

Quantum cryptographic systems cracked by lasers, leaving no trace - DVassallo
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100829/full/news.2010.436.html

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sp332
This is based on the difference between theory and practice. QC is still
theoretically secure, but the equipment isn't perfect. The attackers overwhelm
the detector and basically "pwn" it, making it click whenever they want.

Here's an in-depth explanation, plus a how-to slide presentation and live demo
from the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin (it's in English with a heavy
German accent):
[http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/events/3576.en.h...](http://events.ccc.de/congress/2009/Fahrplan/events/3576.en.html)

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tptacek
Obligatory:

[http://rdist.root.org/2008/10/24/quantum-cryptography-is-
use...](http://rdist.root.org/2008/10/24/quantum-cryptography-is-useless/)

 _Quantum cryptography (not quantum computing) is one of those concepts that
appeals to the public and the more theoretically-minded, but is next to
useless for providing actual security._

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uxp
I get annoyed when companies that provide the "Next-Gen" of some kind of
technology claim to be open for their systems to be attacked in an educational
and controlled environment, but fail to do so. Specifically, this sentence:

> Ribordy and Zavriyev stress that the open versions of their systems that are
> sold to university researchers are not the same as those sold for security
> purposes, which contain extra layers of protection.

Granted, I can see how they would be unwilling to provide the same system to a
school or university that they do to a company that pays them full price. They
are a business. It sounds more like "Thank you Mario, but our princess is in
another castle!"

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tbrownaw
...just what kind of detectors do these things use!?

Perfectly dark with occasional single photons looks indistinguishable from
bright with occasional brighter pulses, that seems odd.

