Quantum physics principles form the backbone of a new credit card protection technology. Photo by Pepijn W.H. Pinkse/The Optical Society.
ENSCHEDE, Netherlands, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- It seems hackers and thieves are never more than a few steps behind those who create the technology that protects our identities and assets -- our credit and ID cards, key fobs and passports.
But researchers at the University of Twente, partnering with scientists at the Eindhoven University of Technology, say they've developed a new data-protection technique using nanoparticle paint -- a technique they claim makes it impossible to hack or imitate important cards and their properties.
The technology relies upon quantum physics, specifically the principle that light photons can be in multiple locations simultaneously.
"Single photons of light have very special properties that seem to defy normal behavior," Pepijn W.H. Pinkse, one of the researchers responsible for the new technology, explained in a press release. "When properly harnessed, they can encode information in such a way that prevents attackers from determining what the information is."
Cards protected by the technology feature a thin coat of paint filled with nanoparticles. When a light photons are directed at the card, they bounce around in the maze of particles before returning in a unique pattern -- a sort of question-and-answer process. Quantum principles allow the questioner (the bank or other entity) to send out only a single photon, incapable of being hacked or observed by a would-be hacker. Any attempt to spy on the question-and-answer authentication would interrupt the near-invisible process and reveal the would-be hacker.
"It would be like dropping 10 bowling balls onto the ground and creating 200 separate impacts," Pinkse explained. "It's impossible to know precisely what information was sent (what pattern was created on the floor) just by collecting the 10 bowling balls. If you tried to observe them falling, it would disrupt the entire system."
Pinske and his colleagues say the technology could also eventually be used to protect government buildings, banks, identification cards and vehicles. The study was published this week in the journal Optica.
