With cyber-attacks and information leaks on the rise, quantum entanglement will allow future communications networks to be unhackable, the researchers said, even if devices are unsafe or in criminal hands.

Quantum entanglement describes the phenomenon that occurs when two particles remain connected even when they’re separated by vast distances.

When entangled photons travel long distances, they can be disrupted by noisy real-world environments, such as stormy weather, background noise, or signal loss in a communications network. These types of problems like these can jeopardise security in a quantum network.

However, the new research by Heriot-Watt physicists, who have worked with colleagues at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, showed a new way for quantum entanglement to survive and remain robust under even extreme conditions of noise and loss.

This new way of approaching quantum entanglement could provide a way to have ultra-secure, high-capacity...