SciTechDaily: Better Cybersecurity With a New Quantum Random Number Generator

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Better Cybersecurity With a New Quantum Random Number Generator

By LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

Quantum Random Number Generator Perovskite LED
Quantum random number generation based on a perovskite light emitting
diode. Credit: Magnus Johansson

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, Sweden.
The researchers behind the study believe that the new technology paves
the way for a new type of quantum communication.

In an increasingly connected world, cybersecurity is becoming
increasingly important to protect not just the individual, but also,
for example, national infrastructure and banking systems.
Simultaneously, there is an ongoing race between hackers and those
trying to protect information. Encryption remains the principal
strategy for safeguarding information. Thus, while emailing, shopping
online, or paying bills, our data is digitally encrypted.

Joakim Argillander and Alvaro Alarcón
Quantum random number generation based on a perovskite light emitting
diode. Phd Students Joakim Argillander and Alvaro Alarcón in the lab.
Credit: Magnus Johansson

The Role of Quantum Random Number Generators

Random number generators, which can either be computer software or
hardware, play a pivotal role in encryption. These generators offer
the crucial keys that are used to both encrypt and unlock the
information at the receiving end.

Different types of random number generators provide different levels
of randomness and thus security. Hardware is the much safer option as
randomness is controlled by physical processes. And 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.

Guilherme B. Xavier
Guilherme B. Xavier, associate professor at Linköping University,
Sweden. Credit: Magnus Johansson

Innovations in QRNG: The Perovskite Advantage

His research group, together with researchers at the Department of
Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), has developed a new type of
QRNG, that can be used for encryption, but also for betting and
computer simulations. The new feature of the Linköping researchers’
QRNG is the use of light-emitting diodes made from the crystal-like
material perovskite.

Their random number generator is among the best produced and compares
well with similar products. Thanks to the properties of perovskites,
it has the potential to be cheaper and more environmentally friendly.

Feng Gao is a professor at IFM and has been researching perovskites
for over a decade. He believes that the recent development of
perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) means that there is an
opportunity to revolutionize, for example, optical instruments.

“It’s possible to use, for example, a traditional laser for QRNG, but
it’s expensive. If the technology is eventually to find its way into
consumer electronics, it’s important that the cost is kept down and
that the production is as environmentally friendly as possible. In
addition, PeLEDs don’t require as much energy to run,” says Feng Gao.

Feng Gao
Feng Gao, professor at Linköping University, Sweden. Credit: Magnus Johansson
Future Prospects and Developments

The next step is to develop the material further to make the
perovskite lead-free and to extend its lifetime, which is currently 22
days. According to Guilherme B. Xavier, their new QRNG could be
available for use in cybersecurity within five years.

“It’s an advantage if electronic components that are to be used for
sensitive data are manufactured in Sweden. If you buy a complete
randomness generator kit from another country, you can’t be sure that
it’s not being monitored.”

Reference: “Quantum random number generation based on a perovskite
light emitting diode” by Joakim Argillander, Alvaro Alarcón, Chunxiong
Bao, Chaoyang Kuang, Gustavo Lima, Feng Gao and Guilherme B. Xavier,
30 June 2023, Communications Physics.
DOI: 10.1038/s42005-023-01280-3

The study was funded by the Swedish Research Council, the Knut and
Alice Wallenberg Foundation through the Wallenberg Centre for Quantum
Technology, and the European Research Council.