Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research - Queen's University Belfast

Lead Research Organisation: Queen's University Belfast
Department Name: Sch of Electronics, Elec Eng & Comp Sci

Abstract

Our world has become increasingly digitised, affecting how we communicate, manage our finances, access healthcare and even interact with household devices. With more of our information held digitally and connected across multiple devices as well as in the cloud, significant new cyber security challenges are emerging. How can we process and transmit large volumes of information created by citizens, enterprise and government securely? How do we meet the demand for innovative technologies and solutions to counter the threat? How do we produce the next generation of industry leaders, new ventures and a skilled workforce to sate the ever growing appetite for cyber security experts globally? These are some of the global challenges being tackled by CSIT every day.

CSIT was awarded the a Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2015 for its work in strengthening global cyber security and protecting the online activity of billions of internet users around the world. It is already internationally recognised as performing state-of-the-art research in a number of key areas. These include:

Device authentication - Development of Post-quantum cryptographic solutions, low power cryptosystems for RFID and IoT devices, high speed integer based fully homomorphic encryption

Secure ubiquitous networking - Securing real-time connectivity between devices, sensors and cloud resources. Mobile malware detection methods to counteract advanced evasion technologies such as polymorphic and metamorphic obfuscation. Securing highly distributed networks for critical infrastructures. Securing software defined and highly virtualised networks.

Security analytics and event management - Forensic data clustering and anomaly detection. Online graph-based mining algorithms to process data in real-time. Data mining approaches to learn inference rules about events and engage multi-criteria decision making for autonomous cyber security threat assessment

A key aspect of the Centre is the commercialisation of the research through a dedicated team of commercial and business development staff. This includes mechanisms such as the CSIT Membership programme, spin outs, a cyber security incubator programme (CSIT Labs), licensing, knowledge transfer partnerships and contract research and development.

Planned Impact

A critical part of CSIT's remit is to ensure commercialisation and knowledge transfer and the impact of this in the commercial environment and wider society. It is important to note that CSIT considers "commercialisation" to be synonymous with economic development and not in the more narrow sense of exploitation of technology. This wider economic agenda is supported by the total package of funding from EPSRC/Innovate, Invest NI as well as the ACE-CSR scheme.

These activities include the following:

- CSIT membership (full and associate) and related commercialisation discussions
- Contract research and development
- Licensing opportunities
- CSIT Labs and the resulting company creation/support/growth
- Internal innovation programmes/further development of the internal innovation culture
- Spin out - creation and development
- Spin in - support and facilitation
- NI Cyber cluster development, locally and as part of a wider UK and international ecosystem. Ultimately job creation and the 5000 jobs by 2026.
- Foreign Direct Investment support
- Skills development - MSc, PhD and training course delivery
- Participation in standards bodies
- Marketing and PR strategy, Annual Summit promotion and delivery, stakeholder engagement
 
Description Cyber-attacks such as those recently perpetrated on Solarwinds, Colonial Pipeline and the Irish Health Service are scaling at an alarming rate and the call for strong and resilient cyber security technologies has reached crescendo. Against this backdrop, the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) through a unique open innovation model with industry partners is pioneering research, development and innovation to protect citizens and businesses, and drive economic impact. Its unique model of innovation incorporates a significant engineering, professional services and public policy capability differentiating it from other cyber security academic research centres.

Examples of significant research findings include:
- novel algorithmic and architectural optimisations of fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) hardware designs (collaboration with Thales) which culminated in FHE encryption speed improvements of a factor of 130 over equivalent software designs. This research was selected as an IEEE Trans. on Computers 'Editor's pick of the year 2016';
- A very lightweight Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) design for FPGA devices that offers high uniqueness and reliability across different devices; The design was licensed for evaluation and included in a demonstration model by Thales to address electronic component counterfeiting in industry
- Novel optimized Gaussian sampler designs for lattice-based cryptography that are resistant to timing attacks
- A novel tool for the rapid prototyping of cryptographic block ciphers and stream ciphers
- A novel android malware detection system that uses a deep convolutional neural network (CNN). This work was selected as a GSMA Mobile World Scholar challenge finalist in 2019;
- TENNISON, a novel distributed software defined network (SDN) security framework that combines the efficiency of SDN control and monitoring with the resilience and scalability of a distributed system (collaboration with Univ of Lancaster)
- A novel Information flow control (IFC) scheme that combines access control encryption (ACE) and attribute-based systems (ABS), which is the first such scheme enforced using attributes
- Novel approaches to integrate low-level sensors of different types, in particular those for cyber-attack detection, into evidential networks, demonstrated in a real-world smart grid use-case that is representative of similar cyber-physical systems
- A novel classifier fusion approach based on a multi-level architecture that enables effective combination of ensemble learning algorithms for improved malware detection accuracy. The method is shown to outperform stacked generalization, a well- known classifier fusion method.

CSIT also engages in successful collaborative research and innovation activities with a range of industry partners, from start-ups and SMEs through to multi-nationals. Its unique open innovation model allows research to translate to industry in an agile way, ensuring demonstrable technology is in the hands of end users quickly. Examples of key outcomes from our collaborative research with industry include:
• In collaboration with Thales we demonstrated the use of post-quantum public key cryptography in satellite applications for the first time.
• Collaborating with AllState to apply cybersecurity research to the problem of detecting anomalous and fraudulent insurance claims.
• Working with BSecur to refine the accuracy of their ECG Authentication technology.
• Dell EMC using our practical post-quantum cryptography architectures and software libraries to inform their future quantum-safe strategy. They now use a key management architecture that resulted from the SAFEcrypto project within their internal Key Trust Platform.
• Identified a critical vulnerability in Siemens programmable logic control (PLC) devices that are used in nuclear power plants globally. We worked closely with NCSC in the responsible disclosure of the vulnerability and collaborated with Siemens on mitigation measures to ensure the vulnerability cannot be exploited by hackers.
Exploitation Route Through our extensive links with industry and government organisations as documented on our web site www.csit.qub.ac.uk. Through the creation of a new business cluster in Northern Ireland that now comprises >100 companies with over 2500 new jobs in cybersecurity since created. Through the creation of spin-off companies and through support for InvestNI and UKTI in the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment. Through the normal mechanisms of publication in high quality research journals and conferences including citations since received.
Sectors Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Electronics
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/csit/
 
Description From its inception, industry partners have played a key role in shaping the activities of CSIT. Defence primes BAE Systems and Thales have been with CSIT right from the start. American insurance company Allstate, ranked 79th in the Fortune 500, has supported CSIT's research since 2014 and leading global bank Citi has been collaborating with it since 2017. Over the period CSIT has also spun out and supported scaling companies such as Titan IC (acquired NVIDIA in 2020) and B-Secur by working collaboratively to transition research to market, augment their teams at critical growth points,help them raise investment and access global markets. Of its many industry engagements, ranging from start-ups to multinationals, CSIT has enjoyed particular success with a number of its partner companies, including Thales, BAE, Allstate and Citi, B-Secur and Titan IC. Some of the co-created research solutions developed from these partnerships are listed under research findings. TITAN IC One of its successful spin-outs, Titan IC Systems was founded in 2009 based on the pioneering work of Professor Sakir Sezer, Research Director of CSIT's Secure Ubiquitous Networking group and Dr Dwayne Burns, previously Principal Engineer at CSIT. Over eleven years, CSIT and Titan IC collaborated on many projects and the company was used as a vehicle for commercialising network intelligence and security technology such as the RXP regular expression processor developed at the Centre. Titan IC was acquired in 2020 by Mellanox, a leading supplier of high-performance, end-to-end smart interconnect solutions for data centre servers and storage systems and subsequently NVIDIA, the US based semiconductor company which designs graphics processing units (GPUs) for the gaming and professional markets, as well as system-on-a- chip units for the mobile computing and automotive markets. Following the acquisition CSIT has worked with NVIDIA on a large Invest NI Grant for R&D proposal (worth around £600k to CSIT), which will see the company's R&D operations expanded further in Belfast. LORCA Through the LORCA programme, CSIT, in partnership with Plexal and Deloitte, has been responsible for the accelerated growth of 72 innovative cyber companies over the past three and a half years. These companies have collectively raised £200m in investment, generated over £38m in revenue and have created more than 600 jobs since the launch in June 2018, exceeding all original KPI targets set by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. CSIT's research informed the product roadmaps of these companies with CSIT academics offering a programme of masterclasses to each cohort and the Centre's engineering resource providing six weeks of specialist technical consultancy and delivery to each company to help bring their product roadmaps to reality and to market. SPEARHEADING FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT & JOB CREATION CSIT has been heavily involved in UK job creation in the cyber security industry. This growth has been validated in DCMS UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2021 and the Northern Ireland Cyber Security Snapshot 2021 , both co-authored by CSIT, highlighting the continued strength of the sector nationally as well as highlighting Northern Ireland's place as a leading cyber security innovation cluster. This is also confirmed by The Royal Society's 2020 'Research and innovation clusters' report and the UK Research and Development Roadmap, published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in 2020 which highlights CSIT as a case study on how investment in research, development and innovation can deliver economic impact to the surrounding area and beyond. From a standing start in 2009 Northern Ireland's cyber sector now employs 2,500 people across >100 companies. Northern Ireland is also the #1 international investment location for US cyber security firms in the world. InvestNI's cyber security campaign launched in May 2021 highlighted that "Northern Ireland is an international hub for cyber security research and innovation, anchored by CSIT, a global flagship institute for cyber security research and education".
First Year Of Impact 2013
Sector Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Electronics,Security and Diplomacy
Impact Types Economic,Policy & public services
 
Description All Ireland Strengthening Cyber Security Group
Geographic Reach Europe 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact 27 relevant policy makers, legal experts, academics, developers and others involved with cybersecurity in government institutions, the private sector, law enforcement and advocacy groups from Ireland and Northern Ireland have come together as a group, sponsored by the US State Department to examine U.S. and international initiatives to promote and protect information technology systems, interfaces, and assets within government, business, and the community.
URL https://www.bc.edu/centers/irish/gli/programs/cybersecurity.html
 
Description Belfast City Region Deal
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Belfast Region City Deal partners welcomed news of £350 million investment from Treasury announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond in the Autumn Budget, 29 October 2018. As part of the deal, the NI Executive is expected to add at least a further £350 million and councils will contribute over £100 million. It is hoped the deal will create up to 20,000 new and better jobs alongside delivering a 10 year programme of inclusive economic growth - including an increase of £470m Gross Value Added (GVA). The Treasury announcement forms part of a £850 million co-investment package for the city region. It is also anticipated that direct investment from the private sector will take the overall package for inclusive growth to well over £1 billion. The six Belfast Region City Deal partner councils have committed £100 million investment, whilst Queen's University and Ulster University have committed £50 million.
URL http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/buildingcontrol-environment/regeneration/city-growth-deal.aspx
 
Description Co-Author UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2020 for Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-sectoral-analysis-2020
 
Description Co-author UK Cyber Security Labour Market Analysis 2020
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-labour-market-research
 
Description Consultation response to Irish National Cyber Security Strategy
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://www.dccae.gov.ie/en-ie/communications/topics/Internet-Policy/cyber-security/national-cyber-s...
 
Description Cyber Security Skills Strategy
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact Initial National Cyber Security Skills Strategy sets out the government's understanding of the challenge that evolving cyber threats present to the demand for cyber security skills.
URL https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-security-skills-strategy
 
Description Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market 2020 DCMS
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description DCMS UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact The UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis provides an estimate of the size and scale of the UK cyber security industry. Findings include: - the number of UK cyber security companies - the cyber security sector's contribution to the UK economy (through revenue and GVA) - the number of personnel employed in the cyber security sector - the products and services offered by these firms. This report offers a baseline for the economic profile of the UK cyber security sector based on 2015/16 data, and creates an opportunity to track growth within the sector. This review also explores the investment and funding available to the cyber security sector. CSIT collaborated on this analysis with RSM PASEC Ltd
URL https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-cyber-security-sectoral-analysis
 
Description Digital Catapult Northern Ireland
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Digital Catapult Centre Northern Ireland works closely with a network of organisations from all over the region, who share in the mission of supporting companies based in Northern Ireland to scale and grow. Digital Catapult Northern Ireland focuses on being at the forefront of innovation by building partnerships and bridging the gap between industry and academia. The centre is focused on helping large and small organisations work smarter and more efficiently by realising and adopting innovative digital technologies. CSIT's Dr Godfrey Gaston is a member of the Northern Ireland Advisory Committee
URL https://www.digicatapult.org.uk/regional-engagement/northern-ireland/
 
Description ETSI Industry Specification Group on Securing Artificial Intelligence (ISG SAI)
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Global Ecosystem of Ecosystems Platform in Innovation and Cybersecurity (EPIC)
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Global EPIC has been founded to enable the future securely through the development and sharing of new knowledge in the field of cyber security - leading to societal, economic and technological impact in a timely fashion. It will do this by building a global community of innovation ecosystems who will collaborate on projects and share expertise through an expanding network of diverse organisations. CSIT is a founding partner with David Crozier appointed President in 2018. Global EPIC has grown to 27 partners in 16 countries around the globe.
URL https://globalepic.org
 
Description Membership of UK government delegation to ITU Study Group 17 (Security)
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
 
Description NICyber (Northern Ireland Cyber Security Cluster)
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact The Northern Ireland Cyber Security Cluster promotes international business, innovation and collaboration opportunities. The cluster consists of companies developing world-leading cybersecurity technologies from Northern Ireland, across a diverse range of sectors including finance, banking, insurance, legal, telecoms, threat intelligence, defence, security and healthcare. Regular meetups provide opportunities for networking, and learning on industry challenges and new technologies.
URL https://www.nicyber.tech/
 
Description Northern Ireland Cyber Leadership Board
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact The Northern Ireland Cyber Leadership Board sets the agenda and strategic direction for cyber security activity in the region as the threats, skills and technologies evolve. It is critical that this Board commands the confidence of Ministers, the public and the wider business community as a Team which will build the right relationships and establish contacts nationally and internationally to help ensure Northern Ireland stays safe online.
URL https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/publications/cyber-security-strategic-framework-action
 
Description Northern Ireland Cyber Security Framework for Action
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact Cyber crime is a significant threat to public services, businesses, individuals and society at large. Therefore Cyber Security is considered a priority area for government, working alongside business, academia and other key stakeholders to ensure NI is as best protected as possible. Each of us have responsibilities to protect our own personal data as the public sector must ensure public services maintain the trust of individuals and businesses effectively protect their customer data. Cyber Security: A Strategic Framework for Action, which closely aligns to the UK Cyber Security Strategy, sets out what top level areas need to be addressed through collaborative working across the public and private sectors to help ensure we capitalise on the economic opportunities this presents, but equally ensure we are as well protected as we can and when necessary have the right support infrastructures in place to respond effectively and efficiently to cyber attacks and crimes.
URL https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/publications/cyber-security-strategic-framework-action
 
Description Secure Chorus
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Secure Chorus is a not-for-profit membership organisation serving as a platform for multi-stakeholder cooperation, for the development of forward-looking strategies, common technology standards and tangible capabilities in the field of information security. Central to the Secure Chorus philosophy is that to effectively address data security requirements in enterprise, information security solutions need to be secure, regulatory compliant and interoperable. Secure Chorus has brought together a community of inspiring organisations from across the globe, including governments, supranational organisations and private organisations, from large established global enterprises through to technology start-ups, academic institutions, regulators, trade associations and standards bodies.
URL https://www.securechorus.org/
 
Description UK Multi-stakeholder Access Group on Cyber (Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
URL https://www.un.org/disarmament/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/efforts-implement-norms-uk-stakeholders-12...
 
