#idquantique

Researchers Use Photon Teleportation Quantum Physics to Transfer Data Between Light Sources, Opening the Door to an Unhackable Internet.

Photon teleportation quantum physics

The University of Stuttgart pioneered quantum teleportation of information between quantum internet photons. This breakthrough solves a fundamental problem in scalable quantum networks and advances ultra-secure data transit.

Overcoming Interoperability Issues

According to Professor Peter Michler, his team communicated photon polarisation between quantum dots. This is significant since previous quantum teleportation experiments used single light sources or had trouble producing indistinguishable photons from separate emitters.

Most photons from different sources showed minute changes in their characteristics, making quantum interference alignment problematic.

The Stuttgart squad cleverly avoided this:

Photons: They built advanced semiconductor quantum dots that produce nearly identical photons. These nanometer-sized semiconductor islands emit photons with specified characteristics “at the push of a button”.

Perfect Alignment: They used powerful quantum frequency converters (developed by Saarland University partners) to deliberately “tune” these photons into perfect alignment to compensate for any remaining frequency disparities for reliable teleportation.

This approach demonstrated quantum state transmission across a 10-meter optical fibre. The instantaneous transmission of a quantum state from one particle to another without physical particles moving across space is called “teleportation” in quantum mechanics.

An Important Step: Unhackable Security and Quantum Repeaters

This scientific discovery goes beyond laboratory curiosity and overcomes a major quantum repeater assembly difficulty. Quantum repeaters are essential nodes in the quantum internet that broadcast or refresh quantum information over vast distances because quantum states cannot be copied or upgraded like ordinary data transmissions.

Scalability of teleportation hinges on proving independent quantum dots as reliable photon sources. Experts herald quantum networking as a “game-changer” and “major milestone”.

A quantum internet powered by teleportation will enable unhackable communication. Quantum communication is immune to classical eavesdropping since every effort to intercept the transmission leaves traceable evidence. This offers unrivalled protection for financial transactions, sensitive data transit, and critical infrastructure.

Effects on Tech and AI

This discovery affects the IT industry, especially organisations who have substantially invested in secure data solutions and AI. Cybersecurity and quantum cryptography experts IBM, Google, and ID Quantique benefit.

Future AI systems will need the new communication backbone. Privacy-preserving federated learning across datasets, ultra-secure communication between remote AI models, and safe AI agent interactions will be possible with the technology. The secure and effective transfer of quantum-level information makes this infrastructural shift as revolutionary as algorithmic discoveries.

Future Path

Despite demonstrating teleportation across sources, researchers are expanding up the experiment. The current demonstration distance is 10 meters, although prior experiments by the same group demonstrated that entanglement might stretch beyond 36 kilometres.

Future goals include:

Raise the range of reliable quantum teleportation.

Increasing the rate and precision of teleportation events; the current success rate is about 70%.

Adding quantum dot devices to more complex quantum repeater prototypes.

The key technical challenges include improving quantum dot stability and coherence durations, photon generation and detection efficiency, and quantum memory systems. Experts expect regional quantum networks in the next decade and a global quantum internet in the next decades if scaling and error correction concerns are handled.

Turkcell leads quantum-safe 5G network security as cyber threats rise.

Turkcell and ID Quantique build quantum-resistant security on Juniper mobile backhaul to defend next-gen telecom infrastructure.

Turkcell, Turkey's largest telecom and telecommunications company, has advanced its quantum computing network infrastructure. Turkcell and ID Quantique (IDQ) completed a groundbreaking quantum-safe mobile backhaul security proof-of-concept (PoC). This puts Turkcell at the forefront of next-generation telecom cybersecurity and addresses quantum computer concerns.

This unique project relies on Juniper's robust MACsec and IPsec frameworks and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology. This technology protects 5G mobile backhaul components like encrypted data and Precision Timing Protocols (PTP) with quantum-resilient protection.

PTP precision timing protocols

5G mobile backhaul networks need Precision Timing Protocols (PTP). These protocols enable clock synchronisation, which is essential for mobile network efficiency.

PTP is thoroughly studied below:

Critical Mobile Network Role:

Turkcell's network gets better timing from PTP and SyncE.

Many 5G services and applications require precise time synchronisation.

Mobility operations like data transmission and call handovers require precise timing.

Quantum Threat Vulnerability:

PTP may be attacked by quantum computing.

