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Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have developed an innovative technology that enhances the reliability of digital devices by relying on their physical properties, offering a future alternative that is faster and more secure than traditional passwords and security keys.

The study, published in the journal Nature Electronics, highlights one of the growing challenges facing modern digital infrastructure, especially with the increasing number of devices connected to digital networks. The need to verify the identity of each device has become more urgent, as traditional methods rely on passwords or digital security keys that can be stolen or copied, and managing them on a large scale becomes more complex and resource-intensive. Therefore, the need has emerged for a means that allows a device to prove its identity through a unique and inherent characteristic in its physical components that is difficult to imitate or steal.

KAUST's technology gives each electronic device a unique 'digital fingerprint' that describes the minute differences in the device's own composition. It uses tiny laser chips embedded inside each device that produce laser beams to generate a distinctive optical code, which matches no other code, much like fingerprints. Then artificial intelligence is employed to recognize and verify this fingerprint at extremely high speeds, making it difficult to forge or copy the device's identity, and reducing reliance on traditional passwords or security keys.

Assistant Professor Yating Wan, who led the research at KAUST, said: 'All devices connected to digital networks need a reliable way to prove their identity. Today, this often relies on passwords or security keys stored within the system. Our approach explores the possibility of devices relying on their inherent physical properties to prove their identity, without the need for traditional credentials.'

This technology holds promising potential to enhance the security of large-scale digital networks that rely on communication between millions of devices, servers, and sensors. Potential applications include cloud computing, artificial intelligence infrastructure, the Internet of Things, and digital systems used in industrial and service sectors.

Laboratory tests showed that the system is capable of performing identity verification operations at very high speeds with low power consumption, making it suitable for future computing systems that require advanced levels of performance and efficiency.

She added: 'With the continuous expansion of artificial intelligence applications and cloud services, the need for new security solutions that can work efficiently on a large scale is increasing. This study highlights how optical, laser, and artificial intelligence technologies can be integrated to develop innovative methods to address this challenge.'

The research team at KAUST is currently continuing to study ways to integrate this technology into future computing and communication systems, contributing to building a more secure and reliable digital infrastructure.

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