First quantum cryptography network unveiled

From The New Scientist

This is a subject I follow a lot and this is BIG news.

The first computer network in which communication is secured with quantum cryptography is up and running in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Chip Elliott, leader of the quantum engineering team at BBN Technologies in Cambridge, sent the first packets of data across the Quantum Net (Qnet) on Thursday. The project is funded by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Does the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA sound familiar? No? How about ARPANET? No? Let me explain.

ARPA was responsible for funding development of ARPANET (which grew into the Internet), as well as the Berkeley version of Unix (BSD) and TCP/IP. From Wikipedia

So when the creator of the internet announces something like this you can bet it is big news.

And why is this so important?

Intruder detection

Quantum cryptography guarantees secure communications by harnessing the quantum quirks of photons sent between users. Any attempt to intercept the photons will disturb their quantum state and raise the alarm.

It is in the early stages of development but shows huge promise in secure communications; especially military and political communications.

This will scare the hell out of the Russians and Chinese. Why?

Well today no country knows if any or all of it's communications are being intercepted. You have to assume it is and try and protect it as much as you can. With quantum cryptography you will know if anyone saw or heard the communications.

Einstein hated a lot of this field of science; calling it "spookiness at a distance".

Be warned! If you decide to "dip into" the quantum world there is no going back. It is far stranger than science fiction and it is "real"; sort of.
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