Quantum Cryptography Broken, and Fixed

schliz writes in with research out of Sweden in which researchers showed that, looking at a quantum cryptographic system as a whole, it was possible for an eavesdropper to extract some information about the QC key, thus reducing the security of the overall system. The team then proposed a cheap and simple fix for the problem. "The advanced technology was thought to be unbreakable due to laws of quantum mechanics that state that quantum mechanical objects cannot be observed or manipulated without being disturbed. But a research team at Linköping University in Sweden claim that it is possible for an eavesdropper to [get around the limitations] without being discovered. In a research paper, published in the international engineering journal IEEE Transactions on Information Theory (abstract), the researchers propose a change in the quantum cryptography process that they expect will restore the security of the technology."

Comments

Re:I know the solution

[dotancohen]

They were connecting the computers via cat-5 cable. Everyone knows you're supposed to use Schrödinger's cat-5 cable in that sort of application. No, the solution was already posted here:
http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.debian.security.announce/1614