Longueuil, Quebec, - In the era of online banking, smart phones, and cloud networks that store large amounts of personal information, reliable data encryption is essential. To advance the development of technology that could guarantee the privacy of Canada's public, private, and commercial data, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has awarded a $1.4 million contribution to QEYnet (Maple, Ontario) for the demonstration of their quantum key distribution (QKD) technology in space.
QKD technology aims to ensure the confidentiality of information exchanged between two parties by using photons (individual particles of light) to generate private encryption keys. QKD in space leverages satellites to securely transmit encryption keys between distant locations using quantum mechanics.
The CSA's financial contribution will allow QEYnet to test a low-cost QKD technology in space, paving the way for secure global communications and the foundation of future quantum networks.
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