De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester is launching a centre dedicated to cyber protection and the growing need for effective systems in the face of a growing cyber crisis.
The creation of the Cyber Security Centre (CSC) is a direct response to increasing concern among experts, governments and business that computers and networks are at risk of increasingly sophisticated attacks by cyber criminals.
The Information Security Breaches Survey 2012 – compiled by Infosecurity Europe in association with the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS) - showed that 93% of large organisations and 76% of small organisations had a breach in security in the past year.
"Too much of the energy of the community of cyber experts has been devoted to well-intentioned, but ultimately futile attempts to take security seriously," said Tim Watson, director of the new CSC.
The breadth and depth of the challenges and opportunities presented by the cyber domain is unprecedented in human history, he said.
"We will fail in the task of ensuring the protection of cyberspace unless we move beyond the conventional boundaries between academia and the public and private sectors," said Watson.
The central mission of the CSC, he said, is the safety and security of the human experience, which is achieved through the development of a collaborative, international and multi-disciplinary approach to cyber protection.
"We need to move towards the development of effective, pragmatic solutions that address concrete business and operational needs," said Watson.
The CSC will provide:
A cyber security higher apprenticeship scheme
Cyber protection intensive summer school
Hybrid masters for employers to provide staff with skills in cyber security
The development of a new international multidisciplinary journal of cyber protection
Research into the cyber protection of transport systems
