The open quantum network, which connects the laboratories of the National Research Technological University MISiS and the Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics (MTUCI), can be expanded with a satellite segment to increase data transmission over long distances.

For this purpose, a spacecraft in the CubeSat format, with dimensions of 10x10x10 cm and a mass of less than 1.3 kg, will be used to study space. Its launch is scheduled for 2023.

According to professor Viktor Zadkov, Director of the RAS Institute for Spectroscopy, this technology will find application in areas with high requirements for information security. In particular, it can be used for electronic voting systems, government structures, special services, banks, financial and other organizations.

“Unlike conventional communication systems, quantum networks cannot be secretly hacked and access to information transmitted through them, since any penetration into such networks leaves traces at the physical level,” professor Zadkov said.

In October 2021, Moscow researchers have completed tests of an open-access interuniversity quantum network that connected the campuses of NUST MISIS and MTUCI. It will be used to implement technological solutions in the field of information security using quantum cryptography.