Lifeboat Foundation

In an era where the internet connects virtually every aspect of our lives, the security of information systems has become paramount. Safeguarding critical databases containing private and commercial information presents a formidable challenge, driving researchers to explore advanced encryption techniques for enhanced protection.

Data encryption, a cornerstone of modern security practices, transforms readable plaintext into encoded ciphertext, ensuring that only authorized recipients can decipher the data using a decryption key or password. Optical techniques have emerged as promising tools for encryption due to their capabilities for parallel, high-speed transmission, and low-power consumption. However, traditional optical encryption systems often suffer from vulnerabilities where plaintext-ciphertext forms remain identical, potentially compromising security.

Reporting in Advanced Photonics Nexus, scientists have unveiled an approach inspired by bio-inspired neuromorphic imaging and speckle correlography. Their innovative technique leverages computational neuromorphic imaging (CNI) to encrypt images into event-stream ciphertexts, marking a significant departure from conventional methods. This method introduces a new paradigm in optical encryption by converting data into event-driven formats, thereby significantly enhancing security and complexity.

The power of quantum computing drives a desperate need for quantum encryption. This megatrend is creating a multi-billion-dollar security market.

Engineers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have unveiled a major advancement in optical computing technology that promises to enhance data processing and encryption. The work is published in the journal Laser & Photonics Reviews.

This innovative work, led by Professor Aydogan Ozcan and his team, showcases a reconfigurable diffractive optical network capable of executing high-dimensional permutation operations, offering a significant leap forward in telecommunications and data security applications.

Permutation operations, essential for various applications, including telecommunications and encryption, have traditionally relied on electronic hardware. However, the UCLA team’s advancement uses all-optical diffractive computing to perform these operations in a multiplexed manner, significantly improving efficiency and scalability.

Europol is proposing solutions to avoid challenges posed by privacy-enhancing technologies in Home Routing that hinder law enforcement’s ability to intercept communications during criminal investigations.

The agency has previously highlighted in its Digital Challenges series that law enforcement problem of end-to-end encryption on communication platforms is a hurdle when it comes to collecting admissible evidence.

Researchers have developed a breakthrough method for quantum information transmission using light particles called qudits, which utilize the spatial mode and polarization properties to enable faster, more secure data transfer and increased resistance to errors.

This technology could greatly enhance the capabilities of a quantum internet, providing long-distance, secure communication, and leading to the development of powerful quantum computers and unbreakable encryption.

Scientists have made a significant breakthrough in creating a new method for transmitting quantum information using particles of light called qudits. These qudits promise a future quantum internet that is both secure and powerful.

Conventional encryption methods rely on complex mathematical algorithms and the limits of current computing power. However, with the rise of quantum computers, these methods are becoming increasingly vulnerable, necessitating quantum key distribution (QKD).

QKD is a technology that leverages the unique properties of quantum physics to secure data transmission. This method has been continuously optimized over the years, but establishing large networks has been challenging due to the limitations of existing quantum light sources.

In a new article published in Light: Science & Applications, a team of scientists in Germany have achieved the first intercity QKD experiment with a deterministic single-photon source, revolutionizing how we protect our confidential information from cyber threats.

Accurate models of real-world scenarios are important for bringing theoretical and experimental research together in meaningful ways. Creating these realistic computer models, however, is a very large undertaking. Significant amounts of data, code, and expertise across a wide range of intricate areas are needed to create useful and comprehensive software.

Dr. Norbert Lütkenhaus, executive director of the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and a professor in the University of Waterloo’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, alongside his research group, have spent the last several years developing accurate software models for research in quantum key distribution (QKD).

QKD is a process for cryptography that harnesses fundamental principles of quantum mechanics to exchange secret keys, which can then be used to ensure secure communication.

Researchers have developed a novel mechanical computer inspired by kirigami, utilizing interconnected polymer cubes for data storage without electronics.

This system allows for multiple stable states, enhancing binary computing to potentially include additional data states. The design, leveraging the principles of kirigami, enables complex data storage and computation structures with practical applications in mechanical encryption and haptic systems.

Mechanical Computing Innovation

New “metaholograms” could transform AR/VR technologies by enabling crosstalk-free, high-fidelity image projection with vastly increased information capacity.

Researchers have developed a new type of holograms, known as “metaholograms,” capable of projecting multiple high-fidelity images free of crosstalk. This innovation opens doors to advanced applications in virtual and augmented reality (AR/VR) displays, data storage, and image encryption.

Metaholograms offer several advantages over traditional holograms, including broader operational bandwidth, higher imaging resolution, wider viewing angle, and more compact size. However, a major challenge for metaholograms has been their limited information capacity which only allows them to project a few independent images. Existing methods typically can provide a small number of display channels and often suffer from inter-channel crosstalk during image projections.