Raman Research Institute scientists make breakthrough in cybersecurity

RRI scientists create user-friendly method for generating truly unpredictable random numbers, revolutionizing quantum communications encryption.

In a breakthrough in cybersecurity, scientists at the Raman Research Institute (RRI) have created a new, user-friendly way to generate truly unpredictable random numbers, which is crucial for stronger encryption in quantum communications. RRI said this advance could revolutionize how we protect sensitive data in the future.

“The security of quantum communications relies on inherent randomness as a seed, such as randomness in measurement bases chosen by sender and receiver. This prevents malicious agents from deciphering secure information through prior knowledge of such choice of bases,” RRI said.

“We have successfully generated random numbers using temporal correlations certified by the violation of the Leggett Garg Inequality (LGI). These are temporal analogues of the popularly known Bell inequalities -- a set of mathematical expressions that compare the predictions of quantum mechanics with those of classical physics. Our experimental setup ensures a loophole-free violation of LGI, providing an additional advantage of generating loophole-free randomness,” said Professor Urbasi Sinha, faculty at RRI and the corresponding author of the paper published in the Physical Review Letters.

In today’s digital world, where we rely heavily on technology, strong passwords are vital for everyone’s safety. This new method offers the enhanced protection we all need in our daily lives, by using truly random numbers to generate keys that will be used to encrypt the passwords, the researchers noted.

“It is resilient against attacks on the initial state, which is typically the most vulnerable point in this scheme. The certified random numbers are important because any predictability of these numbers can compromise the entire security system, making it vulnerable to attacks. These numbers ensure the robustness of encryption, authentication and data integrity processes and maintain trust and security in digital interactions,” added Sinha.

There are several advantages in generating certified random numbers using this method.

“These include the creation of strongly protected passwords, enhanced account security by resisting brute-force attacks, ensuring uniqueness, integrity thereby preventing forgery and token generation with multi-factor authentication, adding a crucial security layer in this vulnerable cyber world,” said Dr Debashis Saha, faculty, IISER Thiruvananthapuram and co-author of the study. In the photonic experiment led by RRI, the team replaced this conventional two-particle system with a single-particle setup.