Quantum computers endanger cryptographic systems, especially mobile backhaul network time synchronisation.

Effects of PTP manipulation/attacks:

Protecting PTP is crucial since manipulation or inaccuracies can have catastrophic consequences.

These include:

Users lost connections and had greater latency.

Mobile network-dependent enterprises lose money due to lower productivity.

Consumer mistrust in mobile services' reliability and security.

Misaligned networks cause dropped calls and failed data transfers.

Users' locations can be revealed via altering time signals.

Network instability can cause cascade failures that affect several users.

One threat is spoofing attacks, which broadcast fake timing signals to disrupt networks.

PTP Protection Strategy: Turkcell

With ID Quantique and Juniper Networks, Turkcell created a quantum-proof proof-of-concept (PoC) to protect PTP.

The trial used Juniper's MACsec and IPsec frameworks and Quantum Key Distribution encryption keys to protect PTP.

IEEE standard MACsec (802.1AE) encrypted all wired communication, including PTP, SyncE, and Data. MACsec uses AES256 encryption for quantum resistance without performance problems.

The strategy focused on safeguarding PTP without increasing latency that could compromise network performance. The PoC found that PTP could be secured without affecting time data precision.

Turkcell proved that field-deployed Juniper ACX7100s can safeguard data and synchronisation traffic from quantum computer threats in the first proof of concept. Even with quantum-safe MACsec and a virtual key management system, MACsec did not affect PTP quality.

In the second phase, ID Quantique's QKD solution replaced the virtual key management system by providing quantum-protected MACsec and IPsec keys while maintaining 5G timing precision and IP traffic integrity.

Synchronisation persisted when key management was unplugged, proving the network's robustness.

Finally, modern mobile networks, especially 5G, depend on PTP. Turkcell's groundbreaking quantum-safe security program protects PTP from advanced cyberthreats like quantum computers.

Juniper Mobile Backhaul

Juniper Networks is a leader in quantum-safe mobile backhaul network security, as shown by its agreements with Turkcell and ID Quantique.

Juniper's mobile backhaul role is outlined below:

Know Mobile Backhaul Networks

Mobile backhaul networks are necessary to transport all traffic between cell towers and mobile core networks.

They are prime candidates for cyberattacks due to their distant work and sensitive data.

These networks' exact temporal distribution is critical.

Juniper Secures Mobile Backhaul

Juniper Networks, a pioneer in secure, AI-native networks, completed a quantum-safe proof-of-concept (PoC) with Turkcell and ID Quantique to protect mobile backhaul networks from quantum attacks.

Quantum Key Distribution encryption keys and Juniper's powerful MACsec and IPsec frameworks worked well in the PoC. This integration provides quantum-resilient safety for mobile backhaul components like encrypted data and Precision Timing Protocols without sacrificing efficiency.

Key Juniper Mobile Backhaul Products and Technologies The PoC used Juniper hardware:

Juniper Networks ACX7100 cloud metro routers: In the first part of the Proof of Concept, field-deployed routers synchronised traffic and secured data using MACsec. Turkcell proved that these devices can protect traffic from quantum computer attacks by activating MACsec without affecting data traffic or synchronisation quality.

The second phase of the Proof of Concept used Juniper SRX Series Firewalls, particularly the SRX1500, to validate quantum-safe IPsec integration. The configuration confirmed that IDQ's QKD devices support the SRX1500 Firewalls' quantum-safe IPsec services.

MACsec and IPsec certification for Juniper MX Series routers was also noted.

Juniper's IPsec solution adds an RFC8784 secret key to IKE protocols using virtual and/or physical key management entities. This combines quantum-resistant and robust classical algorithms using interchangeable key-management methods.

Enhancing Mobile Backhaul Security and Performance The solution prioritised protecting Precision Timing Protocols (PTP), which are essential to 5G backhaul networks and may be vulnerable to quantum computing. Due to Juniper's frameworks, this was achieved without adding latency that would have hampered network performance. The proof of concept revealed that MACsec can quantum-safely protect data and the mission-critical synchronisation network without compromising time information.

The project showed that the quantum-safe system preserves 5G timing precision and IP traffic integrity with quantum-secure key exchange. This includes PTP/SyncE traffic protection.

Juniper's crypto-agility allows Turkcell to go from virtual QKD-emulation key management to genuine QKD without a software update, maintaining VPN service availability. Juniper's design adapts to new security threats and standards.

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