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Technology

Clever maths will stop hackers spying on the quantum internet

By Jacob Aron

15 January 2018

Conceptual art of network

Networks can be secured

Zap Art/Getty

Efforts to build a quantum internet are under way, but turning what was once a lab experiment into a robust, modern communications network is not without its difficulties. Now, two researchers have come up with a way to ensure quantum networks are unhackable, even at scale.

Theoretically, messages sent via quantum networks are secured by the laws of quantum mechanics, because any attempt to intercept information sent between two parties will disturb its fragile quantum state, revealing the eavesdropper. One way to check a quantum line is secure involves solving an equation called…

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