To combat software piracy, various safety checks can be built into computer programs. One such method is that of “one-time” programs which can only be executed a single time. By the use of this quantum technology, a classical program can be only allowed to operate a single time, preventing copying of the software.
Researchers at the University of Vienna and the Singapore University of Technology and Design developed this technology, which allows programs to be sent securely using single particles of light (quantum photonics). These particles of light do not merely describe the program but are the physical logic of the program. The interaction with the light is the act of using the program. This is a completely new and novel way of performing a computation and it provides security to the program which is guaranteed by the laws of nature - not by the assumed computational power of an adversary.