New technology from Israel protects sensitive information so effectively that researchers say it will take hackers years to break the encryption key.
By United with Israel Staff
Researchers from Ben-Gurion University (BGU) presented at the Cybertech Global Tel Aviv conference this week the first all-optical “stealth” encryption technology. The innovation uses fiber-optic light transmissions to secure cloud computing and data center network transmission.
“Today, information is still encrypted using digital techniques, although most data are transmitted over distance using light spectrum on fiber optic networks,” said Prof. Dan Sadot, Chairman of the Cathedra for Electro-optics at BGU who heads the team that developed the technology. “Time is running out on security and privacy of digital encryption technology, which can be read offline if recorded and code-broken using intensive computing power. We’ve developed an end-to-end solution providing encryption, transmission, decryption, and detection optically instead of digitally.”
The technology uses standard optical equipment to send data in a manner that cannot be intercepted by hackers, unlike conventional digital methods. Another aspect of the system is that data gets destroyed if a hacker tries to decode it.
“Basically, the innovative breakthrough is that if you can’t detect it, you can’t steal it,” Prof. Sadot said. “Because an eavesdropper can neither read the data or even detect the existence of the transmitted signal, our optical stealth transmission provides the highest level of privacy and security for sensitive data applications.”
The patented technology has multiple applications, including high-speed communication and sensitive transmission of financial, medical or social media-related information. According to Zafrir Levy, Senior Vice President, Exact Sciences & Engineering, BGN Technologies, “[A]n eavesdropper will require years to break the encryption key.”