Description Advanced Network Forensics to Secure SDN and NFV infrastructures
Amount £125,000 (GBP)
Organisation Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2017 
End 12/2020
 
Description Android malware detection methods using cloud based dynamic analysis
Amount $370,000 (USD)
Organisation National Security Research Institute (South Korea) 
Sector Public
Country Korea, Republic of
Start 01/2017 
End 12/2019
 
Description CSIT Phase 2 - Engineering Team Funding
Amount £5,510,546 (GBP)
Funding ID RD1015344 
Organisation Invest Northern Ireland 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2017 
End 01/2022
 
Description Citi (Trade Surveillance year 2)
Amount £248,000 (GBP)
Organisation Citigroup Inc 
Sector Private
Country United States
Start 01/2020 
End 12/2020
 
Description Citi (trade surveillance)
Amount £449,775 (GBP)
Organisation Queen Mary University of London 
Department Centre for Inflammation and Therapeutic Innovation
Sector Hospitals
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2018 
End 02/2019
 
Description Citi - Research project
Amount £294,414 (GBP)
Organisation Citigroup Inc 
Department Citibank
Sector Private
Country United States
Start  
 
Description Commercialising quantum devices (AQuaSec)
Amount £5,800,000 (GBP)
Funding ID 104615 
Organisation Innovate UK 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2018 
End 03/2021
 
Description DASA project - Video based semantic analysis of crowd behaviour
Amount £272,741 (GBP)
Funding ID ACC2001038 
Organisation Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2019 
End 09/2019
 
Description DSTL (DASA) Crowd resilience phase 1
Amount £79,000 (GBP)
Organisation Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2017 
End 06/2018
 
Description DeepSecurity - Applying Deep Learning to Hardware Security
Amount £765,827 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/R011494/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2017 
End 10/2022
 
Description EPSRC - IKC Follow-on funding (CSIT3)
Amount £500,000 (GBP)
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description European Space Agency project on Authentic PVT
Amount € 30,000 (EUR)
Organisation Qascom 
Sector Private
Country Italy
Start 04/2018 
End 03/2019
 
Description Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (USA). SMART Broiler competition
Amount $310,737 (USD)
Funding ID Sb-0000000021 Project FlockFocus 
Organisation Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United States
Start 03/2020 
End 09/2021
 
Description Grant for R&D: Ampliphae Ltd
Amount £200,000 (GBP)
Organisation Invest Northern Ireland 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 04/2020 
End 12/2020
 
Description H2020 - XANDAR project
Amount £700,000 (GBP)
Organisation European Commission H2020 
Sector Public
Country Belgium
Start  
 
Description Hardware implementation of Quantum-safe primitives and components
Amount £67,000 (GBP)
Organisation National Security Research Institute (South Korea) 
Sector Public
Country Korea, Republic of
Start 01/2020 
End 12/2020
 
Description ICURe: IoT security - central and distributed protection
Amount £35,000 (GBP)
Organisation Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2017 
End 03/2017
 
Description Independent review of authentication algorithms
Amount £11,405 (GBP)
Organisation B-Secur 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2019 
End 10/2019
 
Description Innovate UK - KTP with CattleEye
Amount £120,000 (GBP)
Organisation Innovate UK 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Innovate UK - KTP with Liberty IT
Amount £120,000 (GBP)
Organisation Innovate UK 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description Invest NI Proof of Concept (Crypto Agility)
Amount £109,000 (GBP)
Funding ID PoC 622 
Organisation Invest Northern Ireland 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2017 
End 09/2018
 
Description Lloyds Banking Group - Cyber Range
Amount £5,000 (GBP)
Organisation Lloyds Bank 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2019 
End 11/2019
 
Description NVIDIA research project G4R&D
Amount £708,010 (GBP)
Organisation Invest Northern Ireland 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description PSNI (CyberWOLF)
Amount £22,000 (GBP)
Organisation Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2018 
End 03/2018
 
Description RITICS - COSMIC
Amount £249,379 (GBP)
Funding ID 4212631 I RFA 16023 
Organisation Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 12/2018 
End 03/2021
 
Description ROLLS-ROYCE - Multi-PUF project
Amount £123,500 (GBP)
Organisation Rolls Royce 
Sector Private
Country United States
Start 12/2021 
 
Description ROLLS-ROYCE - SEQURED project
Amount £123,500 (GBP)
Organisation Rolls Royce 
Sector Private
Country United States
Start 12/2021 
 
Description SBRI innovation in rail security surveillance analytics, phase 1
Amount £133,200 (GBP)
Organisation Network Rail Ltd 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2020 
End 06/2020
 
Description SIPP - Secure IoT Processor Platform with Remote Attestation
Amount £1,294,888 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/S030867/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2019 
End 08/2022
 
Description SME Cyber Training Programme
Amount £21,000 (GBP)
Organisation Belfast City Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 04/2018 
End 10/2018
 
Description Secure key hiding technology for IoT Devices
Amount £1,600,000 (GBP)
Organisation Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Republic of Korea) 
Sector Public
Country Korea, Republic of
Start 10/2017 
End 09/2020
 
Description Spirent SDN project
Amount £10,000 (GBP)
Organisation Spirent Communications plc 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2019 
End 11/2019
 
Description THALES - PUF project
Amount £48,597 (GBP)
Organisation Thales Group 
Department Thales UK Limited
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start  
 
Description The EPSRC Quantum Communications Hub
Amount £23,961,861 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/T001011/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 12/2019 
End 11/2024
 
Description UK Cyber Analysis
Amount £135,000 (GBP)
Organisation Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2019 
End 03/2019
 
Description CSIT Industrial Advisory Board (Allstate) 
Organisation Allstate
Department Allstate Northern Ireland
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Attendance and interaction through CSIT Advisory Board meetings
Collaborator Contribution Attendance at CSIT Advisory Board meetings, provision of market insight, real-world challenges etc.
Impact None
Start Year 2014
 
Description CSIT Industrial Advisory Board (BAE Systems) 
Organisation BAE Systems
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Attendance and interaction through CSIT Advisory Board meetings
Collaborator Contribution Attendance at CSIT Advisory Board meetings, provision of market insight, real-world challenges etc.
Impact .
Start Year 2009
 
Description CSIT Industrial Advisory Board (Camlin) 
Organisation Camlin Group Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Attendance and interaction through CSIT Advisory Board meetings
Collaborator Contribution Attendance at CSIT Advisory Board meetings, provision of market insight, real-world challenges etc.
Impact None
Start Year 2015
 
Description CSIT Industrial Advisory Board (DLG) 
Organisation Direct Line Group plc
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Attendance and interaction through CSIT Advisory Board meetings
Collaborator Contribution Attendance at CSIT Advisory Board meetings, provision of market insight, real-world challenges etc.
Impact None
Start Year 2016
 
Description CSIT Industrial Advisory Board (First Derivatives) 
Organisation First Derivatives
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Attendance and interaction through CSIT Advisory Board meetings
Collaborator Contribution Attendance at CSIT Advisory Board meetings, provision of market insight, real-world challenges etc.
Impact None
Start Year 2019
 
Description CSIT Industrial Advisory Board (Seagate) 
Organisation Seagate Technology (Ireland)
Country Ireland 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Attendance and interaction through CSIT Advisory Board meetings. Presentation and discussion across multiple topics at 'deep dive' sessions in December 2018 to uncover multiple common interest areas and topics for future research.
Collaborator Contribution Attendance at CSIT Advisory Board meetings, provision of market insight, real-world challenges, access to real-world data sets etc. Presentation of multiple business challenge areas at 'deep dive' sessions in December 2018.
Impact None yet
Start Year 2018
 
Description CSIT Industrial Advisory Board (Thales Group) 
Organisation Thales Group
Department Thales Research & Technology (Uk) Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Attendance and interaction through CSIT Advisory Board meetings
Collaborator Contribution Attendance at CSIT Advisory Board meetings, provision of market insight, real-world challenges etc.
Impact .
Start Year 2009
 
Description Cyber Security Transatlantic Policy Forum 
Organisation Boston College
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution CSIT were a collaborator on the Cyber Security Transatlantic Policy Forum held in Killarney, Ireland in May 2019. The mission of the conference is to bring together policy makers, law enforcement officials and cyber industry leaders to create an annual dialogue. Our goal is to expand and improve public-private sector partnerships in cyber security.
Collaborator Contribution We were equal partners in bringing together the two day conference,
Impact Multi-disciplinary
Start Year 2018
 
Description Cyber Security Transatlantic Policy Forum 
Organisation University of Nottingham
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution CSIT were a collaborator on the Cyber Security Transatlantic Policy Forum held in Killarney, Ireland in May 2019. The mission of the conference is to bring together policy makers, law enforcement officials and cyber industry leaders to create an annual dialogue. Our goal is to expand and improve public-private sector partnerships in cyber security.
Collaborator Contribution We were equal partners in bringing together the two day conference,
Impact Multi-disciplinary
Start Year 2018
 
Description DCMS Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market 2020 
Organisation Ipsos MORI
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Co-Author
Collaborator Contribution Co-Author
Impact Publication of Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market 2020 by DCMS
Start Year 2019
 
Description DCMS Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market 2020 
Organisation University of Plymouth
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Co-Author
Collaborator Contribution Co-Author
Impact Publication of Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market 2020 by DCMS
Start Year 2019
 
Description DCMS UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 
Organisation Ipsos MORI
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Co-author on an analysis of the UK's cyber security industry, including figures on size, employment and revenue.
Collaborator Contribution Co-authors on an analysis of the UK's cyber security industry, including figures on size, employment and revenue.
Impact Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2020 Multi-disciplinary - Economics, Cyber Security
Start Year 2018
 
Description DCMS UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 
Organisation Perspective Economics
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Co-author on an analysis of the UK's cyber security industry, including figures on size, employment and revenue.
Collaborator Contribution Co-authors on an analysis of the UK's cyber security industry, including figures on size, employment and revenue.
Impact Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2020 Multi-disciplinary - Economics, Cyber Security
Start Year 2018
 
Description DCMS UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 
Organisation University of Plymouth
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Co-author on an analysis of the UK's cyber security industry, including figures on size, employment and revenue.
Collaborator Contribution Co-authors on an analysis of the UK's cyber security industry, including figures on size, employment and revenue.
Impact Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2020 Multi-disciplinary - Economics, Cyber Security
Start Year 2018
 
Description Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Ampliphae (Detection of enterprise security threats) 
Organisation Ampliphae Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Guidance provided by Dr Philip O'Kane and academic colleagues in emerging and novel threats and state-of-the-art approaches to detection. Knowledge fo the cyber threat landscape.
Collaborator Contribution Expertise and product development in the area of network traffic analysis and software product development in the communications sector.
Impact None yet
Start Year 2017
 
Description Rolls Royce Cyber Technology Network 
Organisation Carnegie Mellon University
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaborative research projects
Collaborator Contribution Attendance at CSIT Advisory Board meetings, provision of market insight, real-world challenges etc. Funding of collaborative research projects
Impact None yet
Start Year 2021
 
Description Rolls Royce Cyber Technology Network 
Organisation Purdue University
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Collaborative research projects
Collaborator Contribution Attendance at CSIT Advisory Board meetings, provision of market insight, real-world challenges etc. Funding of collaborative research projects
Impact None yet
Start Year 2021
 
Description Rolls Royce Cyber Technology Network 
Organisation Rolls Royce
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Collaborative research projects
Collaborator Contribution Attendance at CSIT Advisory Board meetings, provision of market insight, real-world challenges etc. Funding of collaborative research projects
Impact None yet
Start Year 2021
 
Company Name DITACA LTD 
Description Ditaca is developing a method of securing distributed critical systems via the cloud. 
Year Established 2017 
Impact Ditaca was a finalist in the 2017 Invent Awards Electronics catageory
 
Company Name AFFYON LTD 
Description Industrial control system security. Enabling the Fourth Industrial Revolution with the power of the Cloud 
Year Established 2018 
Impact Propel 19 Team - Propel is a pre-accelerator based in Belfast Northern Ireland
Website http://affyon.com/
 
Description 4IRC - Do smart toys make smart kids, 18 December - Catalyst Inc (Rafferty) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact 4IRC - Do smart toys make smart kids, 18 December - Catalyst Inc (Rafferty)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://connect.catalyst-inc.org/techwatch/csitsmarttoys
 
Description 9th Annual CSIT Cyber Security Summit 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Over the last decade the CSIT Summit has been regarded as an unique event in the cyber security calendar. One which draws together the international research community alongside industry leaders, government policy makers and start-ups and SMEs from around the world to propose the cyber security challenges which will frame the landscape in the decade hence.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://youtu.be/19Qo6Aa4Htg
 
Description AI NI - Deep Learning for Malware Detection 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Kieran McLaughlin present to the AI NI Meetup Group of Deep Learning for Malware Detection
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.meetup.com/Artificial-Intelligence-Northern-Ireland/events/263189416/
 
Description Abu Dhabi Smart City Summit (O'Kane) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact The Smart Abu Dhabi Summit is taking place on the 29th and 30th of October in Abu Dhabi, to showcase our vision and strategy for Abu Dhabi as a leading Smart City and groundbreaking user of Emerging Technologies.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL http://www.smartabudhabisummit.com/
 
Description Addressing the Tech / Data Skills Gap in N 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact The skills gap in Northern Ireland is well documented but the skills in Northern Ireland are also the reason why so many international companies invest here, so what does the skills landscape look like in the future and what can Queen's University Belfast do about it?

We are hosting a panel discussion with representatives from the sector and academia to discuss just these issues.

Find out more about what skills are needed in the near future and the education and research happening at the University to help Northern Ireland compete on the global stage.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/addressing-the-skills-gap-in-ni-panel-discussion-tickets-60523786274#
 
Description Allstate CyberCon 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Over 1,900 Allstate Northern Ireland employees recently took part in the firm's largest employee cybersecurity event ever hosted at its Belfast office.

CyberCon aimed to educate employees about the importance of cybersecurity and their role in keeping Allstate secure.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://syncni.com/article/3302/allstate-ni-hosts-belfast-s-largest-cybersecurity-conference
 
Description Allstate CyberCon event, 3 Oct 18 - Panel discussion and exhibiting (O'Neill, Ward, Millar) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Allstate CyberCon event, 3 Oct 18 - Panel discussion and exhibiting (O'Neill, Ward, Millar)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Anomali Threat Intelligence - QUB - (Millar) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact Anomali Threat Intelligence - QUB - (Millar)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description BBC Online article (NI cyber research hub) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact David Crozier explaining the critical role of CSIT as a cyber research hub
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-39921921
 
Description BBC Radio Inside Business (cybercrime) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact David Crozier representing CSIT on a radio panel on the topic of cyber crime, it's growth, and activity ongoing at CSIT to contribute to addressing the issue.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08q724p
 
Description BEARZ Attack FALCON: Implementation Attacks with Countermeasures on the FALCON Signature Scheme 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Post-quantum cryptography is an important and growing area of research due to the threat of quantum computers, as recognised by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recent call for standardisation. FALCON is a lattice-based signature candidate submitted to NIST, which has good performance but lacks in research with respect to implementation attacks and resistance. This research proposes the first fault attack analysis of FALCON and finds its lattice trapdoor sampler is as vulnerable to fault attacks as the GPV sampler used in alternative signature schemes. We simulate the post-processing component of this fault attack and achieve a 100% success rate at retrieving the private-key. This research then proposes an evaluation of countermeasures to prevent this fault attack and timing attacks of FALCON. We provide cost evaluations on the overheads of the proposed countermeasures which shows that FALCON has only up to 30% deterioration in performance of its key generation, and only 5% in signing, compared to runtimes without countermeasures.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL http://insticc.org/node/TechnicalProgram/icete/presentationDetails/78348
 
Description Belfast 2018 - 8th Annual Cyber Security Summit at CSIT 9-10 May 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Running on Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th May, Belfast 2018 will be CSIT's 8th World Cyber Security Technology Research Summit. Part of the Summit's uniqueness is its bringing together the international research community alongside industry leaders, government policy makers, start-ups and SME's from around the world.

