The system will allow us to provide a high degree of security for the information being transferred for clients that really need it, such as financial organisations and state agencies,” said Vladimir Treshchikov, director of T8, which has installed more than 65,000 kilometres of DWDM networks.
“I am pleased to say that such projects demonstrate that Russia has its finger on the pulse in terms of quantum communication,” he added.
Of the potential areas for the practical application of quantum technology, the one best known to the general public is the idea of creating a quantum computer, but while progress has been made in recent years, there is still a long way to go to the creation of a mass commercial product, said Nikolai Suetin, science director of Skolkovo’s IT cluster. And meanwhile, the principle of quantum entanglement is already used in modern data protection systems, including in the creation of fully protected methods of transmitting encryption keys via optic communication systems, he added. Switzerland and China already have whole networks for banks and state agencies connected by quantum-protected communication channels, he said.
The main problem of such networks is in their limited size: at present, they reach a few dozen kilometres because of diffusion and transmission loss in the optic fibre, and it is impossible to strengthen the signal without losing coherence, Suetin explained.
“RQC uses quite an original technology to create and receive an optic signal,” he said. “So far transmission over 30 kilometres has been demonstrated, but their technology could make it possible to significantly increase the area over which a quantum key could be transmitted. Another task is to make a commercial version of the product that could be used by regular engineers,” he added.
Russian Quantum Centre is a non-governmental science and research organisation that conducts fundamental and applied research in the field of quantum physics, and works on the creation and commercialisation of new technologies and devices based on the use of quantum effects. The centre’s specialists develop hypersensitive sensors, optic microresonators, elements of quantum computers (qubits) and quantum cryptography systems.
T8 was included in the TekhUspekh rating of the fastest developing high-tech companies in Russia, and was also nominated for the Industry prize awarded by the government in 2015.