Institute for Security Science and Technology Preface
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Celebrating 10 years of challenge-led security science at Imperial College London Institute for Security Science and Technology Preface Sir Keith O’Nions Former President & Rector of Imperial College London Ten years ago the security challenges facing From its inception ISST was an interdisciplinary individuals, the wider population and our digital institute drawing participation and interest from and physical infrastructures were receiving across Imperial’s faculties, and building cross increasing attention. The UK government was cutting programmes. It drew on one of Imperial’s developing a comprehensive National Security great and enduring strengths – a willingness of Framework and it was clear that universities with researchers to cross the boundaries of departments their capacity for interdisciplinary research had and faculties and bring their talents to bear on new a much bigger role to play. opportunities and challenges. It also developed a Imperial had recognised this opportunity series of international connections from the outset and in mid-2008 I was invited, following more using both the networks of its founding members than eight years in government roles, to join and the help and generosity of its board of advisors. the College and establish a security institute. Today, a decade on, the need for multidisciplinary I was delighted to accept. The formation of the research in security science and technology within Institute of Security Science and Technology universities is as great as ever. It is a pleasure thus became Imperial’s response to this need to see ISST continuing to grow and flourish with and opportunity. The Institute’s initial strategy increasingly ambitious programmes in both research was straightforward – to become a portal for and teaching. accessing world-leading interdisciplinary research Furthermore it has become a tribute to the role and also a trusted interface for Government that universities such as Imperial College are able and industry. play in addressing major societal challenges. Introduction to the ISST The Institute for Security Science and Technology is point for multidisciplinary activities and an interface Imperial College London’s hub for security research to stakeholders, and to formulate and apply new and engagement. areas of knowledge and technology solutions, as We coordinate interdisciplinary research in well as providing independent scientific advice. security across Imperial College London. We further act as a security science, technology and innovation Our vision interface for academia, government and industry. Geo-political uncertainties, climate change and The Institute was founded in 2008 as one of changing cyber and physical attack methods give Imperial College’s Global Challenge Institutes. rise to a constantly evolving security landscape. Each Institute has been formed to promote We envisage, design and coordinate the application interdisciplinary working to meet the greatest of science and technology to answer the grand challenges faced by society, to become a focal security challenges raised. 2 Institute for Security Science and Technology Some words from our Co-Directors and Deputy Director Professor Chris Hankin Co-Director, ISST Professor of Computing Science, Department of Computing The academic year of 2008/2009 was an exciting mix of policy work, building research programmes something of a watershed for me; it was in ISST and supporting security researchers across the College. the last time that I had sabbatical leave. I The two main research programmes to date have been in cyber had just stepped down as Deputy Principal security and data analytics. ISST holds the GCHQ Academic Centre of the Faculty of Engineering (Vice Dean of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACE-CSR) status for the in today’s currency) and I was preparing College, has led our involvement in the Research Hub for security, myself for return to the Department of privacy and trust in the Internet-of-Things (PETRAS) and has been Computing as a full-time academic. I was involved in two of the national cyber security research institutes, aware that Sir Keith, followed by Andrew Burton, had joined the leading one of them The Research Institute in Trustworthy Inter- College to establish a new Institute and, since my research had connected Cyber-Physical Systems (RITICS). The data analytics moved towards cyber security, I enthusiastically engaged with programme has conducted a variety of projects for UK and the new enterprise. Keith and Andrew encouraged me to attend overseas governments and has recently specialised in social my first EPSRC sandpit, about Detecting Acts of Terrorism, and media analytics. The policy work has contributed to important that led to me becoming Principal Investigator of the Making publications across a number of UK Government Departments. Sense project. Making Sense was a multi-disciplinary project At this point in the Institute’s history, there are a number using visual analytics to support analysts in investigating acts of exciting new