Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-06-24
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| Sensitive transmissions at the 18th National Congress in Beijing last November were reportedly carried out on quantum communications systems. (Photo/Xinhua) |
The Chinese
government is developing quantum communications technology to prevent
confidential information from being intercepted by the United States, reports
Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po.
Beijing is
said to be extremely concerned that sensitive or classified information being
discussed at government meetings remain prone to cyber espionage, especially
given recent revelations brought to light by ex-CIA whistleblower Edward
Snowden, who revealed that the US National Security Agency had been hacking
targets in Hong Kong and mainland China.
According
to Snowden, who on Sunday fled Hong Kong to seek asylum in Ecuador, the US
recently hacked into China's top Tsinghua University in January, with at least
63 computers or servers attacked on a single day.
"The
NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cellphone companies to steal all
of your SMS (texting) data," Snowden said, adding that the NSA also
invaded the Hong Kong headquarters of internet service provider Pacnet.
To prevent
data from being leaked to foreign countries, China has already banned handling
sensitive information over the internet, with most of it being transmitted via
closed networks developed exclusively for China and using core chips
manufactured by domestic companies.
The level of
security, however, is still regarded as insufficient, which is why Chinese
leaders are turning with quantum mechanics to guarantee secure communication.
Under a quantum key distribution system, two parties will be able to produce a
shared random secret key known only to them, which can then be used to encrypt
and decrypt messages. China plans to launch its first quantum communications
satellite in 2016.
In fact,
Chinese leaders have already been using quantum communications before the
Snowden scandal erupted. As recently as the 18th National Congress last
November, when Xi Jinping replaced Hu Jintao as the general secretary of the
Communist Party, sensitive transmissions were conducted using quantum
mechanics.
The problem
with quantum technology at the moment, according to expert Bao Xiaohui, is that
most quantum communication systems can only cover an area of around 50
kilometers at the moment, meaning certain breakthroughts need to be attained to
take this form of transmission to the next level.
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