A new network aiming to protect cyber security will be led by Oxford University’s Department of Computer Science. The project, which is set to launch in early 2025, has received a £6 million investment from the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The Cyber Security Research and Networking Environment (CRANE) hopes to create new insights into how to achieve security in accordance with Design and Default under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) through utilising the benefit of technologies and intense collaboration.
The initiative’s ambition is to facilitate better cyber security across the nation’s economy, including a wide range of sectors, such as manufacturing, healthcare, and law enforcement. This variety will make businesses, charities and individuals more resilient against cyber threats.
Project lead Professor Andrew Martin from the Department of Computer Science said: “There is a pressing need for improvements in cyber security across a broad spectrum of social and technical research. We want to help the community to identify areas where research can bring the most benefit and encourage its development right across the UK and beyond.”
The UK is the third most targeted country in the world for cyber-attacks, after the United States and Ukraine.
One of CRANE’s core objectives include maximising interdisciplinary research through collaborations with researchers in fields such as computer science, psychology, social sciences, law and economics. This will allow them to stay engaged with relevant technological advancements, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing. They intend to use a risk management strategy called “horizon scanning” to ensure that their project stays current and researchers remain ahead of trends and adapt to the changing digital landscape.
The project will be co-led by professors from Abertay University, University of Bath, University College London, and University of Birmingham. One of their ambitions is to foster a collaborative environment, with regional events to minimise travel and integrate a range of sectors, from government and industry to non-profit organisations. They are working with the UK National Cyber Strategy to strengthen the international cyber ecosystem and reach out to as many potential collaborators as possible.
They intend to establish a new “learned society”, an organised group dedicated to research within a selected academic discipline, on cyber security research. This hopes to integrate UK businesses as well as voluntary and charity communities.
Minister for Cyber Security Feryal Clark said that the new government has made cyber defences a “national priority” and this network will help generate “the UK’s cyber leaders of tomorrow.”