opportunities on the horizon. The two that of terrorism, and I led a team from nine universities. are likely to have the most impact are the new Centre for Up until that point, my research had focussed on an area Financial Engineering and Artificial Intelligence and our plans known as “Language-based Security”. This involved the to launch education programmes at both the doctoral and analysis of computer programs to understand the way in which Masters levels. We are also beginning to collaborate much they processed data. The work built on my expertise in static more actively with the other Imperial College Institutes, programme analysis. Language-based security aimed to ensure particularly with medical colleagues. that “secret” information was not leaked to the outside world. Unfortunately, the world is no more secure now than it was Making Sense opened a new area of work for me; at Imperial we 10 years ago – in fact, it could be argued that political instability concentrated on the analysis of data and, surprisingly, some of and the effects of climate change and other factors are making the analysis techniques were not so different from my earlier work. it less secure. The security threat may change but the Imperial Soon after I finished my sabbatical, Sir Keith was elevated to academic community is well-placed to contribute to solutions the position of Rector and invited me to take over as Director of to whatever problems may arise in future. I expect the next ten ISST, which I did in January 2010. The last eight years have been years to be an even more successful period for ISST. Professor Bill Lee Co-Director, ISST Professor in Ceramic Science and Engineering, Department of Materials My association with the ISST began when MSc Security and Resilience: Science and Technology which I joined as Co-Director in July 2017, to work will start its first cohort of students in October 2019. We plan with Chris Hankin on a remit to expand to make an Introduction to Security Science course available the portfolio of research and develop our for undergraduates. training programmes. In addition, initiatives to support cohorts of PhD students For the former, Jane Lac our outstanding across the broad field of security science, in collaboration Manager, has helped us make with other UK universities and supported by Government appointments in key areas including and industry, are planned. Laurence Williams FREng OBE in nuclear security, Washington Largely through Deeph Chana we have been working Ochieng FREng in transport security and PJ Beaghton in closely with David Gann CBE (Imperial’s Vice-President finance security. Sir Keith O’Nions also joined our team as a for Innovation) on developments at Imperial’s White City Distinguished Research Fellow. With Jane’s assistance we’ve also campus. We’ve recently seen Airbus take space at White initiated an ISST Champion’s Group with a representative from City, as well as DSTL’s Defence and Security Accelerator each Department (with knowledge of security issues), meeting (DASA), and this along with all these initiatives makes the monthly to discuss potential collaborations across College. future exciting, and busy, for us! Finally, Max Swinscow-Hall, In the training domain and working with the whole ISST team, our Communications and Outreach Officer, will ensure you Jane and Bill Proud (Associate Director) have developed the are aware of all these developments. Institute for Security Science and Technology 3 Deeph Chana PhD Deputy Director, ISST Professor of Practice, Imperial College Business School In 2012 I joined the ISST to help develop work of other government departments through a role in the and grow its programme, and connect it Home Office. My other key responsibilities included briefing to stakeholders outside of academia. This Secretaries of State in the aftermath of national incidents and was a welcomed step following various developing international partnerships. research positions in both academia and In 2010 I decided to leave the civil service and transition industry, as well as security-relevant roles to the private sector as I wanted to connect with technology in UK Government. development more directly. I joined an exciting quantum Jumping back to September 11th, 2001, cascade laser technology company in Scotland and then got over a decade prior to me joining ISST, I was in the final days involved in numerous entrepreneurial style STEM projects of writing up my physics PhD thesis when the terrorist attacks ranging from trace detection, crowd analysis, cyber security, in New York took place. The weeks and months that followed autonomous vehicles, material science and infrastructure were filled with discussions on everything from geopolitics, security and resilience. to the resilience of cities and buildings, and the measures Since taking up the Deputy Director role at ISST in 2012, needed to prevent airlines from being hijacked. It seemed I co-founded the Institute’s ongoing activity in the cyber security to me that many of the emerging debates could be better of industrial control systems, RITICS, and have undertaken informed by an improved consideration of evidence.