In the conventional internet, both the sender and receiver use a “key,” i.e., a string of characters known to both parties, to scramble the content of information—encrypting it so that no one but the intended recipient can understand its meaning. The receiver uses that same “key” obtained from the sender to decrypt and access the encrypted information. Therefore, the security of communication and data exchange over the conventional internet depends on the method of creating a “key,” which is fundamentally based on classical computing. Although it is difficult for hackers to figure out exactly which key-generation method was used to encrypt information, it is not impossible! To guarantee the security of data exchange, scientists have tried to “quantize” this process of information transfer. While they have managed to implement “quantum internet” in practice, this new technology is still in its infancy when compared to the way we use the conventional internet for long-distance communication and data transfer. Communication security over the quantum internet relies on a data exchange process called “Quantum Key Distribution,” which is based on “quantum computing.” In this approach, there is no single specific method for generating keys. Keys can be created by any method and are distributed between all active sender-receiver pairs on the quantum internet. This is why the data exchange process is called “Quantum Key Distribution.” In this system, every sender-receiver pair receives a different key for each exchange, and no pair is ever informed about any other pair’s key.
Just as many computers or processors exchange data as “bits” or “binary digits” over the conventional internet, the quantum internet connects multiple quantum computers or quantum processors and facilitates the exchange of information among them. However, in this case, the unit of data is called a “qubit” or “quantum bit.” The process of transmitting and receiving information through the quantum internet uses two key concepts from the field of physics called “quantum mechanics”—“quantum state” and “quantum entanglement.” As a result, quantum computers or quantum processors and the quantum internet connecting them collectively function as a single quantum system. Quantum mechanics states that any attempt to measure a parameter of a quantum system inevitably disturbs its equilibrium. Since no specific method is used for key generation during data exchange between sender-receiver pairs over the quantum internet, if any unauthorized third party attempts to discover the information being exchanged, they would need to know the key used between that pair. To obtain the key, they would need to measure it. But, according to quantum mechanics, any attempt to measure such a key used in the quantum internet disturbs its equilibrium! If this disturbance remains within a certain threshold, the unauthorized third party cannot determine the key at all, and the information exchange between the sender and receiver continues uninterrupted. However, if the disturbance exceeds a predefined limit, data exchange between the sender-receiver pair is halted! Thus, under no circumstances can an unauthorized third party know what information is being exchanged between sender and receiver pairs! In other words, hacking the quantum internet is impossible!
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