The Secure Internet Observatory

Understanding how secure communication infrastructures are reshaping trust, democracy and journalism

A profound shift is underway in the foundations of global communication. Governments, research networks and major infrastructure providers are already deploying quantum-secure networks, post-quantum cryptography and new systems for verifying the origin and integrity of digital information. These developments are unfolding in response to an environment of escalating digital risk, in which confidentiality, authenticity and long-term security can no longer be taken for granted.

This shift is not merely technical. It signals the emergence of a new phase of the internet, one in which the security and verifiability of communication increasingly shape how societies function, how trust is built, and how journalism can operate freely and safely. Decisions taken today about secure infrastructure will influence who can communicate safely, who controls information flows, and how resilient democratic systems remain in the face of manipulation and interference.

The Secure Internet Observatory, launched as part of the Media and Journalism Research Center’s 2025–2028 strategy, follows this transformation as it unfolds. The Observatory approaches the secure internet not as an engineering challenge alone, but as a structural change with far-reaching implications for public communication, democratic resilience and media freedom. Its focus is not only on what technologies are being built, but on how they are governed, who benefits from them, who is excluded, and how power over communication is redistributed in the process.

All full Observatory outputs, including Monthly Signal Briefs, Quarterly Insight Reports, Flash Notes and the annual State of the Secure Internet report, are published on the Media and Journalism Exchange, with summaries and highlights available on the MJRC website.

Why This Matters Now

A new phase of the internet is emerging

For decades, the internet relied on cryptographic systems built on the assumption that certain mathematical problems were too difficult for computers to solve. Advances in quantum computing challenge that assumption. While large-scale quantum computers capable of breaking today’s encryption are not yet operational, scientific consensus increasingly agrees that they are no longer a distant abstraction. Many experts estimate that within the next decade, quantum machines could begin to undermine widely used encryption standards.

At the same time, adversaries are already harvesting encrypted data today in anticipation of future decryption, a strategy often described as “harvest now, decrypt later.” In response, a new generation of communication infrastructure is being developed, including post-quantum cryptography, quantum-secure networks and authentication systems designed to verify the origin and integrity of digital information. These technologies are already being tested, deployed and standardised, and their adoption will reshape the information environment in ways that directly affect journalism, civic communication and democratic governance.

The Stakes for Society and Media

Security, trust and democratic resilience

As quantum capabilities advance, the confidentiality of digital communication becomes increasingly vulnerable, affecting private citizens, civil society organisations, journalists and public institutions alike. Secure communication infrastructures aim to protect sensitive exchanges over long time horizons, preserving privacy and confidentiality in a high-risk digital environment.

At the same time, emerging authenticity and provenance systems make it possible to verify whether documents, images or videos are genuine. In an era of synthetic media and coordinated disinformation, these systems could alter how trust is established and contested in the public sphere.

Democratic processes are directly implicated. Elections, public administrations and civic institutions rely heavily on digital communication, and secure, tamper-resistant infrastructures can reduce the risk of interference, disruption or manipulation at systemic scale.

For journalism, the secure internet may enable safer communication with sources, stronger protection against interception, secure long-term storage of sensitive material, and more reliable verification of information. This is not about technology for its own sake, but about preserving the conditions under which independent journalism can function in an increasingly hostile information environment.

The Splinternet and Fragmentation Risks

The rise of secure communication infrastructures is unfolding alongside another defining trend: the fragmentation of the global internet into competing, incompatible or politically bounded networks, often described as the splinternet.

While secure infrastructures promise protection, they also carry structural risks. National quantum networks may not interoperate with one another. Competing standards may create parallel communication spheres. Access to secure infrastructure may become a geopolitical advantage rather than a public good. Journalists, diaspora media and cross-border investigative collaborations may find themselves navigating incompatible systems that constrain the free flow of information.

The Secure Internet Observatory tracks this fragmentation and examines what it means for press freedom, international reporting and the global circulation of information. It analyses how security, sovereignty and geopolitics intersect, and how decisions about standards and governance shape who can communicate securely across borders.

What the Observatory Tracks

Society, media and governance under secure infrastructures

The Observatory examines how secure communication infrastructures affect society, public communication and trust, paying attention to access, inequality and vulnerability across regions and populations. It analyses how journalism workflows, source protection and verification practices evolve as encryption standards and authenticity systems change. It also studies national strategies, regulatory frameworks and standards-setting processes, with particular attention to interoperability, openness and the inclusion or exclusion of media organisations.

Alongside structural analysis, the Observatory monitors early signals of change, including pilot deployments in public services or elections, shifts in disinformation patterns, changes in market concentration, and emerging forms of inequality or exclusion linked to access to secure communication.

How We Work

Methodology and independence

The Secure Internet Observatory combines technical monitoring, policy analysis and media-focused research. Its work draws on expert interviews with quantum scientists, cryptographers, network engineers, standards-setting participants and cybersecurity specialists. It includes global mapping of how media organisations are affected by, or excluded from, emerging secure communication infrastructures, and it synthesises academic research, policy documents, standards proposals and regulatory developments.

The Observatory conducts continuous horizon scanning to detect early signals related to deployments, vulnerabilities, market dynamics and geopolitical shifts. It operates independently of technology vendors and infrastructure providers.

A dedicated, curated space on the Media and Journalism Exchange hosts all Observatory outputs, datasets, interviews, explainers and tools for journalists and researchers.

Why “Secure Internet”?

The term “secure internet” does not imply that the next generation of the internet will be secure by default, or secure for everyone. It describes a contested transition in which security, integrity and verifiability are becoming central design principles of communication infrastructures, but with highly uneven outcomes.

For much of the internet’s history, security was layered onto systems that were not designed to provide long-term confidentiality or authenticity. Today, new pressures, including quantum computing, cyber conflict, mass surveillance and synthetic media, are forcing a redesign of how communication is protected.

Calling this shift the secure internet reflects the direction of travel, not a promised result. Security in this context is partial, unevenly distributed and shaped by political and economic power. Whether these new infrastructures actually make communication safer for journalists, citizens and democratic institutions depends on how they are designed, who controls them and who is granted access.

The Secure Internet Observatory uses this framing to examine how security is being built into the internet, for whom and at what cost, and to assess the consequences for public communication, democracy and journalism.

What to Expect: Outputs and Cadence

The Observatory publishes Monthly Signal Briefs offering concise updates on developments affecting trust and journalism safety. Quarterly Insight Reports provide in-depth analysis of medium-term trends shaping the information environment. The annual State of the Secure Internet report offers a comprehensive assessment of structural change, while Flash Notes deliver rapid, evidence-based analysis of major developments with immediate implications for civic information rights or media freedom.

Signal #1.February ’26: Quantum Moves From Lab to Infrastructure

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