Waterloo hosts international conference on future of quantum cryptography

Researchers and students from around the globe gather this week at the University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing to discuss progress in the field of quantum cryptography.

Today, cryptographic schemes keep everyday transactions on the Internet secure. In the not-so-distant future, quantum computers will be able to break even the most secure schemes easily. But the same technology that can break today's cryptography, can add unbreakable key exchange and other tools to tomorrow's cyber security arsenal.

"We need to transition the current cryptographic toolbox to one that will protect against emerging quantum technologies, one that is quantum-safe." said Professor Michele Mosca, deputy director, at the Institute for Quantum Computing. "Quantum cryptography will be a critical part of protecting against the cyber attacks of the future."

Over the last decade, research has shown significant progress in both the theoretical understanding and experimental approaches in quantum cryptography.

The third annual QCrypt conference includes invited talks, tutorials, industry sessions and an exhibit where research groups and several companies showcase their products and experimental prototypes. IQC researchers will demonstrate their approaches and companies such as IDQuantique from Switzerland and Anhui Asky Quantum Technology from China will have their products on display.

"Researchers have the opportunity to hear speakers such as Nobel Laureate Sir Anthony Leggett and Scott Aaronson of MIT, the author of the blog Shtetl-Optimized," said Vadim Makarov, research assistant professor, IQC and chair of the local organizing committee of this year's conference. "We also have Jane Nordholt of Los Alamos National Lab who has demonstrated how a pocket-sized quantum key distribution (QKD) transmitter can secure signals sent over public data networks to control smart electricity grids."

The QCrypt conference also includes a public lecture, Quantum computing and the entanglement frontier, Tuesday, August 6 at 7:00 pm by John Preskill the Richard P Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech and one of the founders of modern quantum information research

More information about the conference, including the full schedule, can be found on the QCrypt website.

QCrypt is an annual conference for students and researchers working on all aspects of quantum cryptography. The steering committee and programme committee select speakers that best represent the previous year's results in the field. Next year's conference will take place in Paris, September 1-5, 2013.

Provided by University of Waterloo