In brief
The Turing Award has been awarded to Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard for their foundational work in quantum cryptography, a method of encryption deemed unbreakable. Their research, originating from a 1984 collaboration, is expected to play a critical role in securing future electronic communications, particularly against the backdrop of advancing quantum computing technologies. The award, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of computing, comes with a financial reward of $1 million.
A US physicist and a Canadian computer scientist have won this year's Turing Award for their invention of a form of seemingly unbreakable encryption. Charles H Bennett and Gilles Brassard's work, which dates back to 1984, is known as quantum cryptography and has 'redefined secure communication and computing', according to the award’s body. Scientists believe their work will be central to electronic communications in a world highly dependent on data-sharing, especially as more powerful quantum computers are developed. The Turing Award, named after the mathematician and code-breaker Alan Turing, is recognized as the 'Nobel Prize of computing,' accompanied by a $1 million (£800,000) prize. Bennett, now 82 and a fellow at IBM in New York, and Brassard, 70, a professor at the University of Montreal, initially met at an academic conference in Puerto Rico in 1979. The conversation led to their joint exploration of developing a banknote that could never be forged.Their collaboration heralded decades of innovation, creating a technique based on quantum physics—the study of matter particles, including electrons and photons. Traditional encryption technology depends on intricate mathematical algorithms, but as quantum computers emerge, many experts warn that such methods could become vulnerable. In contrast, Bennett and Brassard's BB84 protocol indicates that any attempts to breach or replicate their quantum encryption will alter the behavior of its elements, rendering replication impossible.The Association of Computer Machinery, the organization that presents the Turing Award, commended their work as a vital step toward securing digital communications for the future.
