ID Quantique Unveils New Product

GENEVA -- id Quantique announces that the Vectis LinkEncryptor, the company’s second-generation Quantum Cryptography product,will be unveiled at the Infosecurity Europe show starting tomorrow inLondon. This milestone marks an aggressive move to grow its position asthe leader in practical Quantum Cryptography systems. id Quantiquealready made headlines in 2002 when it introduced the first Quantum KeyDistribution system. The Vectis Link Encryptor is a completenetwork-transparent cryptographic appliance. Thanks to its reliabilityand fully automated operation, the Vectis Link Encryptor features a lowcost of ownership and excellent security-over-cost ratio. It allows toeffectively raise, to an unprecedented level, the security of opticalcommunications between remote sites. “This new cryptographic appliancecombines ease of integration into existing networks and uncompromisedsecurity. It will allow us to target the most demanding securityapplications. Potential customers include financial services, serviceproviders, R&D companies, government agencies, just to name a few”, saysGregoire Ribordy, CEO of id Quantique.

The Vectis link encryptor is a hardware Quantum Cryptography appliancefor point-to-point wire-speed link encryption. It combines Quantum KeyDistribution (QKD) and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryptionengines in a stand-alone unit. Key management, with key-refresh rates upto 100 times per second, and encryption are automated and their properfunctioning is monitored by a surveillance unit. Vectis is a Layer 2network transparent encryption device that securely bridges two FastEthernet (IEEE 802.3u) networks with minimum impact on pre-existingarchitecture. By encrypting Ethernet traffic between two sites connectedby a dedicated optical fiber, a pair of Vectis devices allows toimplement future-proof links to carry critical information. Thanks totheir sub millisecond latency, they are compatible with the mostdemanding applications, such as VoIP. The Vectis Link Encryptor comeswith off-line and SNMP management, a user-friendly touch panel displayinterface and an advanced tamper detection system.

The Achilles heel of existing cryptography solutions is the key exchangeprocess. While conventional key distribution techniques rely on publickey cryptography or manual exchange, and therefore offer onlyconditional security, the secrecy of keys distributed by quantumcryptography is guaranteed in an absolute fashion by quantum physics.Quantum Cryptography is a technology that exploits a fundamentalprinciple of quantum physics - observation causes perturbation - tofrequently exchange cryptographic keys between two remote parties overoptical fiber networks with absolute security.

With the launch of the Vectis Link Encryptor, id Quantique confirms itsstrategic commitment to continued innovation in order to secure itsposition at the forefront of cutting-edge cryptography technology.

id Quantique