Academics progress work on ‘near-unhackable’ quantum internet

Sofia Villegas May 7, 2025 in Defence and Security, News - 3 Minutes

Led by experts from Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University, researchers have unveiled new platforms to support the use of quantum technology in encryption, to deliver ‘networks secured by the laws of physics’

Heriot-Watt University has broken ground with a pioneering telescope that will support its ongoing government-backed work to help create a “near-unhackable” quantum-powered internet.

The new £2.5m ground station, the first of its kind in the UK, will be able to test quantum satellite communications, which the institution claims could tackle cyberattacks.

The Quantum Communications Hub Optical Ground Station (HOGS) uses laser technology to communicate with satellites, as well as single-photon detectors and adaptive optics systems to exchange quantum-encrypted information with orbiting satellites.

Quantum key distribution is designed to allow encryption keys to be shared securely, as any attempt to intercept the key would disturb their quantum state, meaning an attacker cannot steal the key undetected.

The university claims HOGS will test technology which could “become the backbone of an ultra-secure quantum internet within the UK”.

HOGS is connected to the university’s dark-fibre network, meaning the campus will offer a “living laboratory” for scientists and industry to test their quantum networks, before deploying them in the real world. Dark fibre refers to cables that have been installed but are not actively transmitting data.

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The facility is part of the Quantum Communications Hub (QCH) project, funded through the government’s UK National Quantum Technologies Programme and is part of a collaborative effort which also involves the Universities of Strathclyde, Bristol and York.

Besides helping to tackle cybercrime, HOGS will also monitor and track space debris which poses a significant threat to future space missions, as well as pioneer new techniques in high-speed optical communications that could power future 6G networks.

Professor Tim Spiller, director of the QCH, said: “Quantum secure communications will still protect data – for governments, businesses and individuals – in a future, fully quantum-enabled world. We know already that such communications work with optical fibres, but clearly to address data security on a global scale we must add satellite capability. The experiments to be undertaken with HOGS represent a key next step to establishing this capability.”

Dr Ross Donaldson, project lead from Heriot-Watt University’s Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, said: “This facility represents a quantum leap for UK communications security. With cyber threats evolving daily, we urgently need to create networks that are secured by the laws of physics, not by encryption that could be broken by future technologies.”