From the course: Introduction to Quantum Cryptography
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Understanding quantum key distribution (QKD)
From the course: Introduction to Quantum Cryptography
Understanding quantum key distribution (QKD)
- [Instructor] Popular cryptography involves keeping information secret with the use of public and private keys. The public key is freely available and used to encrypt information, and the private is kept secret by the person who is authorized to access and decrypt the information using the private key. A common encryption method employed by public and private keys is called the RSA protocol. Encryption is created by the public key using a large number generated by two prime numbers. Once a large number is generated, it is highly difficult to determine the prime numbers that were used. It's called a trapdoor function. It's easy to create the large number, but difficult to do the prime number factorization. Only the private key knows the prime numbers and that's how it's able to unencrypt the message. In a moment, I'll describe how quantum mechanics can be used to generate and distribute keys. But first, it's worth…
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