Verizon Recently Conducted Trial of Quantum Key Distribution in Washington D.C.

(FierceTelecom) Verizon recently conducted a trial of quantum key distribution (QKD) in Washington D.C. Verizon said the successful trial positioned it as one of the first carriers in the U.S. to pilot the use of QKD.
In Verizon’s QKD trial, live video was captured outside of three Verizon locations in the D.C. area, including the Washington DC Executive Briefing Center, the 5G Lab in D.C and Verizon’s Ashburn, Virginia office. Using a QKD network, quantum keys were created and exchanged over a fiber network between Verizon’s locations.
In the trial, video streams were encrypted and delivered more securely allowing the recipient to see the video in real-time while instantly exposing hackers. A QKD network derives cryptographic keys using the quantum properties of photons to prevent against eavesdropping.
Verizon also demonstrated that data could be further secured with keys generated using a Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) that, as the name suggests, creates random numbers that can’t be predicted. With QKD, encryption keys are continuously generated and are immune to attacks because any disruption to the channel breaks the quantum state of photons, which signals that eavesdroppers are present.