Implementation and security analysis of practical quantum secure direct communication

Rapid development of supercomputers and the prospect of quantum computers are posing increasingly serious threats to the security of communication. Using the principles of quantum mechanics, quantum communication offers provable security of communication and is a promising solution to counter such threats. Quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) is one important branch of quantum communication. In contrast to other branches of quantum communication, it transmits secret information directly. Recently, remarkable progress has been made in proof-of-principle experimental demonstrations of QSDC. However, it remains a technical feat to bring QSDC into a practical application. Here, we report the implementation of a practical quantum secure communication system. The security is analyzed in the Wyner wiretap channel theory. The system uses a coding scheme of concatenation of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes and works in a regime with a realistic environment of high noise and high loss. The present system operates with a repetition rate of 1 MHz at a distance of 1.5 kilometers. The secure communication rate is 50 bps, sufficient to effectively send text messages and reasonably sized files of images and sounds.Quantum communication: Security despite noiseA quantum communication system demonstrated by researchers in China can transfer information securely in a realistic noisy environment. Emerging supercomputers and quantum computers may soon break the classical encryption methods that protect our information, highlighting the need for new cryptographic techniques based on quantum mechanics. Gui-Lu Long at Tsinghua University, Beijing, and co-workers have demonstrated a form of quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) that transfers information directly without the need to distribute keys, which are vulnerable to attacks. The team used a laser to generate single photons, which could carry secure quantum information such as text messages and image files over a distance of 1.5 kilometers. The information was decoded successfully by the receiver, even when the situation was made realistic by causing high photon loss or introducing errors due to noise.