AK&M 20 January 2025 11:55
Scientists from Novosibirsk State Technical University NETI have proposed a way to securely transmit information via fiber-optic communication lines. The development provides cryptographic protection of transmitted data at the physical level due to the original laser generation mechanism directly in the communication line.
Information has long been a strategic resource that requires reliable protection. In addition to the natural risks of information loss, there is a criminal risk. We are talking about hacker attacks, during which parties interested in information seek to steal or modify data for their own purposes. Various cryptographic systems are used for protection — software and hardware encryption complexes. However, having long-term access to the physical channel through which data is transmitted (even encrypted) makes the system potentially vulnerable, since modern computing technologies, as well as the leakage of encryption keys organized in some way, can allow an attacker to decrypt data intercepted in the communication channel.
Scientists of NSTU NETI propose to protect information in telecommunication channels in a special way. To do this, they have developed a system for generating and distributing private cryptographic keys (as well as corresponding encryption protocols) at the physical level using an ultra-long fiber laser as a communication channel. This method allows users to share information without fear of being intercepted. According to a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Quantum Cryogenic Electronics, Candidate of Physico-mathematical Sciences, Associate Professor According to Boris Nyushkov, the recorded parameters of the information signal for an external observer during data transmission remain unchanged. With the usual method of transmitting information between two user parties, the signal in the communication channel changes.
“Our method allows transmitting data in the mode of the values of the bits “0” and “1” that are indistinguishable to an outside observer, transmitted using identical laser pulses, specifically in order to confuse any illegitimate observer who would like to intercept and decode the data,” Boris Nyushkov said.
Dean of the Faculty of Physics and Technology, Associate Professor of the Department of Laser Systems, Candidate of Physico-Mathematical Sciences, Associate Professor Igor Korel noted that the development of NSTU NETI is unique, before that similar methods had not been used in the world. “Our method is a relevant direction in physical layer cryptography. Principles from laser physics are involved in communication protocols here, they are intertwined with classical cryptographic protocols, creating a new, physical level of data protection in communication channels. At the same time, the proposed method compares favorably with the currently popular methods of quantum cryptography, simplicity of implementation and technical reliability,” he stressed.
The method can be used in areas with high requirements for information security, such as, for example, the banking sector, telecom operators, government and corporate information registries.
This development was noted as one of the most significant fundamental research results obtained in 2024 according to the profile of the Joint Scientific Council for Physical Sciences of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
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