Company uses wall of lava lamps to create 'unhackable' code that protects people on the internet
You can never be too safe when it comes to cybersecurity. Even strong, randomly generated passwords have their weaknesses.
This is where Cloudflare comes in - a tech company that developed a very unusual technique to generate highly secure encrypted codes.
By unique, I mean the code is generated using lava lamps.
This is how the California-based company uses the groovy encryption technique...
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Patterns between the bubbles and colours, and the timing between the two, may look like a repeating pattern, but he two moments are never quite the same.
Cloudflare's video camera on the ceiling records the lava lamps' bubbles and swirls, transferring the footage to a computer.
This computer then translates the randomness into a virtually unbreakable code.
Instagram user @londonliu_ shared the concept with her online audience to explain how the concept works in the tech world.
She said: 'As the lava lamp bubbles move a video camera on the ceiling mirrors their changes to a computer, which converts the randomness into a code that's pretty much un-hackable.'
And guess what? You can become a part of the project, too.
You might think such a high-security wall would be off-limits to the public, but you'd be wrong. It’s actually possible for the general public to visit the lobby at Cloudflare HQ in San Francisco and see these lava lamps in person.
The changing of human movement, and lighting for example all work together, making the random code even harder to predict.
'So in a way by standing in front of the lava lamp display, you play a role in making the internet a more secure place,' the content creator added.
So, why use lava lamps, you ask?
As useful as they are, the problem with computers is that they're extremely good at recognising and developing patterns to generate lines of code. This means they are quite predictable making it an open door for hackers to guess their algorithms, posing a security risk.
On the contrary, lava lamps have the element of pure randomness, making it nearly impossible for hackers to crack the code.
With this method, Cloudflare is able to offer the safest SSL/TLS encryption to its customers.
Currently, Cloudflare's wall of over 100 lava lamps encrypts up to 10% of the internet, including well-known websites like Uber and FitBit.