Georgia Tech Establishes New Cybersecurity Research Effort

Georgia Institute of Technology today announces the formation of a new, interdisciplinary research collaborative – the Institute for Information Security & Privacy (IISP).

In response to widespread and persistent cybersecurity threats to businesses, government and individuals, the Georgia Institute of Technology today announces the formation of a new, interdisciplinary research collaborative – the Institute for Information Security & Privacy (IISP).

The IISP aligns the expertise of 200 researchers and nine labs across four colleges and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) to form a single gateway to all cybersecurity efforts. Its purpose is to connect academia, industry and government to seamlessly develop vital solutions for national security, economic continuity and individual safety.

It is led by Co-Directors Bo Rotoloni, a principal research engineer at GTRI, and Wenke Lee, a professor in the College of Computing and one of the world’s most prolific cybersecurity researchers. Associate directors include experts in law, business management, computing and defense.

“Cybersecurity is no longer just a computer science problem for programmers; this is an issue that now touches every area of society,” says Lee, whose research involves protecting industrial control systems, hardening defense equipment and secure Internet browsing. “It involves new policy considerations, better initial product design and more training for the professionals involved. We are doubling down to discover, connect and solve modern cybersecurity threats.”

Georgia Tech Executive Vice President for Research Stephen Cross says this effort is essential at a time when consumers readily trade private personal data for convenience and the public has become more dependent on cyber-physical systems.

“Georgia Tech has the academic foundational research and educational programs, the technology transfer and applied research that make a real impact with industry and government, and the ability to understand and study the broader, societal impact,” Cross says. “Cybersecurity work takes place in these three spheres, and the Institute for Information Security & Privacy has been built at the intersection of all three.”

Initial research will focus on six areas: privacy policy, consumer-facing privacy, attribution, risk, trust and cyber-physical systems.

“Under the IISP, we expect to double our current cybersecurity research activity to move more research out to the marketplace, to develop new continuing education programs for professionals and to broaden the cybersecurity curriculum so it is taught across more degree fields at Georgia Tech,” says Rotoloni. “We want to be a catalyst for an information security industry in Georgia that is already attracting national attention and embolden it through joint research projects with companies of all sizes and critical government agencies.”

For more about the Institute for Information Security & Privacy, see http://iisp.gatech.edu

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