Digital payments safeguarded by quantum technology, artist’s impression. Image Credit: Christine Schiansky
Have you ever hesitated before typing crucial financial details into a website of a vendor you’re not familiar with? Have you ever felt apprehensive about providing your credit card details or passwords to entities of questionable credibility?
This quandary has been addressed by a group of researchers from the University of Vienna, who have developed an infallibly secure system for facilitating transactions in such circumstances. The proposed solution marries modern cryptographic techniques with the innate attributes of quantum light. The successful demonstration of these “quantum-digital payments” in a practical setting has recently been published in Nature Communications.
In many areas of our daily lives, digital payments have supplanted physical currency. These digital transactions should be user-friendly, unique, immune to tampering, and anonymous, while simultaneously fending off cyber attackers and data breaches.
In the existing payment framework, customers’ confidential data is swapped with strings of random numbers, and the distinctiveness of each transaction is safeguarded using traditional cryptographic methods. However, hostile entities and merchants with access to considerable computational power can decode these encrypted messages, extract customers’ private details, and, for instance, initiate payments on their behalf.
A group of researchers, led by Professor Philip Walther from the University of Vienna, has demonstrated how the quantum properties of photons can provide absolute security for digital payments. Through an experiment, they showed that each transaction is impervious to duplication or diversion by malicious parties, thereby preserving the confidentiality of the user’s data.
Tobias Guggemos expresses his admiration for how quantum properties of light can be harnessed for securing relevant daily applications like digital payments.
In order to enable entirely secure digital payments, the researchers substituted traditional cryptographic methods with a quantum protocol that leverages individual photons. In a standard digital transaction, the client shares a cryptogram—a classical code—with their payment provider, which is subsequently circulated among the customer, merchant, and payment provider. In the proposed quantum protocol, the cryptogram is generated by the payment provider sending specifically prepared single photons to the client.
The payment process involves the client measuring these photons, the settings of which are contingent on the transaction parameters. Since the quantum states of light can’t be replicated, a transaction can only be conducted once. Along with this, any discrepancies in the intended payment would alter the measurement results, which are then verified by the payment provider, rendering the digital transaction unconditionally secure.
The researchers have successfully tested quantum-digital payments across an urban optical fiber link spanning 641m, linking two university buildings in central Vienna. Whereas digital payments typically complete within seconds, “our protocol currently requires a few minutes of quantum communication to conclude a transaction, to ensure security in the face of noise and losses,” states Peter Schiansky, the study’s lead author.
“However, these time constraints are merely technological in nature,” adds Matthieu Bozzio, expressing confidence that “quantum-digital payments will reach a practical performance level in the very near future.”
Reference: “Demonstration of quantum-digital payments” by Peter Schiansky, Julia Kalb, Esther Sztatecsny, Marie-Christine Roehsner, Tobias Guggemos, Alessandro Trenti, Mathieu Bozzio, and Philip Walther, 29 June 2023, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39519-w
Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Quantum-Digital Payments
What is the aim of the research conducted by the University of Vienna?
The researchers aim to develop an infallibly secure system for digital transactions, by integrating modern cryptographic techniques with the inherent attributes of quantum light, which they term as “quantum-digital payments”.
Who led the research team from the University of Vienna?
The research team was led by Professor Philip Walther from the University of Vienna.
How does the proposed quantum-digital payments system work?
The quantum-digital payments system works by replacing traditional cryptographic methods with a quantum protocol leveraging individual photons. The client shares a cryptogram—a classical code—with their payment provider, which is subsequently circulated among the customer, merchant, and payment provider. The cryptogram is generated by the payment provider sending specifically prepared single photons to the client. Since the quantum states of light can’t be replicated, a transaction can only be conducted once. This, along with the fact that any discrepancies in the intended payment would alter the measurement results (which are then verified by the payment provider), renders the digital transaction unconditionally secure.
How do quantum-digital payments ensure the security of a transaction?
Quantum-digital payments ensure the security of a transaction by leveraging the quantum properties of light particles or photons, which cannot be duplicated or diverted by malicious entities, thus guaranteeing the user’s data privacy.
Where and how was the quantum-digital payments system tested?
The quantum-digital payments system was tested across an urban optical fiber link spanning 641 meters, connecting two university buildings in central Vienna.
Are there any current limitations to the quantum-digital payments system?
Yes, the quantum-digital payments system currently takes a few minutes to complete a transaction due to the need for quantum communication to ensure security. However, this is a technological constraint that is expected to be overcome in the near future.
More about Quantum-Digital Payments
- Nature Communications
- University of Vienna
- Quantum Cryptography
- Introduction to Quantum Physics
- Understanding Digital Payments
7 comments
Quantum-digital payments, huh? That’s an interesting concept. Still, i worry about the time it takes to complete a transaction. They say it’s only a tech limitation but how soon can they overcome it?
i don’t really understand all this quantum stuff but it sounds really cool. If it can make my online shopping safer, I’m all for it.
Wow, this is mindblowing! Quantum physics to secure digital payments? Can’t wait to see this in action!
Call me old fashioned but i still prefer my cash and cards. All this digital and quantum stuff just confuses me!
If this could be applied to cryptocurrencies it’d be a game changer. Might help with the security issues we’re facing now.
This is a giant leap for secure digital transactions. Kudos to the team from University of Vienna. Quantum physics is shaping our future. What a time to be alive!
So the quantum thingy means every transaction is unique and can’t be duplicated? amazing stuff, really. can’t imagine the work behind this…