WMG selected to work on multi-million cyber security programme
THE Warwick Manufacturing Group’s Cyber Security Centre at the University of Warwick is to host a million pound programme designed to enhance the cyber security of many new technologies.
A team from the government-funded Trustworthy Software Initiative will work alongside WMG Cyber Security researchers at the university over the next two years in a programme to improve the security of software.
Professor Tim Watson, director of WMG’s Cyber Security Centre, said: “Virtually every aspect of our lives is touched by information technology running a diverse range of software; from the way we listen to music, the phones we carry with us at all times, the vehicles we drive, to the computers that support the information economy.
“The trend to embed software in everyday items is accelerating. However, there are concerns about the quality of the software that underpins all of this, and we have not seen significant improvements.”
Tony Dyhouse, Knowledge Transfer Director at TSI said: “Our daily lives and industrial processes are now heavily reliant on a wide range of underpinning software. Yet the root cause of many cyber security problems is untrustworthy software, caused by vulnerabilities relating to safety, reliability, availability, resilience and security.
“There is a pressing need to address the quality and robustness of our software – to establish its trustworthiness. This is the mission of the Trustworthy Software Initiative, which is supported and funded through the Government’s National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP). We have made a significant start in the UK by documenting, for first time, the overall principles for effective software trustworthiness in PAS 754:2014 Software trustworthiness – Governance and management – Specification.”
TSI is working with the higher education community and professional bodies to raise awareness of this, he added.
It will support the development of attractive teaching and learning materials for use in undergraduate degrees, and in Continuous Professional Development, which will help to promote better understanding of securing trustworthiness.
“TSI is currently engaged with 25 higher education institutions and that number will grow as the projects underway mature and develop,” said Dyhouse.
“We are looking forward to working closely with colleagues from WMG’s Cyber Security Centre to help make everyone’s expanding use of technology more reliable and secure.”
