World-beating IT security centre opens in NI
A globally-recognised, internationally-backed internet security facility has opened in Belfast.
The £30m Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), based at Queen's University, will spearhead the UK’s fight against cyber crime through developing new hardware and innovative software to combat computer hacking and ensure data can be stored safely.
The project has been backed by a host of multinational companies, including Microsoft, QinetiQ, Thales, BAe systems, Tyco International, Vodafone and American Dynamics, in addition to international research centres the University of California Berkely, and the National Taiwan University.
Employing eighty experts to work in the fields of data encryption, network security and intelligent video analysis, the centre demonstrates that the UK remains at the very forefront of global knowledge-based economies - a point reinforced by Professor John McCanny, the CSIT principal investigator, who stated it was ideally-placed to become a global leader thanks to the breadth and depth of its technological capabilities.
Queen's University Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Gregson said: “The opening of CSIT at Queen's, is the most bold and exciting development the United Kingdom has seen to date in terms of information security.
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“Cyber-security is a global issue that affects us all. Ninety seven per cent of business in the UK now relies on the internet and other IT systems. By coupling the pioneering research undertaken at CSIT with economic development, Queen's will secure the UK's position in cyberspace.”
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