Australian scientists believe they have developed an unbreakable information code to stop hackers, using a diamond, a kitchen microwave oven and an optical fibre.Researchers at Melbourne University used the microwave to "fuse" a tiny diamond, just 1/1000th of a millimeter, onto an optical fibre, which could be used to create a single photon beam of light which they say cannot be hacked.
The diamond device sends a stream of single photons, so that if the chain of communication is broken, the information becomes corrupted and a hacker immediately exposed to both the sender and the receiver.
A key element of protection plans for nanofactories with built-in technical restrictions is to make them hacker-resistant, or better yet, hacker-proof. The security device described here might be part of that solution.
Significant progress in cryptology, quantum computing, and secured data transmission steadily provides more options to demonstrate the feasibility of CRN's administration recommendations for advanced nanotechnology. All the technical challenges apparently can be met. What remains to be seen is whether the worldwide community has the vision and the will to put such plans into action before it's too late.
Mike Treder
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