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China and Russia test ‘hack-proof’ quantum communication link for Brics countries

  • Scientists in Russia and China establish quantum communication encrypted with the help of secure keys transmitted by Mozi satellite
  • ‘All countries that are interested in technological leadership know that without quantum technology they won’t succeed’: quantum researcher

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China’s quantum satellite Mozi has opened pathways to develop national and international quantum communication networks. Photo: Chinese Academy of Science
Victoria Bela
Scientists in Russia and China have established quantum communication encrypted with the help of secure keys transmitted by China’s quantum satellite, showing that a Brics quantum communication network may be technically feasible.

The scientists were able to span 3,800km (2,360 miles) between a ground station close to Moscow and another near Urumqi in China’s western Xinjiang region to send two encoded images secured by quantum keys.

The first “full cycle” quantum communication test between the two countries was successfully conducted last year, said Alexey Fedorov, of Russia’s National University of Science and Technology (MISIS) and the Russian Quantum Centre (RQC), Russia’s leading institution in charge of creating a quantum computer, on December 14.

Bridging the vast distance is possible with the help of China’s quantum satellite Mozi, which has opened pathways to develop national and international quantum communication networks.

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With the advent of advanced supercomputers and quantum computing, there were now more avenues for information systems to be attacked, the researchers at RQC, Moscow-based QSpace Technologies and MISIS University wrote in a paper published on the open-access online archive arxiv.org in October.

Quantum communication – a form of quantum physics-based information transfer that uses cryptography to encode data in single photons – offers a way to transfer information that hackers cannot eavesdrop on, according to the paper.

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