How Indian Scientists are Using Quantum Computers for Unbreakable Security
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Science and Technology (Quantum Technology, Quantum Computing, Qubits, Cryptography); Key Scientific Institutions (Raman Research Institute).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 3 (S&T, Security): Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life; Awareness in the fields of Quantum Technology; Basics of cyber security; Indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
Key Highlights from the News
Researchers at India's Raman Research Institute succeeded in generating fully unpredictable and certified true random numbers using a quantum computer.
Random numbers generated by ordinary computers are pseudorandom, based on an algorithm, and thus not fully secure. However, numbers generated using the fundamental principles of Quantum Mechanics are truly random.
They confirmed that the numbers produced were genuinely quantum and random by checking if a physics principle called the Leggett-Garg inequality (LGI) was violated.
This discovery will bring revolutionary changes in cybersecurity fields like data encryption and secure communications.
It is a significant achievement that this could be done even with existing, not fully developed, noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers.
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