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EU cryptography platform slammed

An online security expert has slammed the recent launch of the world's first network using quantum cryptography, which was touted as an "unbreakable" platform, terming it "nearly useless".

Expert Bruce Schneier, who is also the chief security technology officer of BT, says the internet security platform launched by the EU in Austria last week will not have a big effect on the security landscape.

In an article for Wired, he said: "The basic idea is still unbelievably cool, in theory, and nearly useless in real life.

According to Schneier, quantum cryptography still fails to address the biggest vulnerability of any network - endpoint security.

"It's like defending yourself against an approaching attacker by putting a huge stake in the ground," he observed.

"It's useless to argue about whether the stake should be 50 feet tall or 100 feet tall, because either way, the attacker is going to go around it.

Scientists from EU's Development of a Global Network for Secure Communication based on Quantum Cryptography (SECOQC) project are behind the new networked earmarked for public use.

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