Scottish university takes ‘quantum leap’ forward in fight against M&S-style cyber attacks

A cutting-edge £2.5 million facility that will help in the fight against cyber attacks and online hacking is set to officially open today in Edinburgh.

The Quantum Communications Hub Optical Ground Station - or HOGS as it has been dubbed - will be based at Heriot-Watt University’s research park in the city. It is said to represent a “significant leap forward” in the UK’s space and quantum capabilities.

Using advanced laser technology to communicate with satellites in ways that could make data breaches a thing of the past, the new facility marks a transition from traditional radio frequency communications to optical links, providing much higher data rates and improved security.

Dr Ross Donaldson checks the telescope at Heriot-Watt University’s new HOGS facility in Edinburgh. Picture by Chris Watt Photograph

For the public, the facility's work is likely to directly contribute to more secure everyday transactions ranging from online banking to health data protection, with the potential to create networks that cannot be hacked. It comes amid a backdrop of high-profile cyber attacks such as the recent one affecting Marks & Spencer.

The facility will shortly add state-of-the-art single-photon detectors and adaptive optics systems capable of exchanging quantum-encrypted information with orbiting satellites. This technology could eventually form the backbone of an ultra-secure quantum internet within the UK. Beyond its cybersecurity focus, the facility will monitor and track space debris and also pioneer new techniques in high-speed optical communications that could power future mobile networks.

Dr Ross Donaldson, project lead from Heriot-Watt’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.

“HOGS allows us to research a technique called quantum key distribution between space and the ground, and vice versa. This is about creating encryption keys that cannot be intercepted or hacked without detection.”

The facility features a 4.5-metre-diameter observatory dome housing a high-precision telescope equipped with advanced tracking systems and environmental monitoring tools. A secondary smaller telescope with visible and infrared cameras provides additional capabilities for space imaging and debris monitoring.

How a Scottish university is developing the 'near unhackable' quantum internet