For researchers and technologists, the event will focus on planning today for the cyber security challenges of tomorrow. In terms of innovation, this event represents an opportunity to learn from, and contribute to, the growth of new cyber security companies with global ambitions.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/csit/News/Events/Belfast2018/
 
Description Belfast CDB - Competitive advantage through cyber security 20 Feb 2019 (Crozier) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Belfast CDB - Competitive advantage through cyber security 20 Feb 2019 (Crozier)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Beltech - Building a Cyber Resilient Culture (Crozier) 3 May 2018 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Beltech - Building a Cyber Resilient Culture (Crozier)

Beltech is an ICT industry conference held annually in Belfast

3 May 2018
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://vimeo.com/269865470
 
Description BigDataBelfast, 15 Oct 18 - CSIT led cybersecurity session (Millar) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact BigDataBelfast, 15 Oct 18 - CSIT led cybersecurity session (Millar)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.bigdatabelfast.com/
 
Description CSIT ANNOUNCES JOBS BOOST FOR CYBER SECURITY INDUSTRY 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Ten new research and engineering jobs are being created at Queen's University Belfast, to meet the demands of new contracts and the rapidly growing cyber security industry in Northern Ireland.

The announcement was made as industry leaders, start-ups, SMEs, government policy makers and researchers from around the world gather at the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) for the two-day 8th Annual World Cyber Security Summit.

The Summit is focusing on security for a future digital society and the growth of new cyber security companies.

CSIT, which is the UK's lead university centre for commercialisation of cyber security research, is housed at Queen's University's Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT).

The jobs at CSIT, which range from graduate level to principal engineer, will focus on creating industry-viable products to crack down on cyber attacks and make networks more resilient. Some 1,100 people are employed in the cyber security industry in Northern Ireland with 80 staff currently employed at CSIT.

Speaking at the event, Director of CSIT Dr Godfrey Gaston, commented: "The cyber security industry in Northern Ireland is growing rapidly and we are pleased to be recruiting ten new research and engineering staff, who will make a positive impact across the globe, ensuring that networks are more resilient and less likely to be attacked. It is also a welcome boost for the local economy in Northern Ireland.

"At CSIT, our experts work closely with many high profile partners to shape and direct the research agenda and ensure that there is strong commercial and societal impact. With graduate level jobs to principal engineer, we are helping to develop the next generation of industry leaders to address the widespread demand for cyber security professionals and technologies."

The latest announcement comes just weeks after CSIT was selected by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to partner with Plexal and Deloitte to deliver a £13.5 million cyber innovation centre in London.

Located in the East End's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the London Cyber Innovation Centre will help secure the UK's position as a global leader in cyber security innovation.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/CSITannouncesjobsboostforcybersecurityindustry.html
 
Description CSIT HOST WORKSHOP WITH JAPANESE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen's University Belfast (QUB) is delighted to welcome delegates from the Network Security Laboratory of the Japanese National Institute of Communications and Technology (NICT) to Belfast for a cybersecurity workshop today.

This workshop in Belfast presents an opportunity to discuss current cyber security activities at CSIT and NICT and explore the potential for future collaboration. The workshop will cover a range of topics including: Secure Connected Devices, AI-based cybersecurity techniques, Security Intelligence, Network Security Systems, IoT security and Malware Research.

CSIT formed strong links with NICT in 2015 when both parties signed a memoranda of understanding. Representatives from CSIT visited Japan along with representatives from Lancaster University and Imperial College London, two other UK Cyber Security Academic Centres of Excellence, for the signing ceremony hosted at the Ambassador's Residence of the British Embassy, Tokyo.

The Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACEs-CSR) scheme is sponsored by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and UK Research and Innovation. It is one of a number of initiatives outlined in the UK Government's National Cyber Security Strategy 'Protecting and Promoting the UK in a Digital World'. Queen's University Belfast are among seventeen of such Centres in the UK. The NICT is the sole Japanese national laboratory dedicated to ICT research - the Network Security Laboratory is highly regarded for its excellence in researching cyber security technology.

Dr Godfrey Gaston, CSIT Director, commented: "We are delighted to have the opportunity to host this workshop here in Belfast. Our relationship with NICT, Japan's premier Cybersecurity Research Institute, has been invaluable and together we have been able to shape our cybersecurity research direction to ensure robust and resilient outcomes."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/CSIThostworkshopwithJapaneseNationalInstituteofCommunicationsandTech...
 
Description CSIT PARTNERS WITH PLEXAL AND DELOITTE TO DELIVER £13.5 MILLION CYBER INNOVATION CENTRE IN LONDON 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), based at Queen's University Belfast, has been selected by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to partner with Plexal and Deloitte to deliver a £13.5 million cyber innovation Centre in London.

Located in the East End's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the London Cyber Innovation Centre will help secure the UK's position as global leader in cyber security innovation.

It will act as a convening force in the UK cyber security community, working closely with existing national cyber security innovation hubs and international centres of excellence to help position the UK as a world leader in cyber security solutions.

CSIT, which is based at Queen's University Belfast's Institute for Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT), is partnering with Plexal and Deloitte and will play a key role in the Centre.

Margot James, Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, said: "This new centre in the Olympic Park will build on the site's legacy of excellence and spark a wave of creativity to develop tomorrow's technology and protect the nation from the increasing cyber threat."

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Godfrey Gaston, CSIT Director, said: "Queen's University Belfast is excited to be a delivery partner on this £13.5 million project. Cyber security is a significant societal challenge which CSIT is addressing through its globally recognised research excellence.

"Building on our unique model of innovation, CSIT will deliver cutting edge academic research insights and engineering resources to the 72 start-ups based at LCIC. The project will support engineering and innovation jobs here in Belfast and deliver wider economic benefits to the region."

He added: "CSIT has been at the forefront of UK cyber security research, innovation and economic impact since being established in 2009. During this time our Centre has utilised a unique model of innovation which marries world leading academic research with industrially experienced engineering capability to establish and support the growth of cyber security companies across the UK and helping them reach new markets across the globe. We are excited to be involved in delivering the LCIC which will enable us to support the next generation of companies in this dynamic and strategically important industry."

CSIT is the UK's Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) for cyber security, and the UK's largest cyber security focused university technology research, development and innovation centre. The theme of CSIT's research roadmap is securing our digital tomorrow. CSIT will continue to lead on the new technologies needed for the seamless integration of electronic security into future Smart Cities and Internet of Things (IoT), including:



• quantum-safe cryptographic architectures;

• malware detection methods that can counteract advanced evasion technologies;

• securing highly distributed networks for critical infrastructures; and

• AI-enabled security analytics to provide to real-time threat indicators



The London Cyber Innovation Centre will boost the thriving East London digital cluster, spur the development of cutting-edge technology in this rapidly growing industry, and help to mitigate critical security risks facing businesses across all sectors. It will help introduce fresh innovations into established commercial markets, shortening implementation lag and attracting vital talent and investment into the UK.

A catalyst for startups, the Centre will run six accelerator programmes over three years, driving the development of solutions for the most pressing global cyber security challenges. Forging relationships between buyers, investors, leading academics and entrepreneurs. Startups accepted to the cohort programmes will receive world-class technical support, state-of-the-art testing facilities, dedicated engineering support, mentoring and business advice.

The Centre will work with large organisations to closely understand their specific challenges and support the innovators who will help solve them. An industry led Innovation Forum will bring in members of large organisations to ensure each cohort addresses challenges directly relevant to the market.

Claire Cockerton, CEO of Plexal, said: "The UK has a strong heritage in information security innovation and a healthy business environment for start-ups to scale. Our future international standing will depend on the delivery of a robust and forward-thinking cyber security sector which will enable us to drive the 4th industrial revolution: a future where intelligent automation, regulatory compliance and seamless orchestration across business tools is natural."

Stephen Wray, Director of Cyber Innovation at Deloitte, said: "The new Centre will provide UK cyber innovators with a platform to develop their products with exactly the right market fit. We are delighted to support with both our extensive cyber domain expertise and global market access."

Robert Hannigan (CMG), former Director of GCHQ and Chair of the Centre's industrial advisory board said: "The London Cyber Innovation Centre will be the launch pad for a whole generation of new cyber security companies, benefiting both the UK's economy and its security."

For more information and to register, click here: http://www.plexal.com/cybersecurity/
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/CSITpartnerswithPlexalandDeloittetodeliver135millionCyberInnovationC...
 
Description CSIT SHORTLISTED FOR RESEARCH LABORATORY TEAM OF THE YEAR 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) has been shortlisted for Research Laboratory Team of the Year in the Irish Laboratory Awards 2019.

CSIT has been announced as finalists in the Research Laboratory Team of the Year category, which celebrates the perfect blend of individuals who represent the ideal definition of team in a laboratory or research group working in either a commercial lab, at a third level or research institution and laboratories working in the public service and health care facilities.

CSIT, a research centre based at Queen's University Belfast, was established as the UK's national Innovation & Knowledge Centre (IKC) for cyber security in 2009 and was one of the first research labs in the UK to be accredited by the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research.

Professor Máire O'Neill, Principal Investigator for CSIT, said:

"The laboratory team at CSIT work to achieve the commercialisation of emerging technologies through world-class research, new value and venture creation and an entrepreneurial approach in the area of cyber security. This unique environment encourages collaboration among academics, researchers, engineers, industry and government to accelerate the results of cyber and physical security research through to commercial application. The whole team is proud of the impact of the work that we do together and we are delighted to have been shortlisted in the Irish Laboratory Awards Research Laboratory Team of the Year category."



Launched in 2013, the Irish Laboratory Awards are the premier awards programme in Ireland for recognising and celebrating innovation and research within Ireland's laboratories.

The winners will be revealed at the 2019 gala awards and dinner on Thursday 7 March at the Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/CSITSHORTLISTEDFORRESEARCHLABORATORYTEAMOFTHEYEAR.html
 
Description CSIT SUPPORTS SECURE TICKET DELIVERY START-UP TIXSERVE AT TIME OF INCREASED CYBER ATTACKS 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) based at Queen's University Belfast has announced Kildare based start-up Tixserve as the newest addition to its associate membership programme.

The Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) based at Queen's University Belfast has announced Kildare based start-up Tixserve as the newest addition to its associate membership programme.

Research from the London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement has revealed that 50 per cent of organisations with over 500 employees have suffered a cyber-attack in the past 12 months. At a time when cyber-attacks continue to rise, CSIT and Tixserve will work together to combat cyber-crime within the ticketing industry.

Tixserve is a paperless ticket fulfilment platform offering ticket sellers and fans the most secure, convenient, fast and cost-effective way of purchasing tickets. The ground-breaking, patent-pending solution that Tixserve has developed features the innovative use of proven 'track and trace' technologies which solves ticket abuse and greatly enhances the ticketing experience for consumers.

CSIT encourages collaboration among academics, researchers, engineers, industry and government to accelerate the results of cyber and physical security research through to commercial application.

Existing CSIT industry members include Allstate, Direct Line Group and Thales. While the membership programme is open to organisations of all sizes, the associate membership programme is specifically designed to enable start-ups and SMEs to access CSIT expertise.

Judith Millar, Business Development Manager, CSIT commented: "CSIT is pleased to announce this new partnership with Tixserve through our associate membership programme. Tixserve is a highly innovative start-up company, introducing secure, paperless tickets that have the potential to revolutionise the entertainment industry, and the secondary ticket sales market."

Security within the entertainment and sporting sectors is currently in the spotlight following recent announcements of cyber breaches. US ticket distribution website Ticketfly, a subsidiary of Eventbrite, suffered a major data breach that exposed the email addresses and other personal data of more than twenty-six million people.

Ticketmaster's UK site suffered a data breach impacting five per cent of customers, up to 40,000 people with some reporting financial losses.

Tixserve's B2B clients are existing ticket-sellers for live events in sport, music and theatre. The unique secure, interactive and content-rich digital ticket is delivered instantly to mobile phones and enables ticket sellers to know their customer, reduce distribution costs, control ticket exchange and benefit from new ways of generating revenues.

Managing Director of Tixserve Patrick Kirby said: "When we founded Tixserve, we set out to help the ticketing industry to reduce dependence on paper and to meet the expectations of the mobile generation. We wanted to create a digital ticket that enhances the user experience for fans, delivers commercial benefits for ticket-sellers, and offers cast iron security.

"Partnering with CSIT gives Tixserve a competitive advantage with access to CSIT's cutting-edge knowledge, research and resources, enabling us to future-proof our platform and consistently offer our clients the latest appropriate technologies in this rapidly evolving sector."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/CSITSUPPORTSSECURETICKETDELIVERYSTART-UPTIXSERVEATTIMEOFINCREASEDCYB...
 
Description CSIT supports cyber company, Surevine, to improve security in critical infrastructure supply-chains 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen's University Belfast, has provided extensive engineering support to innovative cyber security company, Surevine, which will support better in critical infrastructure supply-chains.

Surevine LORCA
Surevine builds secure, scalable collaboration solutions for the most security conscious organisations. They connect people and enable collaboration on their most highly sensitive information. Threatvine, is a next generation cyber-security information sharing platform developed by Surevine to enable secure cross-organisational collaboration and collaborative intelligence analysis.

Surevine was selected to take part in The London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement's (LORCA) first cohort. LORCA is a new cyber innovation programme that's funded by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and delivered by Plexal (an innovation centre and coworking space) in partnership with Deloitte's cyber team and CSIT.

LORCA's core aim is to develop and scale promising solutions that keep industry and customers safe online. Helping innovators understand what the needs of industry are - and how their solutions align to those needs - is an important component of achieving this aim.

The engineering support provided by CSIT is a key component in the growth and scale up of UK cyber companies and helps them to compete and grow globally.

Through LORCA, Surevine and CSIT worked together to develop an adapter between Threatvine and a platform called MISP that enables the transfer of cyber security information between the two products in a form that it is readable for the users of the respective products. It also enables cyber security information added to Threatvine by a user to be automatically searched for on MISP showing potential relations to other documented cyber security.

Stuart Murdoch, Founder and CEO, Surevine, commented: We're delighted, as part of our participation in the DCMS-backed LORCA programme, to have been able to engage CSIT, Queen's University Belfast on an R&D project which has resulted in a two-way integration between Threatvine and MISP, a popular free and open source threat intelligence platform, focussed on Indicators of Compromise.

