UW Gets $50M To Lead U.S. Science Research Security

07.24.24

UW Gets $50M To Lead U.S. Science Research Security

Sophisticated foreign entities seek to access and alter research, UW-led tools and training aims to stop them

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced that the University of Washington (UW) will receive $50 million to lead U.S. efforts to prevent international cyberattackers from compromising the security and integrity of science research.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the National SECURE (Safeguarding the Entire Community of the U.S. Research Ecosystem) Center will be led by UW, with support from nine institutions of higher education.

"U.S. scientific research is the envy of the world, and we know highly skilled foreign attackers are deploying extremely sophisticated hacks to steal our innovations," said Sen. Cantwell. "The theft of technology, software, and trade secrets costs the U.S. up to $600 billion a year. That's why Congress mandated the NSF establish a clearinghouse for research security in the CHIPS and Science Act. The SECURE Center, led by a $50 million award to the University of Washington, will give universities and researchers the new, state-of-the-art tools and training necessary to protect our research and allow our scientists to focus on keeping the U.S. at the leading edge of innovation."

The SECURE Center will design new state-of-the-art software, tools, and training so universities can keep up to date with the constantly changing landscape of cyberattacks and research security threats. Foreign adversaries launch sophisticated attacks to download sensitive files and monitor email and network traffic - for months or years -- until they are detected and the vulnerabilities patched. This type of access to systems allows hackers to view and download proprietary research, and could allow them to delete or alter research files, making a one-stop-shop with the most up to date resources and tools like the SECURE Center vital to research security.

During the 2010s, the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory was targeted by a malign foreign entity during a sophisticated hacking and "phishing" email campaign to students and researchers over several years.

Mark Haselkorn, professor in the UW's Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering and director of the College of Engineering's Center on Collaborative Systems for Security, Safety, and Resilience (CoSSaR), will be director and principal investigator of the SECURE Center.

Sen. Cantwell is the Senate's leading champion for U.S. science and technology research. In July 2022, she spearheaded passage of the CHIPS & Science Act, a $250 billion package that represented the biggest-ever investment in U.S. tech innovation.

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