Scientist Invents a Digital Security Tool Good Enough for the CIA — And for You

A British computer hacker equipped with a “Dummies” guide recently tapped into the Pentagon. As hackers get smarter, computers get more powerful and national security is put at risk. The same goes for your own personal and financial information transmitted by phone, on the Internet or through bank machines.

Now a new invention developed by Dr. Jacob Scheuer of Tel Aviv University’s School of Electrical Engineering promises an information security system that can beat today’s hackers — and the hackers of the future — with existing fiber optic and computer technology. Transmitting binary lock-and-key information in the form of light pulses, his device ensures that a shared key code can be unlocked by the sender and receiver, and absolutely nobody else. He will present his new findings to peers at the next laser and electro-optics conference this May at the Conference for Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO) in San Jose, California.

“When the RSA system for digital information security was introduced in the 1970s, the researchers who invented it predicted that their 200-bit key would take a billion years to crack,” says Dr. Scheuer. “It was cracked five years ago. But it’s still the most secure system for consumers to use today when shopping online or using a bank card. As computers become increasingly powerful, though, the idea of using the RSA system becomes more fragile.” Continue reading.

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