Researchers develop 'unbreakable' security codes inspired by nature

Scientists at Lancaster University, who patented the new method, said they were inspired by how the heart and lungs coordinate their rhythms by passing information between each other.

A mathematical model based on the complex interaction between these organs has now been translated to the world of modern communications, the researchers said.

This discovery could transform daily life, which is today completely reliant on secure electronic communications for everything from mobiles to sensor networks and the Internet, the researchers said.

According to the team, in modern times, every device and service, from car keys to online bank account, contain different identification codes enabling information to be transferred in confidence.

The new mathematical model offers an infinite number of choices for the secret encryption key shared between the sender and receiver.

This makes it virtually impossible for hackers and eavesdroppers to crack the code, the Lancaster University researchers said.

The new method is exceptionally resistant to interference from the random fluctuations or "noise" which affects all communications systems.

According to the researchers, it can also transmit several different information streams simultaneously, enabling all the digital devices in the home, for example, to operate on one encryption key instead of dozens of different ones.

"This promises an encryption scheme that is so nearly unbreakable that it will be equally unwelcome to Internet criminals and official eavesdroppers," said researcher Professor Peter McClintock.