Security News > 2023 > September > New quantum random number generator could revolutionize encryption

Digital information exchange can be safer, cheaper and more environmentally friendly with the help of a new type of random number generator for encryption developed at Linköping University.

Experimental setup of the quantum random number generator.

To encrypt information, a random number generator is used, which can either be a computer programme or the hardware itself.

The random number generator provides keys that are used to both encrypt and unlock the information at the receiving end.

The hardware method that provides the best randomness is based on quantum phenomena - what researchers call the Quantum Random Number Generator, QRNG. "In cryptography, it's not only important that the numbers are random, but that you're the only one who knows about them. With QRNG's, we can certify that a large amount of the generated bits is private and thus completely secure. And if the laws of quantum physics are true, it should be impossible to eavesdrop without the recipient finding out," says Guilherme B Xavier, researcher at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Linköping University.

Their random number generator is among the best produced and compares well with similar products.

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/09/08/random-number-generator-encryption/