At a time when computing has become more vulnerable to hacking, researchers have uncovered clues that could help administrators protect quantum computing networks from external attacks.

According to the ScienceDaily, the researchers explained that not only traditional computer systems, which use zeros and ones, are vulnerable to hacking but also quantum computing, where bits of information can simultaneously hold multiple states beyond zero and one, are not safe.

"Our team has built the first high-dimensional quantum cloning machine capable of performing quantum hacking to intercept a secure quantum message," said Ebrahim Karimi from the University of Ottawa, Canada.

Professor Karimi's team cloned the photons that transmit information, namely the single carriers of light known as qubits and revealed clues into how to protect against hacking.

Karimi and his team hope that their quantum hacking efforts could be used to study quantum communication systems, or more generally to study how quantum information travels across quantum computer networks. To read their paper, visit the Science Advances website.