Global network for secure data transfer

Have you ever wondered what the data inside your computer really “looks like”? It is only a collection of bit strings (0’s and 1’s) represented by an electrical signal. Unfortunately, this data can be very easily accessed by malicious people. To secure data transfers, the laws of physics on the tiniest scale now allow us to embed those 0’s and 1’s in the smallest quantity of light: particles called photons. Quantum physics has therefore played a central role in Matthaeus Halder’s postdoctoral research on data transfer. Using a specific branch called quantum information science, Halder is about to change the way in which we exchange data ‒– and in a much more secure way. He aims to develop tools to create a global network that will provide absolute security for data transmission ‒– a key issue in our information society. This new technology has shown to be secure, even if future hackers are quantum physicists!