Queen’s University Belfast opens cybersecurity research institute

With cybersecurity having become more important than ever before, Queen’s University Belfast has opened a new £5mn research institute that aims to reduce cyber threats by improving innovation in hardware security.

The new facility, named the Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE), is one of four across the UK, and will now become a global hub for research and innovation within hardware security over the coming years.

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One specific area that RISE will focus on is the internet of things, with its continual emergence having driven demand for hardware security innovation.

“There is huge demand for hardware security research and innovation,” said Maire O’Neill, a leading cryptography expert at Queen’s University. “As CSIT is renowned for its high-quality research in this field, and its emphasis on commercialisation of research, we are delighted to host RISE.”

“RISE is in an excellent position to become the go-to place for high quality hardware security research. A key aim is to bring together the hardware security community in the UK and build a strong network of national and international research partnerships.”

Launched at the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at the university, the facility was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).