OMAHA, Neb., 30 May 2010. A group of military communications and electronics industry experts are calling for increased computer and information security research and development. The group made their comments last week in a panel discussion last week at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) STRATCOM Cyberspace Symposium in Omaha, Neb.
"We see some promising emerging technologies in many of the areas that our Cybersecurity Research Consortium is addressing," said panel member Dr. Robert Brammer, senior vice president and chief technology officer of the Northrop Grumman Information Systems sector in Reston, Va. "Substantial work by the government, industry, and academia is needed to realize the potential of these technologies for large-scale implementations that will have national impact."
Other panel participants included Dr. Tom Knight of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Mass., Dr. Eugene Spafford, Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., Dr. Michael Van Putte of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va.
Brammer, Knight, and Spafford are members of the Northrop Grumman Cybersecurity Research Consortium, formed in 2009 to help develop leap-ahead technologies in the cyber security field.
During the panel discussion, the participants addressed the urgent national need for increased cybersecurity research and development for emerging technologies. The participants also discussed the programs currently in progress to help address this need.
The Northrop Grumman Cybersecurity Research Consortium includes Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, MIT, and Purdue. The research conducted through the consortium involves the protection of information and information systems on networks in hardware and software security, privacy, simulation of cyber attacks and defenses, and protection of critical national infrastructures.
Currently, the consortium is involved in 10 projects at member universities and at Northrop Grumman. For more information contact Northrop Grumman online at www.northropgrumman.com/cybersecurity
