Team hails quantum leap in telecomms security

In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers from the Universities of Glasgow, Stanford, Tokyo and Würzburg describe how the phenomenon of quantum entanglement  - which enables particles that are separated to share properties - could be used to encode data and send it over long distances.

Scientists have previously demonstrated that quantum entanglement can enable the exchange of information over short distances.

This process also allows information to be encoded in quantum particles, similar to the way in which the ones and zeroes (known as bits) of digital communication are used to encode all kinds of data.

Two computers sharing quantum information are much more secure, as any interception by a third party will change the properties of the data itself, allowing easy detection by the intended recipient. 

In a demonstration of how quantum computers might be able to communicate with each over long distances via a so-called “Quantum internet” the team achieved a world-first by transmitting a quantum bit (qubit) along a 2km length of standard fibre optic cable.