A compelling case for Quantum Random Number Generator adoption

Context

Near the end of the 19th Century, scientists were starting to lose interest in studying physics as they believed that their work was reaching completeness. According to the knowledge of physics at the time, by establishing the initial conditions of a system and its associated boundaries, the state of that system could be modeled now or anytime in the future.  It  became nothing more than an engineering problem;  of gathering enough information about the system and determining which equations to use to then map its evolution. Physics had become a completely deterministic science.

But a mighty storm was about to shake the foundations of physics. In the early 20th Century, two new ways to describe the universe were born; Relativistic Theory and Quantum Mechanics. Relativity changed the view in which we see time and space and the way that they are related, but even more radical and complex is the theory of Quantum Mechanics.

Quantum Mechanics was the first physical theory that was not deterministic; examples are the Heinsenberg Uncertainty principle and quantum entanglement. For the large majority of problems in Quantum Mechanics the certainty of an outcome is not possible to know beforehand, as it was in what we now call ‘classical physics’.

Cryptography

Current standard cybersecurity solutions use classical physics for the generation of random numbers. Based upon what we have written so far I am sure you are asking , “how does it make any sense to use a completely deterministic theory to produce randomness to generate cryptographic keys?” The explanation you will be given is that it is because the techniques used are hard to solve, hard to model and predict using classical physics. But, if enough models are applied to solve these implementations, they prove to be completely deterministic.

However, with Quantum Mechanics it is possible to harvest true randomness from truly unpredictable outcomes of a system. Even if you were to clone a device based upon Quantum Mechanics and somehow operate it within  the same environmental conditions, the output  will be different. This is the ideal source of entropy for a cybersecurity cryptosystem.

Crypta Labs has the vision using Quantum Mechanics for Random Number Generation (known as QRNGs) in order to speed up the transition from current classical-based devices to truly random quantum-based sources. We are approaching the development of our technology differently to that of other QRNG companies in the market by exploring the open electronics marketplace and selecting common and reliable components that, once integrated and calibrated,  produce entropy from a dominant Quantum Source.

The components we utilize have proven so reliable that we are the first company to have passed the tests for ‘Orbital Deployment of a QRNG’ under Space Conditions as part of the UK SPRINT program.

Entropy Assurance

We generate our Quantum Random Numbers by using a mixture of photonics and electronics which are controlled by our custom built software and hardware. Our design follows the NIST 800-90B Standards to achieve the full entropy assurance needed for cryptographic key generation.

As with any new technology entering the market, a warranty from independent institutions helps to achieve credibility for deployment. Crypta Labs is one of the industrial partners of the Innovate UK project AQuRand, where the quality of the entropy is not only evaluated, but a model of the whole QRNG device is created by the University of York using measurements performed at the National Physics Laboratory of the UK.

Cryptography is changing and now needs to consider how it will become Quantum Resilient. A fundamental building block of becoming ‘Quantum Safe’ is good randomness Crypta Labs is developing the ideal source of Quantum Randomness that is easy to integrate, competitively priced and features adaptive output speeds. We build with a modular approach that makes it possible to deploy in a large range of devices,  from firewalls to servers or even satellite systems.

A small footprint, tiny power draw, low BoM cost, almost imperceptible heat generation and NIST compliant quantum entropy generation make our QRNG design the perfect integration option for hardware manufacturers. See more at https://cryptalabs.com

Sponsored by Crypta Labs; Authored by Dr Jose Coello CSO Crypta Labs