Led by the University’s world-leading School of Computing Science, today’s announcement is a renewal of Newcastle’s Centre of Excellence status, making it a key player in the Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy which was announced last year.

Announcing the fourteen UK Centres of Excellence for Cyber Security Research, Ben Gummer, Minister for the Cabinet Office & Paymaster General, said the ground-breaking research would help us “to stay one step ahead of the growing threat of cyber attacks.”

“This Government is determined to make the UK the safest place in the world to live, work and do business online,” he said.

“That is why we need truly ground-breaking research to stay one step ahead of the growing threat of cyber attacks.

“By engaging with business, industry and academia, we will ensure that we develop the skills and research we need to tackle this growing threat to the UK.”

Centres of Excellence

Academic Centres of Excellence will specialise in developing the latest cyber security techniques and contribute to the UK’s increased knowledge and capability in this field.

All fourteen, which include Newcastle, Oxford, Imperial College London and Cambridge, are now recognised by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) which was launched in February 2017 in London.

Ranked 76th in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016-2017 Newcastle University is among the best for Computing Sciences.

In August, the School will relocate to the state-of-the-art £59m Urban Sciences Building on Science Central which includes purpose-built labs to house the Centre of Excellence for Cybercrime and Computer Security.

Professor Thomas Gross, Newcastle University’s Director of the Centre for Cybercrime and Computer Security, said:

“At Newcastle, our focus is primarily on how humans interact with security systems. Such as how we choose our passwords, how we protect ourselves online, ways of making digital infrastructure more secure and developing new systems such as electronic voting.

“Our recognition as a centre of excellence is a reflection of the excellent research staff and students we have here at Newcastle.”

Rigorous criteria

Underpinned by £1.9 billion of investment, the National Cyber Security Strategy sets out the Government’s key cyber security objectives:

• Deter hostile action against the UK
• Defend the UK against evolving cyber threats
• Develop the cyber security industry, create a self-sustaining pipeline of talent into the UK.

Investment into cyber security is almost doubling in order to meet the growing threat and to build the infrastructure necessary to put UK cyber security on a sustainable footing.

Chris Ensor, Deputy Director for Cyber Security Skills and Growth at the NCSC, adds:

“It’s fantastic to see so many leading universities committed to trailblazing improvements to the UK’s cyber security research.

“At the NCSC, we are absolutely committed to maintaining and improving our already strong reputation as a global leader in cutting edge research, and look forward to collaborating with these establishments to make the UK the safest place to live and work online.

“These universities conduct world-class cyber security research and this initiative will improve the way academics, government and business work together – benefiting the whole of the country.”

All universities which are recognised as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research have met rigorous criteria which assess the quantity and quality of their researchers, their research output and the impact of their research.

All of the successful universities have invested considerable capital – financial, intellectual, managerial, leadership and so on – over years to grow their capacity and capability to the point where they meet the standards for recognition.

Universities will have Centre of Excellence status for five years from June 2017 before assessments are carried out again.