LS Cable & System ‘hack-proof’ optical cable

South Korean cable maker LS Cable & Systems said on Tuesday that it is ready to begin the mass production of a new optical cable which can “block out hacking.”

Using special fiber optics with enhanced coatings, the company explained the new cable is designed to prevent illegal leaks and disturbance.

When an optical cable is bent in the shape of a circle, some of the light traveling along it escapes. Hackers then can steal information by connecting hacking devices and intercepting optical signals or paralyze a network by adding optical signals.

Infrared coatings and metal tubes have been used to prevent hacking, but their high manufacturing costs and difficulties surrounding installation meant that its use has not been widespread, the cable maker explained.

“In many cases, regular optical fiber cables are left vulnerable to leaks of data such as emails, financial transactions or CCTV footage, for instance,” one official at the company said before adding that “the hacking-proof optical cables will be adopted in the finance and defense sectors as well as at data centers.

The “hack-proof” cable is the latest in a series of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies the company has revealed recently. Earlier this year, LS Cable & System also unveiled a new premium carbon fiber telecommunication cable that is more than 20 percent lighter in weight thanks to its material.

By Yim Hyun-su (hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)