Unpredictability is usually perceived with a sense of uneasiness. However, when it comes to securing personal data, posts, pictures and whatever flows to or from the internet about us, protection relies on unpredictability. Random Power uses quantum mechanics to create an unpredictable and inviolable stream of random bits, strings of virtually infinite length at the base of any cryptographic process protecting the privacy and security of digital life.
The project, which stands for “In-silico quantum generation of random bit streams”, is coordinated by the Università degli studi dell’Insubria in partnership with two research universities: AGH University of Science & Technology and Fondazione Bruno Kessler; and six companies: E4-Computer Engineering, IMASENIC, NAGRA Kudelski, Random Power, SECO, and Weeroc.
Discover more about Random Power through this interview with the physicist Massimo Caccia, coordinator of the project.
What is the project about?
So, the project is essentially about flipping coins. You flip a coin and then you get a head. When you get a head, you set a binary digital bit, to 0. If you toss it and you get a tail, you set it to 1. So, strings of bits are what make an entity with two fingers and is the background of any privacy preservation and encryption system. This is what we do, we don’t do it by flipping coins, we do it using the Quantum properties of Matter. So essentially our project is a quantum coin flipper.
Which partners are involved?
To bring the project to completion we do need complementary skills and knowledge. And this is why we have nine partners in the consortium: University degli Insubria, the University of Science and Technology in Poland, and Fondazione Bruno Kesler in Trento. Then we have six companies: Random Power, which was established two years ago, NAGRA Kudelski, we have E4-Computer Engineering, we have SECO and then we have IMASENI. And last but not least Weeroc in France.
What challenges have you faced so far?
The project is challenging because embedding quantum coins into a chip or a board is nothing that comes for free. So, we have to align skills. We have to make everybody aware of every single item and then you go.
How do you think society will benefit from this project?
Unpredictability is usually perceived with a sense of uneasiness. However, if you consider the tools and all of the methods of math that go together with privacy and preservation of our digital life, you see that the essence has to be a string of bits where nobody can guess the content and the sequence. And this is what we do. So, by generating this endless stream of bits, we are committed to making our digital life more secure.
For more information
Visit the Random Power project site.
