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The Network & Information Security Technology Lab (NISTL) at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) conducts research in securing networked systems against the growing threat of cyber crime. The research has generated a correlated set of new security protocols, novel system composition methods and efficient digital forensic analysis schemes for more effective layered security protection. Their main impacts for the period 01/2008 - 07/2013 are highlighted below:
In addition to the above direct impacts, our work is also beneficial to other organisations and even the general public, as they all require security techniques for information protection.
Professor Sasse created, developed and delivered the user-centric perspective that now underpins security thinking in both corporate and public-sector domains. This perspective shaped the UK government's Identity Assurance Programme (IDAP), a federated identity solution that will provide access to all e-government services in the UK. HP has incorporated the compliance budget model into its Security Analytics product, which enables companies to calculate the impact of a given security mechanism on individual and corporate productivity. Sasse's work also underpins new and improved security products, including First Cyber Security's SOLID and Safe Shop Window tools, which protects over 70% of UK online shopping revenue; GrIDSure's one-time PIN system (now part of the SafeNet Authentication Service); and iProov's authentication service.
Professor Ross Anderson's (University of Cambridge) research in security economics has had considerable impact on public policy and industry practice. Through two reports for ENISA, his work has directly influenced European Commission policy on combatting cyber-crime and on protecting the internet infrastructure. Through his membership of a Blackett Review and appearances before parliamentary committees, he has influenced UK government policy on cyber- security. Personally, and through the positions to which members his research team have moved, his research has influenced a range of organisations, including the US government, the European Union, Google, and Microsoft.
The extensive knowledge and understanding built up by the National Centre for Cyberstalking Research (NCCR) at the University of Bedfordshire (UoB) has provided the basis for decisions, plans and training programmes by UK government and official bodies including the Stalking and Harassment Working Group of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), who are seeking to understand, counter and legislate for cyberstalking; a change in UK law has taken place. Public presentations and extensive international media coverage of the NCCR findings has resulted in an appreciation of, and public debate on, the nature and dangers of cyberstalking, along with potential protection options for victims.
By default, Internet traffic is vulnerable to eavesdropping and modification. TLS is a protocol that has become the de facto method for securing application-layer messages. TLS is implemented in all major web browsers and servers and is used daily by hundreds of millions of people for applications such as e-commerce, social networking and Internet banking. Royal Holloway researchers identified flaws in the way in which TLS encrypts data, resulting in practical attacks that compromised the security goals of TLS. The researchers also helped major vendors, such as Google, Microsoft and Oracle, to assess and develop countermeasures to the attacks.
Work conducted at UEL in the area of secure software systems engineering has had impacts on both the private and public sectors, in the UK and abroad. Through its application to financial pre-employment screening it has enabled an award-winning UK company to improve its security processes and become a world leader with respect to secure systems in their sector. This has, in turn, allowed the company to develop a competitive advantage in the market and attract more and larger multinational clients. In the public service sector our work has enabled a Greek governmental department — the National Gazette — to analyse the security implications of fully automating their processes and identify security mechanisms that enhance the security of their new systems. This has improved their service delivery, with significant impacts on Greek society.
Research in the UoA has underpinned the development of the current version of BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing), a technology to enable secure volunteer computing. The research was done as part of the climateprediction.net project that is currently managed as CPDN through the UoA, supporting international climate modelling. CPDN models climate change using donated cycles on users' computers, with almost 700,000 users registered by 2013. Significant work to develop BOINC in CPDN has enabled the public to engage with science more easily and conveniently. BOINC has become recognised as the key open-source tool for volunteer computing and is also available to companies to create their own grid networks. It has been used for a range of applications from driving experiments to find the Higgs particle to using home PCs to detect earthquakes.
Research examining the vulnerabilities in electronic payment systems conducted by Professor Ross Anderson and his research team at the University of Cambridge since 1995 has had profound impact on the current generation of payment systems. Research outcomes have (i) led existing businesses to redesign application programming interfaces (APIs) used by hardware security modules; (ii) created a new company, Cronto; (iii) convinced authorities to review certification systems so that products are more secure; and (iv) fuelled public awareness of, and discourse about, the security of electronic payment systems.
Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) is a very well known, international specification for secure mobile radio and `walkie-talkie' communication, that is extensively used and relied upon by emergency and public safety services such as police, ambulance and fire services, as well as governmental and private bodies. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) began standardising TETRA in the 1990s and it is now widely used throughout the world. Foundations of its success include resilience and reliability, but security is a major feature, being underpinned by expert cryptographic design. In particular the authentication and key generation mechanisms in TETRA rely on a block cipher (HURDLE) which was designed by a team of cryptographers at Royal Holloway.
The work carried out at Royal Holloway underpins the integrity and security of TETRA safety- critical networks throughout the world to the present day. A secure design for emergency service communications minimises both the amount of disruption criminals can cause to service operations, and the amount of operational information such criminals can glean from eavesdropping, contributing to the safety and security of society as a whole as well as the economic benefits to manufacturers of TETRA-based equipment.
This case study highlights the research at Plymouth University into the development of a specialist security thread in banknotes which has been commissioned and adopted by De La Rue, the world's largest commercial currency printer and papermaker. The system has provided quality assurance for over five billion banknotes, including the Euro, and improved the performance of a worldwide business through the introduction of new technology. Potential future losses through counterfeit have been mitigated by the improved quality assurance systems.