October 23, 2025, 1:01 pm | Read time: 3 minutes

For decades, the internet has shaped the lives of billions of people. But as its importance grows, so do the risks. Hacker attacks and data leaks threaten user security, while protecting sensitive information becomes increasingly difficult. Physicist and computer scientist Stephanie Wehner, who conducts research at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, aims to change that. Her approach: a secure communication network based on quantum technology. The former hacker is determined to create an unprecedented level of data security through quantum communication–always keeping user protection at the forefront.

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European Science Prize

For her work, Wehner was awarded the Körber Prize for European Science in 2025. The award recognizes her crucial contribution to the development of a future quantum internet. At the center of her research is QNodeOS, the world’s first operating system for quantum networks. It aims to make the quantum internet usable without deep technical knowledge.

Additionally, Wehner leads the European Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA), a consortium of more than 40 research institutions and companies across Europe. The network has set an ambitious goal: to establish a first quantum internet between two major cities over several hundred kilometers by 2030. This could position Europe as a leader in a technology that is likely to be crucial for the security, economy, and science of the future.

Quantum Technology Offers Unprecedented Security

Unlike today’s internet, the quantum internet is based on the laws of quantum physics. Tiny particles, known as quanta, connect in a way that allows information to be transmitted without being tampered with or intercepted unnoticed. This technology promises entirely new applications–from eavesdrop-proof communication to networking remote sensors and extremely fast data transmissions and computing power.

Wehner expects that the underlying technologies will be available to the public within the next ten years. Researchers plan to initially integrate quantum communication into existing research and industry structures and then make it usable for private households.

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Wehner emphasizes that progress depends not only on new hardware but especially on the software that runs on it. With QNodeOS, she is laying the foundation to open up the technology and make it accessible to the general public–similar to how earlier operating systems like Windows or Linux once revolutionized access to computers.