- Providing high level security for network information transmission. -

TOKYO. - Wednesday, September 3rd 2014 [ME NewsWire]

QCrypt 2014 conference

(BUSINESS WIRE) Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO:6502), today announced that it has achieved the world's highest speed operation of a quantum encryption system with a new quantum key distribution device installed and tested in Tokyo.

The system was tested over a 45km optical fiber running between Otemachi in central Tokyo and Koganei in the city’s western suburbs. Testing was carried out in collaboration with Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) over a 34-day period. Testing was continuous, and the installed system achieved world records for total amount of secure key data transmitted, 878 gigabits (Gbit), and average transmission speed, 25.8Gbit a day, while remaining stable and completely autonomous.

Quantum encryption is the new frontier in data encryption technology, providing a previously impossible level of security for the transmission of information through a network. It is made possible by exploiting the quantum nature of single photons, the elementary particles of light, which allows them to detect eavesdropping and guarantee security, a cryptographic technology known as quantum key distribution.

Toshiba Corporation has developed the world's highest speed quantum key distribution device in the laboratory, and is using optical fiber lines installed in cities to verify the technology’s ability to provide long term, stable operation. The realization of quantum communication – the detection of single photons of light after long distance transmission through optical fibers – requires the development of cutting-edge technologies to overcome a number of technical challenges, including suppression of noise and highly accurate equipment alignment and synchronization.

Toshiba’s efforts to meet and overcome these technical challenges have positioned the company at the forefront of development of automatic stabilization systems and integrated electronics for quantum encryption.

The fruits of the company’s work can be seen in 34 days of confirmed, continuous unattended operation of the system installed on NICT's JGN-X experimental optical fiber network running between Otemachi and Koganei in Tokyo (45 km, 14.5 dB loss). Moreover, this 34-day period does not define the limit of operation—the system was still operating smoothly at the end of the test period, and there is no reason to believe operation for much longer periods would not be possible.

The daily average amount of secure key data distributed during the test period was 25.8Gbit (a total of 878Gbit secure key data in 34 days), with an average transmission speed of 300 kbps. This sets new records for both total secure key data distributed and for rates per second and day for any installed system.

We will continue performing verifications for still further long-term stable operation and increased encryption key distribution rates. We also intend to apply our quantum encryption key distribution device to a variety of applications to verify practical usability.

This breakthrough performance will be announced at the QCrypt 2014 conference, to be held on September 1 – 5 in Paris, France.

Note: Part of this research was commissioned by NICT as part of its Research and Development of Secure Photonic Network Technologies project.

About Toshiba Toshiba Corporation, a Fortune Global 500 company, channels world-class capabilities in advanced electronic and electrical product and systems into five strategic business domains: Energy & Infrastructure, Community Solutions, Healthcare Systems & Services, Electronic Devices & Components, and Lifestyles Products & Services. Guided by the principles of The Basic Commitment of the Toshiba Group, “Committed to People, Committed to the Future”, Toshiba promotes global operations towards securing “Growth Through Creativity and Innovation”, and is contributing to the achievement of a world in which people everywhere live in safe, secure and comfortable society.

Founded in Tokyo in 1875, today’s Toshiba is at the heart of a global network of over 590 consolidated companies employing over 200,000 people worldwide, with annual sales surpassing 6.5 trillion yen (US$63 billion). To find out more about Toshiba, visit www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm

Contacts

Toshiba Corporation

Hirokazu Tsukimoto, 81-3-3457-2100

Public Relations & Investor Relations Office

Corporate Communications Div.

hirokazu.tsukimoto@toshiba.co.jp

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