Alibaba's cloud computing arm AliCloud has unveiled a new public-cloud based method of securing data communications through quantum cryptography.
The solution, developed in partnership with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, aims to revolutionize ICT security.
It was announced at Alibaba Group's Computing Conference 2015 in Hangzhou, China on Wednesday.
Quantum cryptography promises to be immune to man-in-the-middle attacks, code-breakers and other popular hacking techniques designed to circumvent conventional encryption protocols.
Small scale tests of the technology have so far been successful, AliCloud said, and the company plans to move to large-scale proof-of-concept trials this year.
Jianwei Pan, professor and executive vice president of the University of Science and Technology of China, said the new technology has the potential to be transformational.
“The collaboration between AliCloud and CAS at the Quantum Computing Laboratory provided the perfect environment for creating a practical, reliable and completely secure quantum cryptography solution for communications,” he said.
“The speed at which we have completed our initial trials with the AliCloud Cloud Platform shows the advanced state of both cloud and quantum information technologies within China, and our future projects are likely to benefit from the same synergy. The Internet will never be the same
again.”
AliCloud also used the conference to launch a startup incubator program in collaboration with Foxconn Technology Group.
The companies will jointly operate the Taofu Chengzhen incubator program, which will see AliCloud contribute cloud computing and big data support for participating SME startups.
Foxconn will in turn provide design, development patent and supply chain management advice and support. Both companies will collaborate with Intel, Zhubajie.com and Valley Capital to create a startup support infrastructure.
The Taofu Chengzhen project has been in trials for six months and has already supported around 280 business projects.
Successfully supported businesses include Moov, a startup from Silicon Valley developing a fitness wearable device with 3D motion capture and artificial intelligence capabilities.
“Alibaba Group is helping enterprises and start-ups progress by making computing services more accessible,” Alibab Group CTO Dr Jiang Wang said.
“The Computing Conference brings aspiring start-ups and established industry players together to help us further creativity and innovation across the cloud industry.”