cybersecurity nsf ctrs

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

------- Original message -------
From: Fred B. Schneider <fbs () cs cornell edu>
Sent: 12/4/'05,  21:51

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/04/11_trust.shtml

UC Berkeley to lead $19 million NSF center on cybersecurity research 

By Sarah Yang, Media Relations | 11 April 2005

BERKELEY ? The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced today
(Monday, April 11) that the University of California, Berkeley, will
lead an ambitious multi-institution center to protect the nation's
computer infrastructure from cyberattacks while improving its
reliability.

Collaborators from eight universities around the country will form the
new Team for Research in Ubiquitous Secure Technology (TRUST), one of
two NSF Science and Technology Centers to be funded this year. The
TRUST center is expected to receive nearly $19 million over five
years, with the possibility of a 5-year, $20 million extension at the
end of the initial term.

The announcement comes amidst mounting concerns over the security of
the nation's information and data systems. A report released last
month by the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee
said the "information infrastructure of the United States is highly
vulnerable to disruptive domestic and international attacks," and
recommended increased support for fundamental research in
cybersecurity.

The TRUST researchers say that through the prevalence of information
technologies, modern society has become increasingly dependent upon
properly functioning computer systems that control such critical
infrastructures as finance, energy distribution, telecommunications
and transportation.

"The cybersecurity community has long feared that it would take an
electronic Pearl Harbor for people to realize the scale of disruptions
possible from a concerted attack by terrorists," said S. Shankar
Sastry, UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering and computer
sciences, and the principal investigator and director of the TRUST
center.

The academic partners joining UC Berkeley in this effort are Carnegie
Mellon University, Cornell University, Mills College, San Jose State
University, Smith College, Stanford University and Vanderbilt
University. The initiative also brings together industrial and other
affiliates, including Bellsouth, Cisco Systems, ESCHER (a research
consortium that includes Boeing, General Motors and Raytheon), Hewlett
Packard, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
Qualcomm, Sun Microsystems and Symantec.

"It's an extremely strong group, and it's going to be very exciting
working with them," said Fred Schneider, professor of computer science
at Cornell University and chief scientist at TRUST. "I expect to see
some great work resulting from this collaboration. I expect to learn a
lot, too."

TRUST researchers have set their sights on developing new technologies
that will radically transform the ability of organizations - from
private software vendors to local and federal agencies - to design,
build and operate trustworthy information systems that control
critical infrastructure. They will go beyond research into how to
protect networks from attacks and develop ways to keep systems running
properly even when intrusions occur - a concept known as "degrading
gracefully under attack."

The center will look at systems problems through modeling and
analysis, development of secure embedded systems, and integration of
trusted components and secure information management software tools.

The researchers emphasize that the mantra for the center is TRUST,
going far beyond cybersecurity research alone. They pointed out that
the center relies upon close, interdisciplinary collaboration with
experts in economics, public policy, social science and,
significantly, human-computer interface.

Sastry pointed out that system design to date has not sufficiently
accommodated human users and the usability of systems, which can often
be the weakest link in information assurance.

Last week, Sastry was also appointed the new director of the UC
Berkeley-based Center for Information Technology Research in the
Interest of Society (CITRIS). The center is one of four California
Institutes for Science and Innovation established in 2001 to develop
the next generation of technologies that will be critical to
sustaining the state's economic growth and global
competitiveness. Many CITRIS researchers will also be working with the
TRUST center.

TRUST also involves an education and outreach component, which will be
headed by Ruzena Bajcsy, UC Berkeley professor of electrical
engineering and computer sciences and former director of CITRIS. These
education programs, geared to K-12 schools, undergraduate students and
institutions serving underrepresented populations, will lay the
groundwork for training new scientists and engineers who, center
leaders say, will develop the next generation of trustworthy
systems. The program includes a focus on outreach to women-only
institutions, exemplified by the partnerships with Mills and Smith
colleges.

Congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R, N.Y.), chairman of the House Science
Committee and author of the Cybersecurity Research and Development Act
of 2002, has played a particularly active role in supporting the type
of cybersecurity research that will be conducted at TRUST.

"I congratulate Dr. Fred Schneider, Dr. Shankar Sastry and the all the
members of the TRUST consortium for winning this award," said
Boehlert. "They represent the 'dream team' of information assurance
and complex systems research."

NSF established the Science and Technology Centers program in 1987,
responding to a Presidential commitment to fund important fundamental
research activities that also create educational opportunities. The
program was also designed to encourage technology transfer and provide
innovative approaches to interdisciplinary research challenges.

More information about the NSF Science and Technology Centers is
available online at http://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/programs/stc.
 
 
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