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March 2004
It's a familiar scenario: A destructive virus enters our organization's
computer system through an apparently innocent file or email and quickly
threatens to bring down the entire network, potentially destroying critical
information and diverting important resources to try to manage it.
Vulnerabilities in our information technology infrastructure have become a
major problem in both the public and private sectors, resulting in millions
of dollars in lost productivity and resources.
Alexander Wolf and Antonio Carzaniga
The College of Engineering and Applied Science launched a new
Computer and Communications Security Research and Education Center (CCSC)
in 2003 to advance the technologies of computer and communications security
and the policies governing their proper development and use. The center's
mission includes educating graduate and undergraduate students, and assisting
industry partners in this area of growing national concern.
The center has 11 faculty from three departments on the Boulder campus, who
bring expertise in an array of disciplines, including operating systems,
networks, telecommunications, database management systems, software
engineering, sensor networks, mathematics, information theory, economics,
law, public policy, and human factors.
The center takes a broad view of security issues and incorporates the needs
of business and government entities that are faced with potential threats
ranging from opportunistic viruses to insider threats to widely dispersed
and coordinated terrorist attacks. Banking, health care, transportation,
telecommunications, energy, and entertainment are among the industries that
depend on secure computer and communication technologies.
"We are looking at these problems from both technical and social perspectives
to try to find a sustainable balance between economic growth and a secure cyber
infrastructure," says CCSC Director Alexander Wolf.
The center offers undergraduate and graduate courses in computer and
communications security, and hosts up to 10 undergraduate students each summer
for security-related research.
Current partners include IBM,
the Internet2 Consortium,
the U.S. Air Force,
the Army Research Office,
the National Science Foundation,
and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The center is looking for additional companies that want to partner in
security research and education.
This article was reprinted from the Spring 2004 issue of "Corporate Partner",
an annual publication of the College of Engineering and Applied Science
carrying news of interest to business and industry.
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