An epoxy resin token containing tiny glass spheres can be used as a device to encrypt information very securely, according to a fascinating paper published in Science today. The advantage of the system is that it is next to impossible to forge the token.

Shining light through the token creates a characteristic pattern that can be used to confirm the token is the key to accessing some secret information. However, even if you analyse the token, it is not possible using current technology or computational resources to mathematically or physically reverse the process and work out how to replicate the token. This difficulty in reversing a process is the basis for existing mathematical encryption schemes. The mathematical functions used to do this are called "one-way".

The difference here is that the encryption happens via a "one-way" physical process that can not be copied. Even trying to examine the insides of the token will destroy it, so no replica can be made while keeping the original intact and the owner unaware of the forgery.

This new approach to encryption adds to the tools that can be used to keep information safe. Even if mathematical techniques for cracking existing "one-way" encryption schemes are discovered, technology is still so far short of being able to replicate these physical devices that information will remain secure.

More at Nature Science Update

More at New Scientist

5:34:21 PM