Japanese Researchers Achieve World’s First Quantum Cryptography Transmission of 24 Different Whole-Genome Sequence Data in Real-Time

(BioSpectrumAsia) Tohoku University and Toshiba Corporation have achieved a world first, transmitting the whole genome sequence data of 24 people in real-time using quantum cryptography.
The data, which exceeded several hundred gigabytes, had an average key distribution speed greater than 10 megabits per second over standard fiber-optic lines, and arrived at the Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo) just two minutes after Toshiba had finished analyzing it.
The successful experiment demonstrated that quantum encryption technology is now capable of large-capacity data transmission, opening up many practical applications in genomic medicine and research.
According to Toshiba, its cryptography technology is hack-proof because it uses light particles, called photons, to send encrypted data and a key for decryption. Attempts to eavesdrop or intercept the data illegally would change the state of the photons, rendering the key unusable.