Nanotechnology Now Home > Press > Graphene key for novel hardware security A team of Penn State researchers has developed a new hardware security device that takes advantage of microstructure variations to generate secure keys. CREDIT Jennifer McCann,Penn State Abstract: As more private data is stored and shared digitally, researchers are exploring new ways to protect data against attacks from bad actors. Current silicon technology exploits microscopic differences between computing components to create secure keys, but artificial intelligence (AI) techniques can be used to predict these keys and gain access to data. Now, Penn State researchers have designed a way to make the encrypted keys harder to crack.