We are particularly pleased to have been able to work with MISP because:

Being free and open source means it is often the first option for teams to get up to speed quickly with threat intelligence
Support of the MISP project from the EU has encouraged its adoption by members states
It's adherence to the STIX open standard for Indicators of Compromise, makes interoperability easier
It is extensively used by Deloitte, and for their customers, and we have been able to strengthen our partnership with Deloitte as a result of this project, delivering a value-add for MISP users"


Louise Cushnahan, Head of Innovation at CSIT, added: "It is great to see that the engineering support provided by CSIT as part of the LORCA Programme is truly helping to solve the greatest cyber challenges faced by industry today. We have really enjoyed working alongside Surevine to strengthen their Threatvine product and ensure any cyber security information is picked up as quickly and efficiently as possible."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/CSITsupportscybercompanySurevinetoimprovesecurityincriticalinfrastru...
 
Description Conflicting Technologies: Public Surveillance and Personal Privacy (LINCS) workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact The 3rd annual LINCS conference, Conflicting Technologies: Public Surveillance and Personal Privacy is taking place in the Canada Room at Queen's University Belfast on 3rd May 2019.

The interdisciplinary conference will feature presentations from students across the UK and Ireland on a range of pressing, contemporary topics. The event will be comprised of four panels and one roundtable discussion:

Panel 1: The Personal Touch: Privacy, Trust and Data Protection

Panel 2: Contemporary Justice: Technology, Policing and Protection during the Digital Revolution

Keynote: Professor Dean Wilson (University of Sussex) To Manage and Protect? The New Platform Policing

Panel 3: Tech in the City: Securing Urban Spaces with Technology

Panel 4: 'Personal' Computers?: Privacy, Security and the Individual

Roundtable: Problems and Challenges of Interdisciplinary Research
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.evensi.uk/conflicting-technologies-public-surveillance-personal-privacy-qub-queen-univer...
 
Description Copenhagen Cybercrime Conference "CSIT - A Disruptive Model for Open Innovation" (Mills) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Intelligence, inspiration & learning

Join us for the 7th Copenhagen Cybercrime Conference - an event with focus on knowledge sharing rather than sales pitches.

Why attend?

Learn about cyber security's most important current issues
Meet and network with regional and international cyber security practitioners
100% focus on knowledge sharing and original ideas drawn from real-world situations
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.cyberhagen.com/
 
Description Cyber Security - Supporting the State response. The role of industry and academia 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Slándáil national Security Summit Ireland 2020 is a landmark event presenting to the country and the wider world Ireland's indigenous security thought leaders, researchers and industries. It is an important showcase, a stage for diplomacy and a platform for domestic and international engagement.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.nssi.ie/
 
Description Cyber Security is on course to generate over £70m in salaries each year in Northern Ireland 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The cyber security industry in Northern Ireland is on course to generate salaries of over £70 million each year employing almost 1,700 people.

This was revealed by Professor Máire O'Neill from Queen's University Belfast during a major Cyber Security Summit in Belfast today (Wednesday 8 May).

Professor O'Neill also announced that CSIT research has been recognised by the international Journal of Information Security and Applications. The research, which looked at the safety and security analysis for cyber-physical systems, has been awarded the globally prestigious Dr KW Wong Annual Best Paper Award for its originality and impact.

The news comes as industry leaders, start-ups, SMEs, government policy makers and researchers from around the world have come together for the Centre for Secure Information Technologies' (CSIT) at Queen's 9th World Cyber Security Technology Research Summit.



Professor O'Neill commented: "This is an extremely exciting time for cyber security in Northern Ireland but also for the sector globally. There are significant economic benefits for the local economy, with estimated salaries now at around £70 million each year.

"At CSIT, our researchers are leading cutting-edge research in cyber security. We are also developing the next generation of industry leaders to meet the huge demand from industry for cyber security professionals."



For researchers and technologists, the event will focus on 'Secure Connected Intelligence' in areas such as the Internet of Things, industrial control systems and supply chains. For the commercially minded, it represents an opportunity to learn from, and contribute to, the growth of new cyber security companies with global ambitions.

CSIT, which is the UK's lead university centre for cyber security research, is based at Queen's University Belfast's Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT).

The Centre is celebrating ten years of impact this year, and has also launched a new Cyber Range. The CSIT Cyber Range contains powerful capabilities to emulate real world network attack and defend scenarios thus allowing cyber security professionals to hone their knowledge and skills in a sandboxed environment.

The cutting-edge cyber centre has also today announced that First Derivatives | Kx Systems have been welcomed as a new CSIT Member company. CSIT works with many high profile industry partners to shape and direct its research agenda and accelerate the translation of innovation to the market so that it has strong commercial and societal impact.

The arrangement will allow First Derivatives to benefit from the Centre's research knowledge and innovation and both parties will work together to further explore opportunities for its Kx technology in the cyber security industry globally. In addition, the partnership will develop first-class training around cyber awareness and resilience.

Mike Thomas, SVP of Cyber at First Derivatives, said: "Cyber security is a rapidly growing industry that impacts organizations of all shapes and sizes. CSIT is uniquely situated to bridge industry, education and government to produce world-class research and insights in cyber security. We are delighted to be a member of this pioneering institute."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/CyberSecurityisoncoursetogenerateover70minsalarieseachyearinNorthern...
 
Description CyberFirst Defenders - 23 - 27 July [Crozier, O'Neill] 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact CyberFirst Defenders residential hosted for NCSC to encourage young people into cyber security
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/education-skills/11-19-year-olds
 
Description CyberFirst Trailblazers Londonderry 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Presentation on cyber security research and development careers in support of CyberFirst Trailblazers event.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/education-skills/11-19-year-olds
 
Description Danish Homeland Security Conference in November (Mills) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Danish Homeland Security Conference in November (Mills)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description DigitalDNA - NICyber panel discussion chaired by CSIT (Millar) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Digital DNA is an annual digital and creative industries conference
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://digitaldna.org.uk/
 
Description ENISA-FORTH Summer School 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Prof Maire O'Neill gave a tutorial on "Practical implementation of lattice-based cryptography". Gavin McWilliams presented a poster on SAFEcrypto project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://nis-summer-school.enisa.europa.eu/
 
Description ETSI Security Week - Security of Hardware and Software Development (Montgomery) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This year, the ETSI Security Week continued debating different aspects of cybersecurity.

We first set the scene with the Cyber Security Landscape on 17 June
then on Policy Actions on 18 June
The Artificial Intelligence thread focused on the security angle to AI, completing the ETSI's April AI Summit, on 19 June.
And we discussed how security can keep pace with the rapid change of technology, networks and society on 20-21 June
We hosted a Hackathon event on the new Middlebox Security Protocol standards on 20-21 June 2019
Last we ran "ETSI Explainer" sessions every day. These are half-hour sessions where one could learn about ETSI's latest work on hot security topics in depth.
As with last year, ETSI reached out to research projects and display their results, posters and demos - on the topics of security.
These were on display in the lobby and networking areas.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.etsi.org/events/1337-security-week-2019
 
Description ETSI/IQC Quantum Safe Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Sarah McCarthy presented a SAFEcrypto project update and research results in the area of quantum-safe cryptology.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.etsi.org/events/1296-etsi-iqc-quantum-safe-workshop-2018
 
Description EXCLUSIVE BRIEFING WITH FORMER SECRETARY OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, MICHAEL CHERTOFF 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact he Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) hosted an exclusive cyber security briefing event with Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff on Friday, April 20th, 2018 at the ECIT Institute, Queen's Road, Belfast.

The event was attended by many individuals from Northern Ireland's cyber community and was a fantastic opportunity to get a global insight into the cyber security issues and grand challenges that the industry faces today.

Chertoff commented "Cyber security issues are now among the most significant that the world faces. That means we have to collaborate together to come up with strategies that are reasonable but effective because we have a global system, and if one part of that system fails the ripple effect is felt throughout the entire system."

Chertoff explained "I always liken cyber security issues to health issues. The human body keeps out a lot of dangers but it also recognises that there will be bacteria, germs and viruses that will get in and so we want to build resilience to fight back against infection. There is a similar approach in cyber security."

"I was very impressed with CSIT and glad to have the opportunity to speak there. What CSIT is doing seems very promising in transforming Belfast into an innovation hub".

For those who were not able to attend this insightful event, a short video is now available highlighting some of the key discussions explored on the day.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/ExclusivebriefingwithFormerSecretaryofUSDepartmentofHomelandSecurity...
 
Description From Connected Toys to Nuclear Power Plants - Why Hardware Security Matters at IoT Belfast - Dr Neil Hanley 12 Dec 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact 'From Connected Toys to Nuclear Power Plants - Why Hardware Security Matters' at IoT Belfast - Dr Neil Hanley 12 Dec
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.meetup.com/IoTBelfast/events/253946812/
 
Description Fujitsu World Tour, London, 12 July 18 (Millar) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Fujitsu global technologists conference
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.fujitsu.com/uk/microsite/world-tour-2018/
 
Description Global Cyber Security Innovation Summit London (Crozier) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact SINET sponsors highly interactive networking sessions designed to:

Introduce leading innovators in the Cybersecurity industry
Encourage collaboration by breaking down communication barriers
Facilitate high level sharing of ideas and best practices vital to the strengthening and accelerating Cybersecurity innovations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.security-innovation.org/events/london/
 
Description HARDWARE SECURITY EXPERTS COME TOGETHER IN LONDON AT THE INAUGURAL RISE ANNUAL CONFERENCE 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Hardware security experts come together in London at the inaugural Research Institute for Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE) Annual Conference, organised by CSIT, Queen's University Belfast, who are core partners in RISE with the Universities of Cambridge, Birmingham and Bristol.

RISE, which was launched in November 2017, is one of four cyber security institutes in the UK and is a global hub for research and innovation in hardware security. The institute is hosted by Queen's and is jointly funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

The Internet of Things has led to increased demand for hardware security research and innovation with growing security needs in embedded and networking devices, as well as in cloud services. An increase in the use of smart devices means that there are now many new attack methods and surfaces for criminals and hackers to exploit.

In light of recently publicised hardware attacks such as the Spectre, Meltdown and Foreshadow, and the alleged Chinese hardware hacking of Amazon and Apple servers, this conference brings together leading hardware security experts from academia and industry to discuss the current challenges in the area and the projects they are working on to address these challenges.

Jo Van Bulck from KU Leuven (co-author of the Foreshadow attack, which found vulnerabilities in Intel processors) delivered the first key note speech of the day discussing 'Leaky processors and the RISE of hardware-based trusted computing', and introduced their recent work on several new transient execution attacks that target Intel, ARM and AMD processors. Patrick Koeberl from Intel Labs was the second key note addressing the topic of 'Vehicle to Cloud: Security Research Challenges for Intelligent Vehicles.'

Prof Máire O'Neill, Director of RISE commented: "RISE is in an excellent position to become the go-to place for high quality hardware security research. A key aim is to bring together the hardware security community in the UK and build a strong network of national and international research partnerships.

We work closely with leading UK-based industry partners and stakeholders, transforming research findings into products, services and business opportunities, which will benefit the UK economy.

This conference presents an opportunity to reflect on the highlights of RISE to date and strengthen our future plans to tackle the global problem of cyber threats."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/HardwaresecurityexpertscometogetherinLondonattheinauguralRISEAnnualC...
 
Description HSBC GBM does the Medici Effect (Mills, Miller, Crozier) 6 March 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact HSBC GBM does the Medici Effect (Mills, Miller, Crozier) 6 March 2019
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description HSBC Global Banking and Markets does the Medici Effect 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact HSBC Global Banking and Markets does the Medici Effect - Internal company innovation event
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://twitter.com/CSIT_QUB/status/1103281218139967489
 
Description Hardware encryption market projected to reach 413.85 Billion USD by 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The Research Institute of Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE) hosted their 2nd Annual Conference at the National Liberal Club in London on 21st November 2019.


RISE was launched in November 2017 and is a global hub for research and innovation in hardware security. The institute is hosted by Queen's University Belfast and is jointly funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Partners in the project include Universities of Cambridge, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester and Surrey. A key aim of RISE is to bring together the hardware security community in the UK and build a strong network of national and international research partnerships.

The RISE Annual Conference brought together hardware security experts to address the most pressing issues in the industry. Professor Cetin Koc, University of California, delivered the keynote speech at the event discussing 'Engineering of Post-Quantum Cryptography'. Delegates also heard project updates from key partners in the RISE project and a series of lightening talks from early career researchers and SMEs providing solutions to cyber threats.

The hardware encryption market is projected to reach 413.85 Billion USD by 2021. A major driver behind this growth is the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), which offers enormous business opportunities for virtually every market. This is presenting exciting opportunities for research, and new business and economic impact in hardware security.

Professor Máire O'Neill, Director of RISE, commented: 'The demand for hardware security research and innovation is increasing with growing security needs in embedded and networking devices and cloud services.

It is important to address security throughout a device's lifecycle, from the initial design through to its operational environment.

A multi-layered approach to security is needed, establishing a trusted computing baseline that anchors trust in tamper-proof hardware. It is evident that a strong hardware security foundation is essential in realising secure systems (such as the IoT) and hardware-based security services.

This conference presents an opportunity to reflect on the highlights of RISE to date and strengthen our future plans to tackle the global problem of cyber threats'

During the time RISE has been operational, there have been further developments in the regulatory landscape of IoT. Four years ago, the discussion within industry was very much around self-regulation for IoT, there has since been progress on standardisation activities and further publications on codes of practice.

In late 2018, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) published a Code of Practice for Consumer IoT Security. ETSI (The European Telecommunications Standardisation Institute) launched their technical specification (TS 103 645) for Cyber Security for Consumer Internet of Things in February 2019, welcome news for consumers.

During engagements with companies, RISE emphasises the importance of the principles of secure by design/default from product inception. This engagement with industry will continue and the ETSI technical specification and DCMS Code of Practice provide excellent reference points.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/Hardwareencryptionmarketprojectedtoreach41385BillionUSDby2021.html
 
Description HutZero 10 things they don't teach you on an MBA 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact HutZero 10 things they don't teach you on an MBA
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.hutzero.co.uk/
 
Description HutZero Commercialisation and NABC 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Commercialisation and NABC
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.hutzero.co.uk/
 
Description HutZero Cyber Landscape Workshop Gaston 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Cyber Landscape Workshop
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.hutzero.co.uk/
 
Description HutZero Mentoring Day 1 (33 Sessions) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact HutZero Mentoring Day 1 (33 Sessions)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.hutzero.co.uk/
 
Description HutZero Mentoring Day 2 (27 Sessions) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact HutZero Mentoring Day 2 (27 Sessions)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.hutzero.co.uk/
 
Description IRISH ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING PRESENTS PARSONS MEDAL TO PROF SIR MCCANNY AT A CEREMONY IN BELFAST 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The IAE presented the Parsons Medal to Prof Sir McCanny at a ceremony in Belfast, onboard HMS Caroline, on 25 October. A crowd of esteemed engineers, academics and Prof Sir McCanny's friends and family attended the day's festivities.

Prof Sir McCanny is emeritus professor in electronics and computer engineering at Queen's University, Belfast (QUB) and was Director of the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT). He received a knighthood in the 2017 New Year's Honours in recognition for his services to higher education and economic development, and has published five research books, 360 peer-reviewed research papers, and holds more than 20 patents. He received a record level of funding for his research between 1984 and 2017, which amounted to approximately £110m.

Throughout his career, Prof Sir McCanny made a significant contribution to innovation. He and his researchers have developed data-storing technology, with much of Prof Sir McCanny's focus being on the use of silicon to produce chips for digital and video signal processing. Films including Jurassic Park and Schindler's List have used technology developed by Prof Sir McCanny and his research students.

