Latest news with #Micius
South China Morning Post
31-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China's quantum satellite can be hacked, Singapore-based scientist warns
China 's quantum satellite could potentially be hacked due to tiny delays between its onboard lasers that could be exploited by eavesdroppers in an attack, a former Russia -based quantum researcher who is now working in Singapore has warned. Advertisement The tiny delays could provide 'ample opportunities' to hack Micius, the world's first quantum satellite , whose performance is key to expanding China's quantum communication network. Quantum communication is a form of information transfer that relies on quantum physics-based cryptography to encode data in single light particles called photons. Quantum key distribution (QKD) is one method that relies on exchanging secret keys between two parties used to decrypt the information, which makes it difficult for eavesdroppers to listen in and is theoretically unhackable. 'However, it is widely known that realistic QKD devices can be vulnerable to various types of side-channel attacks that rely on flaws in experimental implementation,' said quantum researcher Alexander Miller in a non-peer-reviewed paper submitted online on May 10. Advertisement After analysing data obtained during communication between a ground station and Micius, Miller found time delays between the lasers on the quantum transmitter on board, which showed that the 'distribution of quantum keys from Micius was insecure'.
South China Morning Post
13-03-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
China creates hacker-proof quantum satellite communication link with South Africa
China has for the first time extended ultra-secure communication into the southern hemisphere using a quantum key distribution link with South Africa, according to a senior scientist involved in the project. Advertisement The achievement brings the world a step closer to an intercontinental communication service that would render hacking of financial, national defence or other communications nearly impossible. Yin Juan, a deputy from the National People's Congress (NPC), and a professor of experimental physics at the University of Science and Technology of China, made the announcement during the NPC's annual plenary meeting this week in Beijing. The first quantum demonstration spanning 12,800km (7,954 miles) between Beijing and South Africa was made possible with the help of China's quantum communication satellites, Yin said. 'It is also the first time this kind of secure quantum key distribution experiment has been implemented in the southern hemisphere,' added Yin, who was a chief payload designer for the world's first quantum communication satellite, Mozi – also known as Micius – which launched in 2016 to begin long-distance quantum transmissions. A model at Anhui Innovation Centre displaying the space-based quantum technology China has used to establish ultra-secure communication. Photo: Xinhua In 2017, scientists used the satellite to make a secure 'quantum call' and send images between China and Austria over a distance of 7,600km.
