A Durban academic and his dedicated team of experts are set to make the world of online banking much safer.
After successfully securing the transfer of confidential information for the World Cup last year, a University of KwaZulu-Natal department is bringing quantum technology to the African continent.
Professor Francesco Petruccione, director of QZN Technology, said he and his team were now ready to take six years of research in quantum physics to corporates and the government.
They were responsible for securing critical communications between the Moses Mabhida Stadium, the police and National Intelligence during the World Cup, using a fibre optic link and quantum cryptography.
“We secured the link between the stadium and the joint operations centre; none of the other cities used this technology,” Petruccione said.
A pilot project has already been deployed on the optical fibre network of the eThekwini Municipality. The City of Durban and the Centre for Quantum Technology have partnered to create Quantum City. Parts of the municipal network are protected by a quantum-secured communications network. All information exchanged between the linked municipal buildings in Pinetown and Westville are also protected by this hi-tech form of security.
The use of quantum communication will change the manner in which South Africans perceive risk-prone information communications technology (ICT) in activities such as online banking, where there is always the possibility of being hacked, according to Petruccione, who said quantum technology ensured that private information remained private.
“Quantum communication provides a method of secure data transfer.
“Basically, every kind of communication through optical fibres, from e-mail, phone calls and video stream, can be secured with quantum cryptography. If there is an eavesdropper trying to copy the secret information, the quantum transmission will be interrupted and the eavesdropper will not be able to gain the information,” he explained.
The aim of QZN Technology as a company was to commercialise six years of solid research, bringing to fruition a quantum technology industry in South Africa to produce the next generation of ICT solutions for corporate business, while providing employment for skilled graduates.
“The quantum technology innovation cycle research phase has helped us encourage more students to study towards postgraduate degrees,” Petruccione said.
“The aim is to produce PhD graduates with a high technological understanding.” - Weekend Argus