As well as ECIT, Prof Sir McCanny was also responsible, within QUB, for developing the vision that led to the creation of the non-profit Catalyst Inc Science Park in Belfast. Developed from a brownfield site, there are now more than 200 companies employing 3,000 people, paying in excess of £115m per annum in salaries. Additionally, Prof Sir McCanny spearheaded the Centre for Secure Information, a world-leader in cyber security. Established in 2009 and part of QUB, this helped create a new business cluster in Belfast that today comprises more than 40 companies and employs in excess of 1,400 people.

The IAE is an all-island body promoting excellence in engineering and technology for the betterment of the island of Ireland. This year's Parsons Medal ceremony took place in Belfast in honour of Prof Sir McCanny, onboard HMS Caroline, a C-class light cruiser that saw action during WW1. HMS Caroline was the ideal venue for the ceremony, as she was powered by four Parsons steam turbines - invented by Sir Charles Algernon Parsons, eminent Irish engineer, and namesake of this medal. The medal was presented by his descendant, the Earl of Rosse, Sir Brendan Parsons.

Speaking at the event, President of the IAE, Prof Tony Smyth said: "I think you will agree that Sir John is an inspiration for the wide range of work he has undertaken and his commitment to engineering and technology."

Honorary Secretary of the academy, Bill Grimson was the next to speak, saying: "The IAE is pleased to award the Parsons Medal to Sir John McCanny in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the advancement of the application of engineering, science and technology that result in significant social and economic impact."

Prof Sir McCanny said he was deeply honoured to be presented with the Parsons Medal, adding "this very much represents the pinnacle of achievement for an engineer in Ireland.". He paid tribute to the support and contributions of his colleagues at Catalyst Inc, Norman Apsley and newly appointed CEO, Steve Orr, the team at the Institute of Electronics Communications and Information Technology (ECIT), and his family and friends. He also thanked the IAE for the award, and Sir Brendan Parsons, who presented to medal to Prof Sir McCanny.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/IrishAcademyofEngineeringpresentsParsonsMedaltoProfSirMcCannyatacere...
 
Description ITSS Immersive Cluster Meeting - Lead by Nigel McAlpine - 7 September (Crozier) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Immersive Technologies Industry Group Workshop on Cyber Security
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund - Secure by design (with Innovate UK) (O'Neill, Miller, Crozier, Scott-Hayward, Millar, Khalid, Montgomery, Gu) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Workshop
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Infosecurity Magazine (NI salaries) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Professor Sir John McCanny speaking on the impact of CSIT and the cyber security sector on the Northern Ireland economy.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/cybersec-worth-60m-salaries
 
Description Innovation and Emerging Technologies at the Vigitrust Annual Advisory Board Meeting in Dublin. (Mills) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact The original idea for the VigiTrust Advisory board was to get feedback from security and risk professionals to influence VigiTrust's solution and services roadmap. Now it has evolved into a think-tank in its own right - with Information Sharing being the prime objective. The members are volunteers who benefit from direct engagement with C-level security and risk management peers, the opportunity to influence VigiTrust's security R & D and the opportunity to get access to security research presented directly by research teams.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.vigitrust.com/advisory-board
 
Description IoT Belfast 22: IoT technology expose (Montgomery) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact This months IoT meetup is one definitely not to miss. Book early to avoid disappointment!

Arrow (https://www.arrow.com/) is a major global electronic component distributor. As a component distributor, they sell components from all the major IoT chipset manufacturers. They are therefore in a unique position to give independent technical information on all the products they sell and how it may impact your business or project.

Arrow are going to take the whole night and show off the latest Io
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.meetup.com/IoTBelfast/events/260141348/
 
Description LONDON CYBER INNOVATION CENTRE WELCOMES FIRST COHORT OF INNOVATIVE UK-BASED CYBER SECURITY COMPANIES 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact A new cyber innovation centre, which will be partly delivered by the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen's University Belfast, has been officially opened by Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement (LORCA) will be run by Plexal in the East London Innovation Centre, which is located on the fast-growing Here East digital and creative campus developed and owned by Delancey's DV4 fund. The centre is being delivered in partnership with Deloitte's cyber team and the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen's University Belfast.

The centre's opening coincides with specially commissioned research by LORCA that reveals more than half of large businesses have suffered a cyber-security attack in the last 12 months, and almost a quarter of UK businesses (24 per cent) do not think their cyber security solutions are fit for their needs.

As the business threat of cyber crime increases, the new study of 500 UK C-level executives also reveals that more than half (53 per cent) do not have a formalised protocol in place for cyber-attacks.

Most breaches or attacks are via fraudulent emails - such as attempting to coax staff into revealing passwords or financial information or opening dangerous attachments.

Despite this, the majority of businesses (70 per cent) surveyed said they haven't purchased a cyber security solution from a startup company or SME in the last two years. The reasons why they might not seek external specialist help depend on the size of the company: the largest proportion of SMEs (37 per cent) chose awareness of the solution as the key challenge when implementing a new and innovative solution to cyber threats. This contrasts to larger companies surveyed, where integration concerns were considered the most significant barrier (47 per cent).

The government-funded centre for cyber security innovation will help position the UK as a global leader in the growing field of cyber security and keep the nation safe from online threats.

LORCA will help some of the UK's brightest cyber security stars across all stages of growth address business challenges and achieve greater impact with their innovative solutions. It has also announced the ten organisations that will make up its first cohort, including B-Secur which specialises in using biometric heartbeat solutions as a means of authentication, as well as for health and wellbeing purposes.

LORCA has also announced that Lloyds Banking Group will be the first founding partner. As part of their mission to ensure the financial services sector is sufficiently prepared for cybercrime, Lloyds Banking Group will be closely involved in selecting and supporting innovators, over and above Government funding, with a specific focus on cyber security in the financial industry.

Plexal, which operates London's largest innovation space and specialises in helping high-tech startups in artificial intelligence, augmented reality and the Internet of Things, will run the £13.5m innovation centre in Plexal City at Here East, on the site of London's Olympic Park. LORCA will be delivered in partnership with Deloitte's cyber team and the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen's University Belfast in a cross-disciplinary team with strategic, entrepreneurial, engineering and cyber security technical skills.

Lydia Ragoonanan, Director of LORCA, said: "The threats posed to businesses by cyber-attacks are continually changing. We're proud to be working with industry to understand their needs, with investors who can help develop the solutions scale at pace, and with incredible innovators who are helping secure UK's position as a world leader in cyber security. By bringing all these things together in our new centre we will stay ahead and help British businesses grow and succeed."

Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: "Britain's future prosperity will be based on its digital technology and no technology can work without cyber security so expanding this sector is critical to our future.

"It's fantastic to open this new centre where some of our most talented entrepreneurs and innovative companies will develop the cyber security technology of tomorrow. This will boost London's booming tech sector and benefit businesses across the country.

"We are investing £1.9 billion to protect the nation from cyber threats, have introduced new laws to strengthen our defences, and developed a wealth of free help and guidance for businesses available through our National Cyber Security Centre."

Louise Cushnahan, Innovation Programme Manager at CSIT, said: "CSIT is delighted to be a partner in LORCA. We will replicate our unique innovation model to assist the startup community within the new centre. This will be achieved through our dedicated engineering support and delivery of an academic engagement and thought leadership programme. This is a strategically important initiative and we are excited to start working with the next wave of UK cyber innovators."

Stephen Wray, Director of Cyber Innovation at Deloitte, said: "We are supporting clients solve cyber challenges in over 150 countries. LORCA will connect innovators with these global market opportunities. We look forward to bringing our domain expertise to help amplify the impact of LORCA Members for the benefit of the UK economy."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/LondoncyberinnovationcentrewelcomesfirstcohortofinnovativeUK-basedcy...
 
Description LORCA Academic Masterclass: Deep Android malware Detection 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Academic Masterclass: Deep Android malware Detection
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description LORCA Academic Masterclass: Dr Ayesha Khalid - Post quantum Cryptography for IoT in A Quantum World: Are We Ready? 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Academic Masterclass: Dr Ayesha Khalid - Post quantum Cryptography for IoT in A Quantum World: Are We Ready?
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description LORCA Academic Masterclass: Dr Philip O'Kane - Managing Information System 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Academic Masterclass: Dr Philip O'Kane - Managing Information System
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description LORCA Academic Masterclass: Dr Sakir Sezer- Emerging Challenges in Cloud Security Services and trends in Cloud Security Solutions 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Academic Masterclass: Dr Sakir Sezer- Emerging Challenges in Cloud Security Services and trends in Cloud Security Solutions
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description LORCA Academic Masterclass: Dr Sandra Scott-Hayward - Scalable Network Security with SDNFV 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Academic Masterclass: Dr Sandra Scott-Hayward - Scalable Network Security with SDNFV
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description LORCA Academic Masterclass: Evolution of Passwords 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Academic Masterclass: Evolution of Passwords
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description LORCA Academic Masterclass: Fairness, privacy and understanding implications on Machine Learning 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Academic Masterclass: Fairness, privacy and understanding implications on Machine Learning
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description LORCA Academic Masterclass: Network Security for Industrial Control Systems 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Academic Masterclass: Network Security for Industrial Control Systems
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description LORCA Academic Masterclass: Prof Maire O'Neill 'Securing Connected Devices' 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Academic Masterclass: Prof Maire O'Neill 'Securing Connected Devices'
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description LORCA Cohort 3 Companies Visit 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact LORCA Cohort 3 Companies Visit
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.lorca.co.uk/
 
Description LORCA Cohort 3 Welcome Day 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact LORCA Cohort 3 Welcome Day
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description LORCA Innovation Forum Cohort 3 Engagement Day 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact LORCA Innovation Forum Cohort 3 Engagement Day
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.lorca.co.uk/
 
Description LORCA Launches Open Call for Fourth Cohort of Cyber Security Innovators 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact LORCA has launched a global open call for our fourth cohort of cyber scaleups.

LORCA
The latest cohort will receive bespoke support to help them scale in the UK and abroad, as well as access to commercial and engineering experts through delivery partners Deloitte and the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen's University Belfast. The deadline for applying is Monday 4 November 2019, with full details available at lorca.co.uk/apply

We're inviting applications based on three innovation themes after consulting with industry leaders from various sectors about their most pressing cyber challenges and the types of solutions they need from the market in the future. The three cross-cutting themes (Connected Economy, Connected Everything and Connected Everyone) relate to the macro challenges faced by business and society as our world becomes more digitised and connected. We're looking for a broad range of innovators who can solve real-world cyber challenges across a variety of business and societal contexts to apply.



Saj Huq, Programme Director, LORCA, commented:

"As technology increasingly impacts all aspects of business and society, it's clear that a cybersecurity paradigm shift is needed. Now more than ever, we need to support the development of cutting-edge innovations across the board to help us lead safer digital lives, keep our infrastructure secure and protect our digital economy from complex and evolving cyber threats. Given its increasing significance within a world that is more connected by the day, cybersecurity has to be everywhere - and serve everyone."


LORCA'S INNOVATION THEMES


1. CONNECTED ECONOMY
In a post-breach world where technology is disrupting business models and our economy is more connected than ever, cybersecurity isn't just about protecting data: it's key to enabling sustainable growth.

How can we enable organisations to stay resilient in the face of security threats across their supply chains and networks? And how can they futureproof themselves by building security into everything they do?

2. CONNECTED EVERYONE
Our homes, workspaces, cities and personal space have never been so connected, yet the movement to secure them is in its infancy.

How can we empower people to feel in control of their digital presence, build trust in technology - and make sure nobody is left out?

3. CONNECTED EVERYTHING
From our transport infrastructure to the National Grid, our digital and physical worlds are converging as they become connected to the internet at lightning pace.

With so much to win and lose for society, how can we solve the multi-dimensional security challenges which are emerging through hyper connectivity? And how can we collaborate with a broader spectrum of fields to build cyber principles into every access point for the internet?



Paul Branley, Director of Strategy, Innovation & Testing at Lloyds Banking Group, said:

"Lloyds Banking Group partnered with the London Office for Rapid Cyber Security Advancement (LORCA) in June 2018 for three reasons. Firstly, in recognition that incremental change isn't enough and we need a transformative approach to keep ahead of the threat. Secondly, we also wanted to gain early access to cutting edge ideas, technologies and innovative companies.

"Thirdly, as part of our business strategy to Help Britain Prosper, by ensuring the UK is a leader on the global stage with modern cybersecurity. We are looking to cohort 4 to achieve the above for some of the biggest cybersecurity challenges in the ever increasingly connected world."

Louise Cushnahan, Head of Innovation, CSIT commented:

"The three themes this cohort will be drawn from are tightly aligned with CSIT's internationally leading multidisciplinary research roadmap of secure connected intelligence. Our engineering and research teams are primed and ready to work side by side with this next crop of innovative cyber security companies. CSIT's new Cyber Range came on stream earlier this year and it will be used to maximum impact as we help companies iterate their secure solutions."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/LORCALaunchesOpenCallforFourthCohortofCyberSecurityInnovators.html
 
Description LORCA launches open call for its third cohort of cybersecurity innovators 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement (LORCA) launches the open call for its third cohort of cyber innovators.

LORCA
The new cohort will be tasked with solving some of the most pressing cybersecurity issues, as identified by industry leaders at LORCA's Innovation Forum. Details of the application process and a full description of the challenges can be found at lorca.co.uk/apply. LORCA is one of two cyber innovation centres as part of the National Cyber Security Strategy objective to grow the UK's cybersecurity sector and make sure the UK is the safest place to live and do business online.


Security by Design was selected as one of the most pressing challenges. As people use more technology in their everyday lives, there's a growing need for products that are secure through their design to make it easier for people and businesses to remain safe online. LORCA is on the lookout for cybersecurity solutions that make it significantly cheaper or easier for products to be made secure. This includes ensuring products are secure as standard, rather than requiring an add-on solution, and at code level, as this remains a challenge across the sector.

The second challenge revolves around the concept of Basics. While the cybersecurity market is saturated with products and solutions, even in mature sectors like financial services - there remains a demand to get the basics right. LORCA's Innovation Forum identified a need for best-in-class cyber patching and vulnerability management to deal with gaps in security. It's also looking for cyber scaleups that can help enhance fundamental security controls with accurate and automated regulation and compliance metrics.

The third challenge is Beyond. In addition to the basics, this challenge area seeks to support innovative new approaches that go beyond current offerings and provide proactive, intelligence-led security solutions. This includes products that take a fresh look at technology advances to bring efficient and effective security solutions to market.

Cyber innovators accepted onto the LORCA programme will receive a year of bespoke, world-class support to engineer and iterate their solution and scale their businesses quickly - all within a dedicated space at LORCA's base at innovation hub Plexal (which is based at Here East and has been developed by owner Delancey's DV4 fund).

Participating companies will receive support from leading experts, including one-to-one commercial and technical support from Deloitte's Cyber Risk Service team and world-class academic and engineering support will be provided by the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen's University Belfast. Plexal's innovation services team, together with external experts brought in as part of the programme's curriculum, will help the businesses develop their business, iterate their products and scale in the UK or globally.



Crucially, members of cohort three will be given opportunities to engage with industry during the programme, which ensures that tomorrow's cyber solutions are a good fit for what the market needs. For example, members of LORCA's first and second cohorts have recently joined major insurance companies as part of a Needs Accelerator roundtable, which allows frank and open discussions around a specific industry's biggest cyber challenges to take place.

