Through the looking glass: Artist Stephanie Rentschler recently unveiled SlimeMoldCrypt, an interactive installation where art meets science by using biology to generate stronger encryption keys. Rentschler designed the piece to produce encryption schemes resistant to computational decryption, explaining on her website that biological behaviors are inherently chaotic.
Encryption technology underpins today's digital world, but trouble may be looming. Practical quantum computers threaten secure communications based on traditional algorithms, and researchers are racing to develop novel approaches and applications that could withstand this theoretical quantum assault.
SlimeMoldCrypt reimagines computer security as a biological process, leveraging the microscopic lives of Physarum polycephalum (PP). This single-celled, intelligent slime mold develops a constantly changing network of tendrils and responds "instantly" to its environment. The system then converts this biological chaos into digital data for use in encryption algorithms.
Rentschler did not provide a detailed explanation of the process. Hackster.io speculates that the device captures images of the slime mold's activity through a microscope and converts it into numbers based on its growth. These quasi-random values seed an encryption algorithm instead of using a random number generator. Researchers have previously used slime molds' behavior to simulate complex systems, such as traffic networks.
Three knobs guide the slime mold's movement, each linked to an "environmental control" regulating light, humidity, and food. A Raspberry Pi Pico at the heart of the device modulates the mold's vitality, increasing or decreasing cellular activity. A more active mold produces more chaotic patterns, boosting the entropy of the resulting encryption key.
If the mold's activity stops entirely, the encryption protection halts, potentially exposing sensitive information. Rentschler says she intended to use SlimeMoldCrypt to challenge traditional notions of passivity in digital security. The design offers a radical alternative, where the encryption process requires both empathy and responsibility.
"In a world chasing speed, it invites you to slow down, and protect with care," the designer said.
Rentschler is a Design Investigations student at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, focused on creating immersive experiences and speculative designs that challenge conventional perceptions.
While biology-based encryption is likely too impractical for real-world products or industrial applications, the risk of compromised digital transaction security is real. Researchers are exploring various methods to strengthen security, with "true" random number generation seen as a key solution.
Image credit: Stephanie Rentschler