Any intermediary device would have to “read” the photon, and therefore alter it. Recent research and development is currently underway to solve this issue [ 5]. Possible solutions include passive designs that operate parallel to and outside of the communications system.

Although quantum cryptography is still in the research stage, the future appears promising for the technology. It is anticipated that quantum cryptography will improve in the coming years with advances bringing its use into the mainstream of general communication systems, maybe replacing current technologies in incremental steps. No doubt, quantum-based encryption could offer a super-encryption technique that would inspire trust in business as well as consumer communication applications.

Encryption has come a long way: from hand-written secret codebooks on parchment paper, to handheld cipher disks, Morse code blocking, and now the emergence of a technology based on some of the smallest particles known in the form of quantum cryptography. As secure and secret communications are necessary, the pursuit of better and more robust methods will continue, as well as attempts to break any new technologies. The quest goes on, and it is expected that in the coming decades, many new and exciting encryption schemes and models will be born.

References

1. Casad, J. 2004. Sams Teach Yourself TCP/IP 3rd Ed. Sams Publishing.

2.Ch apple, M. 2003. Diffie-Hellman key exchange. http://
searchnetworking.techtarget.com/tip/1,289483,sid7_
gci879100, 00.html.
3. Davis, T. 2003. RSA encryption. http://www.geometer.org/
mathcircles/RSA.pdf.

4. Forouzan, B. 2006. Data Communication and Networking 4th Ed. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.

5. Hesseldahl, A. 2006. A quantum leap in data encryption. Business
Week. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/
nov2006/ tc20061106_302053.htm?campaign_id=bier tcv.g3a.
rssd1109z.
6. Kerner, S. M. 2005. SSL: Your key to e-commerce security.
http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/solutions/secure_pay/article.
php/3510761.
7. Tropical Software. DES encryption. http://www.tropsoft.com/
strongenc/ des.htm.
8. Vittorio, S. Privacy through uncertainty. http://www.csa.com/
discoveryguides/crypt/ overview.php.
9. Weisstein, E. W. Fermat’s little theorem. http://mathworld.wolfram.
com/ FermatsLittleTheorem.html.

10. Wrixon, F. B. 2005. Codes, Ciphers, Secrets and Cryptic Communication. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.

 

Biography Ed DeHart ( edd0617@ecu.edu) has a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Barton College, and is a last-year graduate student at East Carolina University pursuing a Master of Science in technology systems with a concentration in digital communications. His interests include music, digital media, and foreign languages.