Lydia Ragoonanan, director of LORCA, said: "Having already seen how many talented and inventive cybersecurity innovators there are in the country with our first two cohorts, we're really looking forward to seeing what great ideas emerge now. As the UK's dedicated space for industry-led cybersecurity innovation, it's vital we're always moving the conversation on to make sure we're creating genuinely useful solutions to the problems impacting industry most."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/LORCAlaunchesopencallforitsthirdcohortofcybersecurityinnovators.html
 
Description LORCA welcomes their fourth cohort of cyber innovators 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact This week LORCA introduced 20 scaleups selected to join their fourth cohort of cyber innovators, which is their largest and most international yet.

1600x767
Last year LORCA releaved three innovation challenges - Connected Economy, Connected Everyone and Connected Everything - and, working with industry partners, have chosen companies with solutions that can tackle them head-on.

From automation and AI-based products to VR and supply chain risk analysis solutions, this cohort is hugely diverse. And while most members are British companies, there are companies hailing from Israel, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, Singapore and the US.

Over the next 12 months, they'll get intensive support from Plexal's innovation team, along with our delivery partners Deloitte and CSIT and our industry partners.

Welcoming the fourth cohort, Saj Huq, LORCA's programme director, said: "LORCA exists to bring cutting-edge technology to market and to enable the most promising cyber innovators become globally competitive businesses.

"The international reach and the variety of solutions within our incoming fourth cohort is an exciting demonstration of both the strength and attractiveness of the UK market, as well as an illustration of the increasingly prominent role that LORCA plays as a convener and collaborator within the global innovation ecosystem."

Meet the Cohort

Acreto

Acreto delivers a Security-as-a-Utility capability that protects distributed and mobile platforms. It can help you protect any technology, operating on any type of network, from anywhere.

Anzen Technology Systems

The company's patented technology allows organisations to securely move highly sensitive or classified data from on-premises storage to the public cloud, while retaining their data sovereignty.

Avnos

This cloud-based security platform can expand perimeter defence beyond the enterprise network, providing cloud-delivered protection for devices.

Contingent

Contingent is an AI-powered enterprise platform that quickly reduces the enormous burden of collecting, verifying and monitoring supply chain risk data.

Continuum Security

Continuum Security helps companies build secure software by embedding security in the design of their systems.

Darkbeam

Darkbeam's non-invasive threat reconnaissance platform gives you digital risk insights in seconds.

Heimdal Security

This cyber company builds products that anticipate threatscape trends. Its proactive security suite helps individuals and organisations protect their valuable data.

Keyless

Keyless is a deeptech cybersecurity company that's building the world's first privacy-preserving biometric authentication and personal identity management platform which eliminates the need for businesses to centrally store and manage biometric data, passwords, and any other sensitive information without compromising on convenience or privacy.

Kinnami

The data security company equips organisations with the tools they need to secure and protect highly confidential documents and data.

L7 Defense

The company's solution autonomously monitors, detects and blocks API attacks to a very high level of accuracy, freeing security teams from managing endless configurations and rules.

Orpheus

The company's award-winning technologies collect huge volumes of cyber risk data, which they analyse using machine learning and a highly skilled team to enable you to stop your cyber risks before they happen.

Osirium

Specialising in privileged access security, the company's software allows customers to securely and cost-effectively manage all privileged access and automate complex business and IT processes.

Risk Ledger

Risk Ledger's vendor risk management solution combines a secure social network with a risk management platform. This enables organisations to run a gold standard risk assurance programme against their vendors while making it easy for vendors to respond.

ShieldIOT

ShieldIOT enables integrators and service providers to secure large-scale critical IoT networks in settings such as smart cities, smart grid and transportation.

SureCert

SureCert's digital identity platform makes background checking for recruitment and ID verification quicker and more efficient. Like a credit check, it turns personal information into a score, making sure that sensitive personal information is kept securely.

ThreatAware

Helping companies monitor and manage their cyber protection in real time, ThreatAware is a single pane of glass on every aspect of an organisation's cybersecurity - including all hardware, software, cloud services and IT compliance standards.

ThunderCipher (Licel)

The company provides application shielding solutions to clients around the world, from fintech to government to medtech, military, aerospace and beyond.

Variti

Variti specialises in malicious bot detection and associated shielding technologies, especially for the verticals most at risk such as ecommerce, media, entertainment and financial sectors. It protects websites, apps and APIs from fraud and attacks without affecting the end user.

VIVIDA

VIVIDA combines storytelling and interactive virtual reality to develop the most impactful cybersecurity awareness and education. Its VR experiences are designed to change attitudes and behaviour, make cybersecurity play a bigger role in a company's culture and reduce the risk factor.

Westgate Cyber Security

The company helps organisations darken their networks and prevent cyber attacks with invisible network access gates which only materialise when certain trust standards are met. Its technology makes connectivity within enterprises (and their supply chains) easier to arrange and safer to operate by ensuring connecting systems are completely invisible to third parties.



Louise Cushnahan, head of innovation at CSIT also commented:

"Our academic and engineering staff have a strong track record in supporting UK cyber security companies. In recent years almost 100 have benefited from our expertise to scale-up and deliver truly novel solutions to global markets with recent government figures showing that UK cyber security exports topped £2bn for the first time. The breadth of this cohort represents a rich opportunity to deliver further economic, technological and societal outcomes for CSIT's cutting edge research and innovation in the area of Secure Connected Intelligence."

Paul Branley, director of strategy, innovation & testing at Lloyds Banking Group, said:

"Lloyds Banking Group partnered with the London Office for Rapid Cyber Security Advancement (LORCA) in June 2018 and have most recently been involved in the cohort 4 selection of cyber companies. These innovators have highlighted the current quality and breadth of cyber skills within the UK market. Lloyds Banking Group continues to collaborate and partner with LORCA as we recognise that incremental change isn't enough and we need a transformative approach to keep ahead of the threat. The cohort selection event allows us early access to cutting edge technologies and innovators, ultimately supporting our ambition to solve cybersecurity challenges and support our business strategy to Help Britain Prosper."

Meanwhile, Stephen Wray, director of Cyber Risk Services at Deloitte, said: "We continue to be impressed and inspired by the quality and volume of applicants to LORCA. This fourth cohort highlights some outstanding products and solutions that seek to address the complex cyber challenges facing our clients today. Deloitte's dedicated cyber team will continue to provide technical and market expertise to the latest cohort, supporting the development of cyber innovation."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/LORCAwelcomestheirfourthcohortofcyberinnovators.html
 
Description Launch of Northern Ireland Cyber Security Centre (Crozier, Gaston, O'Neill, Miller) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact A new Cyber Security Centre was officially launched today which will provide advice and guidance to citizens and businesses to help them become more cyber resilient.

National Cyber Security Centre Chief Executive Ciaran Martin, Permanent Secretary Sue Gray and ACC Barbara Gray PSNI at the launch of the NI Cyber Centre
Based in Queen's University Belfast's Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) in the heart of the growing cyber hub in the Titanic Quarter, the Centre will help deliver the Cyber Security: A Strategic Framework for Action document.

Speaking at the launch, Sue Gray, Department of Finance Permanent Secretary, said: "Cybercrime is a significant threat to our public services, businesses and individuals which makes cyber security a priority area for government.

"Working collaboratively across the public, private and community sectors the NI Cyber Security Centre has a key role in ensuring business and citizens are better informed when it comes to protecting our technology, systems and data.

"Getting cyber security right means we can capitalise on the opportunities the connected world offers, boosting our prosperity while at the same time ensuring we are properly protected."

The Centre will work closely with a range of partners including the National Cyber Security Centre, the PSNI Cyber Crime Unit, academia and the wider cyber community to better respond to cyber threats and ensure public, private and third sector organisations have access to the right advice, guidance and support to become more cyber resilient.

Ciaran Martin, CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre, said: "The opening of this new centre is a hugely positive development for Northern Ireland. It will bolster the digital resilience and strength of the whole community here.

"At the NCSC we look forward to working closely with our Northern Ireland counterparts as we develop ground-breaking new products and services to help all of us meet the fast-evolving cyber threats."

Assistant Chief Constable Barbara Gray, from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said: "I am delighted the PSNI is playing its part in delivering Cyber Security: A Strategic Framework for Action.

"We now live in a digital era where modern technology has transformed the way we work, communicate and socialise with one another, and with this comes an increased risk of criminals seeking to exploit us. We all need to work collaboratively to combat this type of crime. The expertise of all who work within this new hub will educate and promote awareness in the private, public and community sectors and together we can all work to keep people safe from cyber-crime."

Further information on the NI Cyber Security Centre can be found at www.nicybersecuritycentre.gov.uk(external link opens in a new window / tab).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/news/cyber-security-centre-launched-0
 
Description London Lattice Group 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Ciara Rafferty presented SAFEcrypto work on lattice-based cryptography to a special interest group of researchers and industrial cryptographers
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Microsoft Government Cyber Security Event (Crozier) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Cyber security briefing event for Microsoft's public sector clients in Northern Ireland
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description NI Cyber - Cyber resilience - 23 Jan CSIT (Millar) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact NI Cyber - Cyber resilience - 23 Jan CSIT (Millar)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.nicyber.tech/
 
Description NI Cyber Cluster Meeting (Miller, Cushnahan) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Disseminate CSIT research to NI Cyber Security Ecosystem
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.nicyber.tech/
 
Description NI Fintech Envoy Group - Chancellor of Exchequer Briefing - 25 July (Crozier) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Consultation event with Chancellor of Exchequer on Brexit and Fintech
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description NI Science Festival Big Data Event (O'Neill) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact What can Big Data do for Northern Ireland?
Wednesday 19 February, 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Suitability: 18+
Free.
What are the latest developments in data, artificial intelligence and digital technologies in Northern Ireland, and how can we make sure they benefit as many people as possible?

Join our panel of experts from business, science and policy to discover local examples of innovative practice and find out how they can contribute to a thriving and prosperous region. Speakers include:

· Introduction by Professor John McCanny FRS

· Chairperson - Alastair McKinley - Analytics Engines

· Patricia O'Hagan - CEO, Core Systems

· Adrian Johnston - Director of Operations, Digital Catapult NI

· Professor Maire O'Neill FREng - Professor of Information Security, QUB

This event is part of our Innovate UK Grand Challenges series which focuses on the global trends which will transform our futures.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.nisciencefestival.com/event.php?e=78
 
Description News Letter article (cyber threat to health records) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact David Crozier discussing the potential threat posed by cybercrome actors to health records
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/crime/patients-medical-records-could-be-on-dark-web-warns-qub-exper...
 
Description Northern Regional College Hour of Code (Crozier) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Students studying IT at Northern Regional College joined thousands of other students from round the world this week to host Hour of Code events to mark Computer Science Education Week. Hour of Code, which has now grown into a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in over 180 countries, started out as a one-hour introduction to computer science.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.nrc.ac.uk/
 
Description PST 2018 - 28 Aug (Sezer, Gaston, Mills, Crozier, Millar, McCrory) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 16th Annual Privacy, Security and Trust international conference.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://pstnet.ca/pst2018/
 
Description Prof Máire O'Neill appointed to global technology policy council 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Máire O'Neill, Acting Director of ECIT, has been appointed to the newly formed global technology policy council by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

Prof Máire O'Neill outside Riddle Hall
The world's largest association for computing professionals - the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) - formed the council to co-ordinate the agenda for its policy activities around the globe.

Professor O'Neill is a leading cybersecurity expert and was the youngest-ever engineering professor at Queen's University Belfast. She is currently Acting Director of the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology at Queen's.

She is widely regarded as one of Europe's leading cryptography experts and the inventor of a high-speed silicon security chip that is used in more than 100 million TV set-top boxes.

ACM says the newly formed council positions will allow the organisation to play an indispensable role in the global technology policy dialogue. They will also serve as the central convening point for ACM's interaction with government organisations, the computing community, and the public in matters of public policy related to information technology and computing.

Commenting on her new position, Professor Máire O'Neill says: "I am delighted to have been invited to join the global technology policy council. With an estimated 2.3 billion people across the globe relying on devices and the cloud to communicate, manage finances, access healthcare and even interact with household devices, new technological challenges are emerging every day.

"At ECIT we have been leading the way on solving the many global challenges associated with emerging technology. I am looking forward to my role on the council and working alongside a group of world leading experts to advise on policy issues."

ACM President Cherri. M. Pancake explains: "The digital revolution is an international phenomenon and the leading tech companies, whose services are used by billions every day, have facilities and customers in countries all over the world.

"So the pressing issues we hear about in the media- such as online privacy, data breaches, algorithmic bias, and the future of the internet- go beyond national borders. ACM's new Technology Policy Council will provide a space in which computing professionals come together to offer global perspectives on global challenges."

ACM has been active in the policy arena for more than 25 years. Its US (USTPC) and European (EUTPC) Technology Policy Committees regularly provide nonpartisan technical expertise to policy leaders and government agencies on issues though briefings, testimony, comments, and reports. These committees will now work under the auspices of the new Technology Policy Council.

ACM Technology Policy Council Chair Lorraine Kisselburgh commented: "The mission of the ACM Technology Policy Council will be to strengthen and elevate ACM's policy initiatives around the world.

"Government officials and legislators in nations everywhere are grappling with questions regarding the governance of technology, and the complexity of these technologies demands critical expertise. What ACM brings to the table is a deep bench of technical expertise to better inform policy, both nationally and globally."

One of the Technology Policy Council's first initiatives will be to publish a bimonthly series of short technical bulletins that summarize emerging technologies and research, and present nonpartisan perspectives on their policy implications. The ACM Tech Briefs series is intended to inform policy decision makers, the media and the general public.

The members of the inaugural ACM Technology Policy Council are:

Lorraine Kisselburgh (Chair), Purdue University
Michel Beaudouin-Lafon (Vice Chair), Université Paris-Sud
Vinton Cerf, Google
Lorrie Cranor, Carnegie Mellon University
Oliver Grau (Chair, EUTPC), Intel
James Hendler (Chair, USTPC), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Jeanna Matthews, Clarkson University
Máire O'Neill, Queen's University Belfast
Latanya Sweeney, Harvard University
Michael Zimmer (Chair, Tech Briefs Committee), Marquette University
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/ProfMaireONeillappointedtoglobaltechnologypolicycouncil.html
 
Description Professor Máire O'Neill appointed to UK Artificial Intelligence Council 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Professor Máire O'Neill has been appointed to a body designed to develop the UK artificial intelligence (AI) sector.


Cybersecurity expert, Professor Máire O'Neill, has been appointed to the UK's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Council.

Leaders from business, academia and data privacy organisations have joined the independent expert committee, which has been created to help boost growth of AI in the UK, and promote its adoption and ethical use in businesses and organisations across the country.

The news was announced today by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport & Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

Professor O'Neill is Professor of Information Security in the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Queen's; Principal Investigator at the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen's; and Director of the UK Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE) at CSIT.

Speaking about her appointment Professor O'Neill said: "I am delighted to have been invited to join the AI council by Tabitha Goldstaub, the AI Council Chair, and Dame Wendy Hall, due to my background in cyber security.

"AI has an ever-increasing role to play in cyber security in terms of fraud prevention, threat and vulnerability analysis, and video analytics. At CSIT we have been working in these areas for some time - CSIT is celebrating 10 years of impact this year - and the application of AI in cyber security is a key focus of our future research strategy.

"I am looking forward to my role on the council and working alongside such a diverse group of representatives from industry, academia and the public sector, covering both the technology and ethical considerations of AI."

