Securing Key Distribution with Quantum Cryptography

Quantum cryptography recently made headlines this year when European Union members announced their intention to invest $13 million in the research and development of a secure communications system based on this technology. The system, known as SECOQC (Secure Communication based on Quantum Cryptography), will serve as a strategic defense against the Echelon intelligence gathering system used by the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand 1. In addition, a handful of quantum information processing companies are implementing quantum cryptography solutions to meet the needs of businesses, governments, and other institutions where preventing the unauthorized disclosure of information has become a critical success factor in maintaining a competitive advantage over adversaries. Therefore, the focus of this paper is quantum cryptography and how this technology contributes value to a defense-in-depth strategy pertaining to completely secure key distribution. The scope of this paper covers the weaknesses of modern digital cryptosystems, the fundamental concepts of quantum cryptography, the real-world implementation of this technology along with its limitations, and finally the future direction that quantum cryptography is headed towards.