The First-ever "Unhackable" Encryption System is Finally Here!

After problem comes solution. Hacking has emerged as a major issue over the years. Well, it looks like the right solution for it has arrived. As per the researchers from the University of St Andrews, they have devised an encryption system that is completely “unhackable” and saves data in the form of light.

Diving into the details, once the data is sent through the chip, it issues a one-time-only key. The data (retained as light) passes through a carefully designed chip that mixes up the information by bending and refracting light.

As the bending and refraction of light is different each time depending on the data being transferred via chip, this tech is a physical embodiment of the OTP (One-Time Password) mechanism, known for validating countless services.

The chips in question are capable of delivering 0.1 Terabit of different keys for every single mm of the input channel’s length.

According to St Andrews University’s Professor Andrea Di Falco, the new tech can be best explained with the analogy of talking to someone with two paper-cups attached by string. If the cups are crunched while someone is speaking, their sound would be masked. But the crunch would be different every time. This makes the new tech seemingly unbreakable.

The system’s security is assessed on the basis of the Kerckhoff principle. The tech uses the second law of thermodynamics and the “exponential sensitivity and chaos” in order to stop bad actors from getting their hands on any piece of information on the key being traded by the user.

If everything goes right, this invention can put an end to all cybersecurity issues across the world. It remains to be seen if these chips get used in the future to authorize the communication channels.

Nature.com has published a relevant research paper in which you can discover more about the new technology.