The US cyber firm Rapid7 has launched a security research partnership with the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB, pictured) in cloud security.
CSIT’s Cyber-AI Hub will use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques to detect risks and active threats within cloud IT. An initial research area is the identification of the potential exposure of sensitive information. According to a recent report by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), cybercriminals possessing any level of sophistication will soon be able to use AI to enhance their initial access capabilities. This includes access to cloud services, which are notoriously complex and therefore difficult to secure, the partners say — leaving many organisations vulnerable to a potential data breach.
Raj Samani, senior vice president and chief scientist, Rapid7, said: “This security research partnership comes at a time when there is still a defender advantage surrounding AI. That window will close, however, so an industry-academia partnership like Rapid7 and CSIT have is critical for expediting the discovery and delivery of security advancements to businesses and society at large.”
About CSIT
CSIT, the Centre for Secure Information Technologies, at Queen’s University Belfast, launched the Cyber-AI Hub in 2023 to do research at the intersection of cybersecurity and AI. This includes a Cyber-AI Doctoral Training Programme with 15 PhD candidates, bursaries for 40 students to join Queen’s MSc in Applied Cyber Security or Artificial Intelligence, and a Cyber-AI Technologies Hub involving eight industry partners. The Cyber-AI Hub is funded by the UK Government from the New Deal for Northern Ireland through Innovate UK.
Meanwhile recently an AI Collaboration Centre (AICC) was announced, to be based at Ulster University in partnership with Queen’s University Belfast. And Queen’s CSIT and the University of Surrey’s 5G/ 6G Innovation Centre are academic leads in the Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Open Secure Networks (FORT), as paid for by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Over the next eight years, FORT will train about 50 post-graduate researchers in wireless communications, cybersecurity, networking, and AI. Industry partners are: Amazon Web Services, Ampliphae, Angoka, AWTG, Catapult Satellite Applications, Codasip, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, HP, Intel, Interdigital, Keysight Technologies, Kyndryl, National Physical Laboratory, Nvidia, OpenWeb, Qualcomm, Rolls Royce, Virgin Media O2, and Viavi Solutions.
