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The certainty of quantum randomness

Communication systems rely on random-number generators for the encryption of information. A method for producing truly random numbers even from untrustworthy devices could lead to improvements in security.
  1. Stefano Pironio

    1. Stefano Pironio is in the Quantum Information Laboratory, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.

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Encryption schemes used in modern cryptography make extensive use of random, unpredictable numbers to ensure that an adversary cannot decipher encrypted data or messages. Reliable random-number generators are therefore crucial. For instance, an Internet-wide analysis identified tens of thousands of servers that are vulnerable to basic attacks because of the use of poor-quality random-number generators1. In a paper in Nature, Bierhorst et al.2 exploit effects at the crossroads of quantum physics and special relativity to demonstrate the ultimate random-number generator, achieving unprecedented security.

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Nature 556, 176-177 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-04105-4

References

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