Fresh research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) could transform how the NHS protects patients’ medical images from cyber‑attacks. Computer scientists have developed a breakthrough way to encrypt medical images such as X‑rays, CT scans and MRIs, keeping them secure even if hospital networks are breached. Medical imaging systems have been repeatedly identified as weak points, with many relying on legacy protocols that were never designed to be exposed to the internet, making image‑level encryption an urgent priority. Developed by researchers at the University of East Anglia in collaboration with international partners, the new encryption approach uses advanced mathematical techniques to make each protected image uniquely unpredictable and extremely difficult to hack, while still fast enough for everyday NHS use.

The UK’s most powerful quantum computer, which will accelerate research and discovery in quantum science, engineering, and a range of other applications, will be based at the University of Cambridge as part of a new partnership with the quantum technology company IonQ. The collaboration is the University’s largest-ever corporate research partnership.

Check out the press program for the American Physical Society’s Global Physics Summit today. The conference will be held in Denver and online everywhere March 15-20.