LS Cable develops anti-hacking optical cables

LS Cable & System Ltd., South Korea's leading wire and cable manufacturer, has developed a new optical cable that can help ward against data breaches, hacking and tapping of information.

The company said on Nov. 3 that the new cable uses a special optical fiber and strengthened coating that fundamentally blocks information leakage. It aims to mass produce the new product before the end of November.

When an optical cable is bent, light escapes — given the nature of light to travel in a straight line — allowing hackers to intercept optical signals and steal data or paralyze networks.

Currently, infrared coatings and metal tubes are used to protect optical cables from hacking attempts, but they are costly and have installation problems.

“With advanced hacking techniques, fiber-optic cables are often vulnerable to hacking attempts of email exchanges and financial transactions,” said an LS Cable official. “We expect our new product to be widely used in financial companies, defense industries and data centers.”

LG Cable has diversified the production of its cables to meet the needs of various industries.

In September, the company commercialized a premium telecommunication cable with carbon fiber, which is 20% lighter but 30% more flexible and durable than a fiber-optic cable. LS Cable has also unveiled a CCTV cable that enables simultaneous power and data transmissions.

Write to Su-Bin Lee at lsb@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.