Entanglement Enhanced Quantum Integrated Networks (EQUIN)

The encryption that protects online banking, private messages, and government data is vulnerable to future quantum computers and AI-driven attacks. This project builds a more secure communications network by combining two defences: quantum key distribution (QKD), which encodes data in single photons and is immune to quantum attacks, and new cryptographic algorithms designed to resist quantum computers. The team will also integrate systems that use entangled photons—pairs of particles whose quantum states are linked—to allow future quantum computers and the quantum internet to connect securely. If successful, the Entanglement Enhanced Quantum Integrated Network (EQUIN) will give organisations flexibility: they can use familiar but quantum-resistant cryptography for routine traffic, switch to QKD for high-security data, and eventually link into quantum networks as they emerge. This matters because today’s encryption standards are not future-proof; a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could break them, exposing everything from financial transactions to national infrastructure. The project does not build a full-scale network—it develops and tests the integration methods needed to make such a network practical.