MagiQ Ships Quantum Crypto

NEW YORK -- MagiQ Technologies, Inc., the quantum information processing (QIP) company, today announced the general availability of its Navajo Secure Gateway, the world's first commercially available quantum key distribution (QKD) system. Relying on the laws of physics rather than the computational difficulty of breaking keys, and easily integrated into existing digital computing infrastructures, Navajo solves key distribution problems that have been the bane of cryptographers for centuries. Incorporating real-time key generation with quantum distribution of those keys makes for the most secure cryptographic system ever. Navajo offers cost-effective protection from both internal threats, such as disgruntled employees, and external threats including corporate, government, and other sources of exposure. Navajo supports secure key exchange at distances up to 120 km, a major technical accomplishment that makes very long secure spans possible via cascading devices.

"After years of research and development, we are proud to have reached commercial availability for this groundbreaking product. Until today, encryption keys were vulnerable to being copied, and with quantum keys this is not possible," said Bob Gelfond, founder and CEO of MagiQ Technologies. "No matter what advances occur in digital computing, quantum encryption can never be deciphered, read or copied. Whether it's securing government classified communications, protecting financial data or trade secrets, or locking down fiber segments of the telecommunications infrastructure, Navajo solves one of the world's toughest security problems."

For telecommunications customers, Navajo's DataMinder functionality adds layers of VPN security and classically based data encryption to Navajo's quantum key distribution. At the first layer, DataMinder provides an always-on, industry-standard, IPSEC site-to-site VPN, securing the existing solution and providing system redundancy. The second layer utilizes symmetric quantum keys from Navajo QKD for second pass, packet-level data encryption. Navajo DataMinder combines quantum key distribution and data encryption for customers that require absolute security for their information and applications.

"Applying quantum key distribution along with classical cryptography, especially within segments of the telecommunications infrastructure, is a groundbreaking approach because its security rests on the solid foundation of quantum mechanics," said Burt Kaliski, director and chief scientist of RSA Laboratories. "A solution such as Navajo, with the ability to detect eavesdropping with absolute certainty, can help make totally secure communication links a reality."

The security of quantum cryptography lies in the ability to exchange the encryption key with absolute security - quantum key distribution. By encoding the encryption key photon by photon and having more than one piece of information on each photon, quantum mechanics guarantees that the act of an eavesdropper intercepting a photon, even just to observe or read, irretrievably changes that photon. Therefore, the eavesdropper can neither copy nor clone a photon nor read more than one piece of information without destroying the other piece. The use of quantum keys and truly random numbers makes data encryption absolutely secure.

"If anyone is serious about uncrackable encryption, it's the government classified customers we sell to," said Norman Rosenthal, CTO of Tempest Systems, a federal systems integrator. "The response to the Navajo security appliance has been fantastic, and we can offer these discriminating users the absolute guarantee that any type of eavesdropping on their secure lines will be immediately detected and reported in real-time. It's the only technology we've ever seen that is 100% secure."

QIP is the intersection of quantum physics and computer science, moving beyond classical computers and previously unsolvable problems by making use of quantum mechanical phenomena. The field is now one of the hottest areas of both computer science and physics.

In a separate release:

MagiQ Technologies, Inc., the quantum information processing (QIP) company, today released its Q-Box Workbench for research and development work in the field of quantum key distribution (QKD). The system is intended for use by researchers in universities and research labs to perform research and analysis on QKD and related applications of quantum information processing (QIP). The Q-Box Workbench can be supplemented with Q-Box RNG, a high-grade true random number generator, and Q-Box SPD, a single-photon detector for other quantum information applications.

In a separate news release today, MagiQ also announced the general availability of Navajo, the world's first commercial quantum cryptography system. (Editor's Note: See "MagiQ Technologies Announces General Availability of World's First Commercial Quantum Cryptography System")

"The tremendous commercial possibilities of quantum information processing are just beginning to be uncovered," said Bob Gelfond, CEO of MagiQ Technologies. "Our goal in releasing the Q-Box to research communities is to open up our technology, thereby encouraging and accelerating this important process of discovery. As the leader in commercializing QIP, we look forward to working closely with academic and corporate research labs around the world to evangelize the next wave of information technology."

The Q-Box system consists of two rack-mountable chassis (a sending box and receiving box) interconnected by fiber and Ethernet cable. There is a single photon transmitter and detector along with interferometers, optical phase modulators, controlling electronics, and a PC. While the basic model includes no encryption layer or key management software, the system transmits ones or zeros encoded on single photon polarization states.

A software-based pseudo-random number generator in the sending box encodes one of four polarization states on the photons. At the receiver box, a polarization orientation is selected using a second software-based pseudo-random number generator for measurement of the single photon polarization state. For additional flexibility, the system can also be configured with MagiQ's Q-Box RNG high-grade true random number generator. Two avalanche photodiodes (APDs) at the receiver detect the single photons after they pass through an interferometer. Several parameters stored in the software can be accessed by a research team. These parameters include:

"Q-Box gives us tremendous flexibility and control for experimentation in quantum key exchange. By building a turnkey quantum encryption system, MagiQ has allowed us to skip the expensive and time consuming steps of building a system from scratch, while providing a powerful, easy-to-use interface that allows us to control parameters according to our own requirements," said professor Bing Wang of the University of Connecticut's Optical and Quantum Communications Laboratory. "Our objective is to take quantum information processing out of the realm of pure physics and apply it to new applications in multi-user communication networks. A packaged, easy-to-use technology like Q-Box gives us precisely the tool for doing so, and positions us to take a leadership position in this emerging research area."

QIP is the intersection of quantum physics and computer science, moving beyond classical computers and previously unsolvable problems by making use of quantum mechanical phenomena. The field is now one of the hottest areas of both computer science and physics.

"Making this type of open system available to universities and research institutions is a great move for MagiQ and for the research community as a whole," said Artur Ekert, professor of quantum physics at Cambridge University, MagiQ advisor, and one of the inventors of quantum cryptography. "It will help drive innovation in the world of quantum information processing and create new opportunities for commercialization."

MagiQ Technologies has built a portfolio of intellectual property around quantum information processing and is bringing to market commercial implementations of several field-tested quantum information devices.

MagiQ Technologies Inc.