China Create Quantum Network That Can’t Be Hacked

With hacking becoming an increasingly serious problem on an international scale with huge national security implications, it was only a matter of time before a country developed a network that simply cannot be hacked. It seems China is the first to do it and did so using advanced quantum encryption that it seems no one else bothered with.

The quantum communication network in question was developed in Jinan city, where the breakthrough was reportedly achieved and tested. The state-run media in the nation touted the success as a major departure from how most computer networks are encrypted, BBC reports.

Aside from simply blowing the lid on one of the most sought-after goals in the tech industry, this development also serves to highlight how far behind the West has fallen in terms of innovation. It would seem that China has become a leader in several respects where America once stood as a figure of inspiration.

With regards to the so-called “unhackable” features of the network, it basically means that any attempt at doing so would be detected right away. Unlike trying to break through current encryption methods, which basically make use of codes and numbers, hackers would basically be destroying light particles when they attempt to intercept any information transported by the quantum network.

It simply cannot be avoided and is thus easy to detect. Both the hacker and the target would know right away that something has gone wrong. As to why the West has fallen so far behind on this point, Imperial College at London Professor Myungshik Kim told the BBC that it was out of sheer complacency and the difficulty of the task.

“For a long time people simply didn’t think it was needed,” he said. “The mathematical difficulty of the current coding system was so high that it was not thought necessary to implement the new technology.”

China will be using this more secure network to encrypt its nation defenses, Futurism reports, as well as its financial sectors. Doing so should make the country safer against attacks that crippled Ukraine recently.