Communications of the ACM
Research Group to Tackle Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity problems "have been anticipated and seen in advance," says Eugene Spafford, executive director of the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security at Purdue University. "Unfortunately, none of the warnings have bee
Credit: ACM
Carnegie Mellon University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Purdue University, and Northrop Grumman have launched a five-year research effort to tackle the most complex problems in cybersecurity. Northrop Grumman's Robert Brammer says the Northrop Grumman Cybersecurity Research Consortium was created because the values for information services and systems have never been greater and the cybersecurity threats have never been greater. Brammer says large-scale cyberattacks are a "credible threat" in the coming years. "We need significant new technology developments, combined with improved security education, global standards, and understanding of security economics and psychology," he says.
The participating universities were chosen because of their long-term, cutting-edge cybersecurity research. The consortium will work on several projects, including software analysis, secure computer design and forensics, improved software, and next-generation secure networks.
Eugene Spafford, executive director of Purdue's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security, says the cybersecurity threat is not new. "It's one that many of us have been warning about for nearly three decades," Spafford says. "The problems have been anticipated and seen in advance. Unfortunately, none of the warnings have been taken seriously, particularly by the government." He says many government agencies have been combating cybersecurity issues after they have happened, instead of acting proactively.
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