Professor O'Neill was the youngest engineering professor in Queen's University history; the youngest Irish Academy of Engineering fellow; and is a former UK Female Inventor of the Year.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/ProfessorMaireONeillappointedtoUKArtificialIntelligenceCouncil.html
 
Description Professor Máire O'Neill elected as Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The Royal Academy of Engineering has elected Professor Máire O'Neill, Acting Director of ECIT and Director of the £5M EPSRC/NCSC-funded Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE), as a Fellow.


The Royal Academy of Engineering is the UK's national academy for engineering and technology, bringing together their fellows - the most successful and talented engineers from academia and business - to advance and promote excellence in engineering for the benefit of society.

Fifty-four leading engineers from the UK and around the world have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering in recognition of their outstanding and continuing contributions to the profession - including five-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who has also been admitted as an Honorary Fellow in recognition of his role in inspiring interest in engineering, especially among young people.

Professor O'Neill was formally admitted to the Academy at its AGM in London on Monday 30 September, adding her expertise to the Fellowship of nearly 1,600 eminent engineers from both industry and academia.

Professor O'Neill commented:

"I am proud and honoured to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. To join the ranks of so many internationally recognised engineers has great significance for me and is also a major recognition of the academic standing of Queen's University Belfast, where we have been leading the way in solving the many global challenges associated with emerging technologies."

Professor O'Neill is a leading cybersecurity expert and was the youngest-ever engineering professor at Queen's University Belfast. She is widely regarded as one of Europe's leading cryptography experts and the inventor of a high-speed silicon security chip that is used in more than 100 million TV set-top boxes.

Professor Dame Ann Dowling, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said:

"Our Fellows are at the heart of all Academy activities and I am delighted to welcome these highly successful, creative and inspiring engineering leaders to the Fellowship. There has never been a more important time for the Academy to advance and promote excellence in engineering so that the engineering profession can continue to contribute to societal wellbeing and economic growth."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/ProfessorMaireONeillelectedasFellowoftheRoyalAcademyofEngineering.ht...
 
Description Public Sector Cyber Security Northern Ireland 2019 (Crozier) 14 March 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Public Sector Cyber Security Northern Ireland 2019
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL http://cybersecurityni.holyrood.com/
 
Description QUB Cyber Security Researchers Awarded 'Best Paper' at IEEE NFV-SDN Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Dr Sandra Scott-Hayward and James Aiken from the Centre for Secure Information Technologies, at Queen's University Belfast, were awarded Best Paper at the IEEE Conference on NFV-SDN 2019 for their work on "Investigating Adversarial Attacks on Network Intrusion Detection Systems in SDNs"

The 2019 IEEE NFV-SDN conference accelerates the continuous exchange on the latest ideas, developments and results between all ecosystem partners in the academia and industry area. The conference fosters discussion on new approaches as well as dedicated work on missing aspects for improvements of NFV and SDN enabling architectures, algorithms, frameworks and operation of virtualised network functions and infrastructures. The event took place this year in Dallas, Texas, USA on 12th-14th November.

Dr Scott-Hayward commented: "We are delighted to receive this award. This research exploring the impact of the application of machine learning (ML) in network security is of great importance as AI and ML approaches emerge in the networking domain. These solutions are particularly popular with the flexibility brought by software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV). We will continue to develop this work to increase the robustness of ML-based network security solutions and we look forward to IEEE NFV-SDN 2020!"

Paper Abstract: Machine-learning based network intrusion detection systems (ML-NIDS) are increasingly popular in the fight against network attacks. In particular, promising detection results have been demonstrated in conjunction with Software-Defined Networks (SDN), in which the logically centralized control plane provides access to data from across the network. However, research into adversarial attacks against machine learning classifiers has highlighted vulnerabilities in a number of fields. These vulnerabilities raise concerns about the implementation of similar classifiers in anomaly-based NIDSs within SDNs. In this work, we investigate the viability of adversarial attacks against classifiers in this field. We implement an anomaly-based NIDS, Neptune, as a target platform that utilises a number of different machine learning classifiers and traffic flow features. We develop an adversarial test tool, Hydra, to evaluate the impact of adversarial evasion classifier attacks against Neptune with the goal of lowering the detection rate of malicious network traffic. The results demonstrate that with the perturbation of a few features, the detection accuracy of a specific SYN flood Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack by Neptune decreases from 100% to 0% across a number of classifiers. Based on these results, recommendations are made as to how to increase the robustness of classifiers against the demonstrated attacks.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/QUBCyberSecurityResearchersAwardedBestPaperatIEEENFV-SDNConference.h...
 
Description QUEEN'S CYBERSECURITY EXPERT PROFESSOR MÁIRE O'NEILL WINS PRESTIGIOUS BLAVATNIK AWARD 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Queen's University Belfast cybersecurity expert Professor Máire O'Neill has been awarded US$30,000 in the second annual Blavatnik Awards in the UK, which honour outstanding young scientists under the age of 42.

The Blavatnik Awards, established by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and administered by the New York Academy of Sciences, recognise and support exceptional young scientists and engineers aged 42 years or younger.

Professor O'Neill, Professor of Information Security in the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Queen's; Principal Investigator at the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen's; and Director of the UK Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE) at CSIT, has been awarded a finalist title in the Physical Sciences & Engineering category.

She has been awarded the prize due to her world-class reputation for research and invention in the field of hardware security, in particular for her work developing attack-resilient computer hardware platforms and chip designs.

Speaking about the award, Professor O'Neill said: "It is an honour to be recognised by the Blavatnik Family Foundation for my work in hardware security.

"The increase in the number of connected devices through both cloud and Internet of Things technologies has led to growing security and privacy concerns. A strong hardware security foundation is essential in realising effective security in these ICT systems.

"My research seeks to provide practical and effective hardware security solutions that meet the real-time computation and resource-constrained requirements of ICT systems, services and applications."

Professor O'Neill was the youngest engineering professor in Queen's University history; the youngest Irish Academy of Engineering fellow; and is a former UK Female Inventor of the Year.

Now in their second year in the UK, the 2019 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists received 83 nominations from 43 academic and research institutions across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. A distinguished jury of leading senior scientists and engineers from throughout the UK selected the Laureates and Finalists.

Professor O'Neill will be honoured at a gala dinner and ceremony at the prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum in London on Wednesday 6 March 2019.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/QueenscybersecurityexpertProfessorMaireONeillwinsprestigiousBlavatni...
 
Description QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY INVESTS £500K IN STATE-OF-THE-ART CYBER SECURITY RESEARCH LAB 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Queen's University Belfast is investing £500k in a brand new state-of-the-art cyber security research lab at the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT).

The facility, which is based at the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) at Queen's, will create a stronger service and innovation driven engagement model of academic research to address global challenges within the cyber security industry.

CSIT will work with local and international corporations, start-up companies and SMEs to form a strong response to cyber security attacks.

The CSIT Test lab includes a high-speed network interconnected via a multi-gigabit optical fibre to the public Internet. The experimental test network is a collection of diverse information and communication technologies with unique connectivity properties. It also includes a state-of-the-art Cyber Range, which is a virtual environment that is used for cyber-defence training and cyber technology development.

With extended high-speed traffic capture and storage capability, the new lab will allow researchers at CSIT, and their partners, to undertake advanced malware monitoring and reverse engineering. The researchers will also be able to explore the most prevalent cyber-attack methods, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), by generating synthetic attack replay and monitoring features.

Professor Sakir Sezer, Head of Connected Systems Security at CSIT, explains that this is a significant investment for the research community in Northern Ireland, with opportunities for supporting and promoting innovation within cybersecurity.

He says: "With cyber-attacks and emerging threats becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex, applied research and innovation in cybersecurity depends on data-sets and well equipped state-of-the-art experimental labs and shared research infrastructures.

"The CSIT Test Lab is one of the first UK-wide research infrastructures providing an experimental playground for both academia and industry to collaborate, innovate and share equipment, tools, experiments and data-sets. We are very proud of our new custom-built Cyber Range which will allow us to connect remotely and share our facilities on an ad-hoc basis with our partners in the UK, US, Europe and Asia."

Professor Sezer adds: "The lab gives Queen's University Belfast and CSIT new experimental capabilities for application (software) and appliance (hardware) penetration testing, which is highly relevant for the local cyber security cluster member companies.

"By combining all the new capabilities, the lab facilitates a highly configurable platform for many widespread communication technologies, enabling state-of-the-art 'capture the flag and other red/blue team' cybersecurity challenge games and specialised cybersecurity staff training."

Judith Millar, Business Development Manager at CSIT, comments: "This new extension of the CSIT research infrastructure provides the essential technologies and tools to deliver critical services and training for the local Northern Ireland Cyber Security Cluster.

"SMEs and start-ups will be able to access the latest cyber security technologies, infrastructure and synthetic test-data for testing and product validation through this impressive research facility. Training, interoperability and penetration testing support by CSIT for start-ups and SMEs are vital for competitive advantage, economic success and added value for the local economy."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/QueensUniversityinvests500kinstate-of-the-artcybersecurityresearchla...
 
Description Queen's University Belfast backs cyber security sector with funding for 40 MSc scholarships 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Queen's is helping secure Northern Ireland's status as a global cyber security hub by offering 40 full scholarships worth over half a million pounds for its specialist Applied Cyber Security MSc programme.


The move, announced at an event held in Belfast this week, is in direct response to the growth of the sector, both in Northern Ireland and globally, over the last few years, and strong demand from industry for more suitably qualified cyber security professionals.

As well as recent graduates, it is aimed at those already in employment who are interested in changing career to work in cyber security and will be carried out through a syllabus informed by the research undertaken at the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), the UK's largest cyber security research centre.

The cyber security sector in Northern is estimated to provide over £70m in annual salaries and commands some of the best rates of compensation, not just in the wider economy but also in the tech industry.

Made up of both indigenous companies and inward investors, its stock has grown in the global cyber security world and Northern Ireland is now known to play host to a cluster of leading-edge companies and individuals working across the private, public and third sector.

As a result, it has wooed a number of big name foreign direct investors over the last few years, such as California-based Imperva. It announced in December that it was setting up a new base in Belfast creating 220 jobs.

Imperva joins other companies operating substantial cyber security bases in Northern Ireland such as Anomali, Black Duck Software, Rapid7 and Proofpoint, all of which help make the region the number one international location for US cyber security development projects, according to the FT's FDi Markets report.

The announcement was made at the Addressing the Skills Gap event held in The Mac in Belfast on Tuesday night. The panel discussion explored the growing skills gap in the technology sector in Northern Ireland particularly in cyber security but also in software development and data analytics.



Professor Philip Hanna, Director of Education at the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Queen's University Belfast, said: "The launch of the 40 scholarships for the Applied Cyber Security MSc at Queen's comes at an apt time for one of the fastest-growing sectors in Northern Ireland and in the world. Thirst for cyber security talent is strong and will intensify further in the future, so initiatives of this nature are essential to maintain the sector's vibrancy.

"Cyber security is exciting, fast paced and extremely rewarding and these scholarships will widen its accessibility."

Dr Karen Rafferty, Head of School, School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Queen's University Belfast, said: "This is a great example of academia flexing to meet the demands of industry. At Queen's we're striving to play our part as a critical pillar in the future of the Northern Ireland economy and these scholarships do just that.

"Cyber security is a sector with huge growth potential in the coming years and Queen's students will be at the centre of that journey."



The Applied Cyber Security MSc course itself aims to provide graduates with a comprehensive understanding of cyber security challenges facing industry and society through a syllabus informed by the research undertaken at CSIT at Queen's. It sits alongside the MSc programmes at Queen's in Data Analytics and Software Development.

Anyone interested in applying for the Queen's MSc in Applied Cyber Security should go to go.qub.ac.uk/appliedcyber.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/QueensUniversityBelfastbackscybersecuritysectorwithfundingfor40MScsc...
 
Description SECURING CONNECTED DEVICES: AN ARMS RACE - ACADEMY DISCOURSE BY PROFESSOR MÁIRE O'NEILL 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact ABOUT THE DISCOURSE
With the rapid proliferation of pervasive electronic devices in our lives, the internet of things (IoT) has become a reality and its influence on our day to day activities is set to further increase with a projected 125 Billion connected devices by 2030. However, this poses serious security and privacy issues as we will no longer have direct control over with whom and what our devices communicate. Counterfeit, hacked, or cloned devices acting on a network are a significant threat. In addition, IoT devices are often low-cost in area, low-power and typically are restricted in both memory and computing power.

This talk will outline the challenges in addressing security for resource-constrained IoT devices and some of the solutions currently being considered. The impact of quantum computers on security will also be discussed.


ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Professor Máire O'Neill (FIAE, MRIA) has a strong international reputation for her research in hardware security and applied cryptography. She is currently PI of the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), QUB, and Research Director of the £5M UK Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE), funded by EPSRC and the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). She also leads an EU H2020 SAFEcrypto project in the area of practical quantum-safe cryptography. She previously held an EPSRC Leadership Fellowship (2008-2014) and was a former holder of a UK Royal Academy of Engineering research fellowship (2003-2008). She has received numerous awards for her research work which include a 2014 Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal and British Female Inventor of the Year 2007. She has authored two research books and has over 140 peer-reviewed conference and journal publications.


ABOUT THE EVENT
Where: Academy House, 19 Dawson Street, Dublin 2

Date: 7th November 2018

Time: 6pm
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/SecuringConnectedDevicesAnArmsRace-AcademyDiscoursebyProfessorMaireO...
 
Description Spies and Dolls: The Future of IoT Security 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Professor Máire O'Neill was among an impressive line-up of speakers at the inaugural TEDx event at Queen's University Belfast.


The theme of the event 'OUTSIDE | IN' brought together bright minds to give ideas-focused talks, and on a wide range of subjects; to foster learning, inspiration and wonder - and provoke conversations that matter.

Professor O'Neill's talk 'Spies and Dolls: The Future of IoT Security' highlighted some of the issues with connected devices in our homes and what to do about it. During her talk, she demonstrated just how easy it is to hack some household devices with a doll.

Professor O'Neill commented: "It was an honour to be involved in the first ever TEDx event at Queen's University Belfast. The aim of my talk was to highlight the importance of considering security within the connected devices in our homes, including; Smart TVs, watches, toys etc and to raise the privacy and security issues that arise when our devices communicate with each other. It was great to have the opportunityto bring this subject to a general audience and to create awareness of this subject as it affects all of our daily lives."

The speakers at TEDxQUB included representation from each of QUB's faculties; Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Engineering and Physical Sciences, and Medicine, Health and Life Sciences.

Members of the public, business and political leaders, as well as friends of Queen's University Belfast attended at event.



Watch Professor O'Neills talk here.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/SpiesandDollsTheFutureofIoTSecurity.html
 
Description TEDxQueensUniversityBelfast - Spies and dolls - The future of IoT Security (O'Neill) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact TEDx Talk: Spies and Dolls - The Future of IoT Security
With the rapid proliferation of pervasive electronic devices in our lives, the internet of things (IoT) has become a reality and its influence on our day to day activities is set to further increase with a projected 125 Billion connected devices by 2030. However, this poses serious security and privacy issues as we will no longer have direct control over with whom and what our devices communicate. Counterfeit, hacked, or cloned devices acting on a network are also a significant threat.

Professor O'Neill's talk discusses the insecurity of smart devices and what we need to do to address the issue.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/public-engagement/BusinessEngagement/TEDxQueensUniversityBelfast/TEDx2019/
 
Description THREE LEADING QUEEN'S RESEARCHERS RECOGNISED IN PRESTIGIOUS MOBILE INDUSTRY AWARDS 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Three researchers from the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) at Queen's University Belfast have been shortlisted as finalists in the esteemed Mobile World Scholar Challenge.

The Mobile World Scholar Challenge is a global competition that showcases the best mobile research taking place in the world.

Dozens of applications from universities around the world were submitted during the two-month application period, and five finalists were chosen by GSMA, the trade body that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide.

Researchers from ECIT received an impressive three out of the five finalist places for their research, which represents the best in ground-breaking new technology.

The three finalists from ECIT are Dr Niall McLaughlin, Nan Wang and Muhammad Ali Babar Abbasi. Their research spans a variety of complex subjects within the mobile industry such as; Deep Learning for Mobile Malware Detection, Multi-Access Edge Computing, and 5G Network infrastructure.

Finalist Nan Wang, Postgraduate Research Student at ECIT, said: "It is an honour for my research to be recognised by the esteemed GSMA. My research is focused on Edge Computing and ECIT is leading the way in ensuring the adoption of this new technology.

"I have designed an Edge Computing system and developed a software framework for providing computing services on the system. Through this system multiple traditionally Cloud-hosted applications are able to service users from their adjacent places such as a home router. Consequently, delays experienced by application users are reduced."

The finals of the competition will take place at MWC19 in Barcelona, Spain on 27 February 2019. MWC19 is the largest gathering for the mobile industry in the world, bringing together the latest innovations, leading-edge technology from more than 2,400 companies and over 100,000 delegates.

The event showcases cutting edge ideas poised to impact the mobile world. The Mobile World Scholar Challenge forms part of the event and highlights new and impactful ideas from the academic and research communities across the globe.

Professor Dimitrios Nikolopoulos, Director of ECIT at Queen's University, commented: "I am delighted that our researchers have been recognised for the cutting-edge research that they have produced which will greatly impact the mobile industry on a global scale.

"To be recognised by GSMA, the global community of mobile network operators, is testament to the work that is being carried out across disciplines daily at ECIT. I wish each of our team members the very best of luck for the final and look forward to seeing the impact of their work on the mobile industry."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/ThreeleadingQueensresearchersrecognisedinprestigiousmobileindustryaw...
 
Description The Secretary of State visits ECIT 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, visited ECIT and toured the new CSIT Cyber Range and CWI Keysight Millimeter-Wave research lab


Pictured (L-R): Professor Máire O'Neill, Principal Investigator at CSIT, Queen's University Belfast; The Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; Professor Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor, Queen's University Belfast; and Professor Dimitrios Nikolopoulos, Director of ECIT, Queen's University Belfast.
The Secretary of State heard about how ECIT is accelerating economic growth through research and innovation in the fields of cyber security, wireless communications, data science and scalable computing.

Karen Bradley visited the Keysight Millimetre Wave Lab to learn more about ECIT'S Wireless research, which has applications in Mobile, 5G, Medical and Space. The Centre for Wireless Innovation (CWI) at ECIT is the UK's largest research, development and exploitation base in physical layer wireless, and one of the strongest in Europe.

Karen Bradley also visited CSIT's brand new Cyber Range, a powerful infrastructure that imitates real world networks, allowing both researchers and industry to practise their cyber technology knowledge and skills. The Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at ECIT, where the Cyber Range is housed, is the UK's Innovation and Knowledge Centre for cyber security, and is celebrating ten years of impact this year.

Professor Dimitrios Nikolopoulos, Director of ECIT, Queen's University Belfast said: "We were delighted to welcome The Secretary of State to ECIT to showcase the cutting-edge research being carried out at the Institute.

"We are also developing the next generation of leaders to meet the huge demand from industry for professionals in cyber security; wireless communications; data science and scalable computing."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/TheSecretaryofStatevisitsECIT.html
 
Description Transatlantic Cyber Security Policy Forum - Killarney 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact This conference aims to bring politicians, law enforcement, policy makers and cyber industry leaders from Ireland, UK, US and EU together to create an annual dialogue. The goal is to ensure that we expand and improve government and corporate partnerships in cyber security.

Topics for discussion at the conference include:

Emerging trends in Cyber Attacks
Deterrence, Detection and Punishment: The Policing and Law Enforcement Perspective
Research and Development in Cyber Security
National Security and Defence
This conference is scheduled for 9am-5pm on Friday 10 May at The Brehon Hotel in Killarney, Ireland.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://killarneyeconomicconference.com/cyber-security-transatlantic-policy-forum/
 
Description UK Cyber Security Cluster Meeting, DCMS London 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact UK Cyber Security Cluster Meeting, DCMS London
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description UK Defence Solutions Centre Engagement Day Belfast (Crozier, Mills) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact UK Defence Solutions Centre Engagement Day Belfast

Facilitating strong international partnerships and cooperation between UK Government, defence industry, academia and international customers
Created as part of the implementation plan for the Defence Growth Partnership (DGP) and jointly funded by government and industry, the UKDSC works closely with the UK's MOD, BEIS and Department for International Trade - Defence and Security Organisation (DIT DSO), the UK defence industry and academia.

This is a world first approach to collaboration in defence solutions and we believe this integrated model will position the UK defence industry as a world-leading centre of innovation.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.ukdsc.org/about/
 
Description UK Royal College of Defence Studies International Cohort (Crozier) 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The Royal College of Defence Studies instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level, to prepare them for the top posts in their respective services.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL http://www.da.mod.uk/Colleges-Business-Units/RCDS
 
Description UK cyber security sector worth £8.3 billion, research by Queen's University Belfast reveals 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The UK's cyber security industry is now worth an estimated £8.3 billion, with total revenues in the sector up 46 per cent since 2017, research from Queen's University Belfast has revealed.


The UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2020, published today by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, is based on research by the University's Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), in collaboration with Belfast-based economic and policy advisory practice Perspective Economics and global leading market research company Ipsos MORI.

Commenting on the findings, CSIT's Head of Strategic Partnerships and Engagement, David Crozier said: "This research clearly shows that support for cyber security innovation from the Government is having a positive impact in accelerating growth, employment and investment in the sector right across the UK. As the UK's Innovation and Knowledge Centre for cyber security, CSIT has been a key part of that success over the past decade."

The sector has seen significant growth in annual revenue and employment, as well as considerable investment in early-stage companies. The findings from the report show:



The number of active cyber security firms in the UK has increased 44 per cent - up from 846 in 2017 to over 1,200 at year-end 2019. This growth is the equivalent to a new cyber security business being set up in the UK every week
There are now approximately 43,000 full time employees working in the cyber security sector, up 37 per cent from 2017
Total revenues within the sector have increased by 46 per cent to an estimated £8.3 billion. On average, revenue per employee reached £193,500 - an increase of seven per cent since 2017
2019 was a record year for the sector with more than £348 million of investment
Over the last four years (2016-19), total investment identified within the cyber security sector has exceeded £1.1 billion, demonstrating how confidence has grown in the industry
Belfast-based B-Secur, which commercialises the application of patented ECG algorithms for a range of uses, was one firm that secured significant investment during the period. The company, which currently employs 35 staff, has raised $13m to date and has collaborated on a range of research and development projects with CSIT since 2015.

Crozier adds: "The report highlights how Government backed initiatives such as HutZero, Cyber101 and the London Office for Rapid Cyber Security Investment (LORCA) have played a key role in helping UK cyber security start-ups and SMEs develop new products and services, as well as improving their ability to raise investment and commercial performance. CSIT is a delivery partner on all three programmes."

Ahead of his speech at international cyber security conference SINET, Digital Minister Matt Warman said: "It's great to see our cyber security sector going from strength to strength. It plays a vital role in protecting the country's thriving digital economy and keeping people safe online.

"We are committed to seeing it grow and are investing £1.9 billion over five years through our National Cyber Security Strategy to make sure we lead the way in cyber innovation, develop and attract the best talent."

Alongside GDPR industry adoption, this growth has been driven by a number of factors such as the UK's world-leading technology sector, pro-innovation regulation, research and business-friendly environment.

Perspective Economics Director Sam Donaldson said: "This has been a highly unique and interesting research project for our team. It has been brilliant to track the UK's world-leading cyber security sector, and to witness such growth, innovation and potential across the country. We're looking forward to seeing the sector go from strength to strength in the years ahead."

The UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2020 can be found here.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/UKcybersecuritysectorworth83billionresearchbyQueensUniversityBelfast...
 
Description WORLDWIDE SUPPORT PROGRAMME ALLOWS CYBERSECURITY COMPANIES AND ENTREPRENEURS TO EXPLORE NEW MARKETS 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Global EPIC 'Soft Landing Programme' will offer companies and entrepreneurs a unique opportunity to 'soft land' for a trial period in the market of one of the Global EPIC ecosystems. It will provide a low risk entry trial to companies and entrepreneurs entering a new international market, accessing the resources they need to more readily tap into commercial opportunities. The Soft Landing Programme, which will be launched in the coming weeks, is operated by the Global Ecosystem of Ecosystems Partnership in Innovation and Cybersecurity (Global EPIC), a worldwide collaboration between security ecosystems to co-create and adopt world-changing solutions to high-impact cybersecurity challenges, both current and emergent. Several other Global EPIC keystones will join the programme later this year.

Within the soft landing programme, the ecosystems will provide, without cost to the companies and entrepreneurs, connections to their partner network, matchmaking with potential business partners, a meeting space, guidance on recruiting talented employees and market circumstances, incubator facilities and guidance on immigration and legal issues, leading to the possibility of establishing a permanent presence in the foreign market.

David Crozier, President of Global EPIC and Head of Strategic Partnerships and Engagement at Queen's University of Belfast's Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) said: "One of the founding principles of Global EPIC is that of "glocalisation" as it pertains to tackling the worldwide challenge that cybersecurity presents whilst simultaneously realizing local economic impact for our partners. This soft landing programme represents the first tangible manifestation of coordinated delivery by our diverse partners around the globe which will offer real benefit to innovative cybersecurity companies by providing support to enter new markets."

Richard Franken (Executive Director The Hague Security Delta Foundation): "Collaboration on a world-scale is crucial and sharing expertise is an important aspect of that. This is not only about talking but also about actually doing things together. By allowing innovative SMEs and start-ups to explore new markets and let them collaborate within a new cluster, this initiative will do just that."

The participating ecosystems in the soft-landing program are: bwtech@UMBC (Baltimore, U.S.A.), Carelton GCR (Ottawa, Canada), Centre for Secure Information Technologies - CSIT (Belfast, U.K.), Cyber Wales (Cardiff, U.K), Hague Security Delta (The Hague, Netherlands), ITRI (Taipei, Taiwan), Kosciuszko Institute (Krakow, Poland), City of Surrey (Surrey, Canada), UNB (Fredericton, Canada)

For more information on how to 'soft-land' in one of these markets, visit https://globalepic.org/softLanding
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/WorldwideSupportprogrammeAllowsCybersecurityCompaniesandEntrepreneur...
 
Description World leading cybersecurity expert assigned Regius Professorship 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact World leading cybersecurity expert Professor Máire O'Neill has been assigned a rare and prestigious Regius Professorship by the Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast.


The esteemed award, which is Northern Ireland's first, was bestowed on Queen's in 2016 by Her Majesty The Queen to recognise exceptionally high quality research in Electronics and Computer Engineering. Professor O'Neill, who is the youngest ever engineering professor at Queen's, is Interim Director of the University's Institute for Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT). She is also Principal Investigator of the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) and Director of the UK Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE).

Professor Ian Greer, Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast, commented: "I am delighted that Professor Máire O'Neill has been awarded this Regius Professorship.

"Under Professor O'Neill's leadership, researchers at ECIT have made great strides in making the changing global digital space more secure, connected and intelligent. They are continually developing cutting-edge solutions and accelerating their adoption by industry through substantial innovation activities."

Professor Greer added: "As a truly world class university, Queen's is making a positive impact right across the globe in solving current and emerging global challenges.

"The Regius Professorship is a very rare privilege and significant accolade, which is a reflection of the exceptionally high quality of research, innovation and research translation at ECIT."

Upon accepting the award, Professor O'Neill said: "I am deeply honoured to be appointed to Regius Professor at Queen's. I look forward to leading the team at ECIT in our exciting future plans to create a multi-disciplinary Global Innovation Institute, as part of the Belfast Region City Deal."

Professor O'Neill succeeds Professor Sir John McCanny in holding the Regius Professorship in Electronics and Computer Engineering, following his retirement in 2017.

The Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) is a Global Research Institute of Queen's University, Belfast.

Operating under the agenda setting theme of "Secure Connected Intelligence", ECIT is a globally recognised interdisciplinary institute, driven by research excellence, solving societal challenges and delivering impact through a unique model of open innovation.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/WorldleadingcybersecurityexpertassignedRegiusProfessorship.html
 
Description World leading network intelligence technology developer Titan IC to be acquired by Mellanox 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact The deal signals the latest boost for Belfast's thriving technology sector.


Titan IC, the leading developer of network intelligence (NI) and security technology has announced that it has reached an agreement to be acquired by Mellanox, a leading supplier of high-performance, end-to-end smart interconnect solutions for data center servers and storage systems.

The deal will combine best in class networking and deep packet inspection to accelerate search and big data analytics across a broad range of applications in data centers worldwide.

Titan IC was established in Belfast in 2007 as a spin out from QUBIS, the commercialisation arm of Queen's University, and the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT). Headquartered in the high-tech heart of Belfast's Titanic Quarter, Titan IC's world class team will become the center of advanced network intelligence research and development for Mellanox.

Mellanox CEO and president Eyal Waldman and Titan CEO Noel McKenna were today greeted at the CSIT headquarters by director at CSIT Máire O'Neill.

"We are pleased to become part of Mellanox and together we will accelerate the pace of innovation and will advance network intelligence to new levels of performance and insight," said Noel McKenna, CEO, Titan IC. "We have worked with Mellanox for many years to integrate our RXP regular expression processor into their advanced line of BlueField I/O Processing Units (IPUs). Now as part of Mellanox, we will be able to achieve new capabilities for cyber intelligence, intrusion detection and protection, and advanced data analytics applications."

The acquisition will further strengthen Mellanox's network intelligence capabilities delivered through the company's advanced ConnectX and BlueField families of SmartNIC and I/O Processing Unit (IPU) solutions.

"Network Intelligence is an important technology when combined with our industry-leading networking portfolio of switches, SmartNICs, and IPUs," said Eyal Waldman, president and CEO Mellanox Technologies. "Our customers will benefit from the deep analytics and enhanced security that will be delivered by the integration of our best-in-class Ethernet and InfiniBand products and world-leading deep packet inspection and analytics technologies from Titan IC. With this acquisition, our M&A investments total more than 1.2 billion dollars to date and more than 53 million dollars invested in startups to further our intelligent networking strategy."

Professor Máire O'Neill, Director of CSIT, commented: "As a spin-out from CSIT, the Centre for Secure Information Technologies at Queen's University Belfast, we are delighted to see the Titan IC team embark on this new chapter of their journey. It has been a pleasure to help support the growth and success of Titan over the years and we wish to continue the collaboration with our research teams at the university."
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/News/WorldleadingnetworkintelligencetechnologydeveloperTitanICtobeacquire...
 
Description irish Times article (Liopa) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Irish Times article about Liopa and underpinning research
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
URL https://www.irishtimes.com/business/innovation/read-my-lips-irish-start-up-gets-teeth-into-verificat...