Research
The research of the CSRC is focused around four themes: Cyber Security Behaviours, Cyber Security Analytics, Software and Systems Security, and Critical Infrastructure Security.
"Welcome to the Cybersecurity Research Centre (CSRC) here at Lancaster University. The CSRC is internationally renowned for interdisciplinary cyber security that places individuals at the heart of security decision-making. We are a rich vibrant community of multidisciplinary researchers passionate about driving the development of solutions to the challenges of modern digital life. For well over a decade, the CSRC has tackled the complexities of cybersecurity research, encompassing both human and technological aspects within socio-technical systems.
Our focus on socio-technical systems research enables us to take a broader view of where the cyber security challenges are and where the solutions may be found. We have great strength in applied and practical research and we often tell people that we like to ‘build what we study, and study what we build’. By working with the most innovative organisations we are able to help organisations to grow, adapt and protect themselves, increasing prosperity for all. We want to work with you to help keep our global society safe."
Professor Nicholas Race
Director of the Cyber Security Research Centre
Our principles are built on four pillars, developed through reflection on our own practices and engagement with our partners. This unique blend of interdisciplinary, grounded and impactful research has made Lancaster a beacon of cyber security excellence in the UK landscape leading to a range of innovative research programmes – establishing Lancaster as a leading international centre in cyber security research.
We consider humans, organisations and technical systems together.
Our research utilises our rich disciplinary expertise to build a vibrant interdisciplinary ecosystem able to tackle the complex socio-technical challenges that cyber security represents. Our community is able to apply knowledge and research methods across disciplinary boundaries to more insightfully protect the digital world: in fact, it provokes new thinking about established concepts around online/offline, attacker/insider and risk/protection.
We build what we study, we study what we build.
We use a combination of theoretical and applied methods to ensure our research tackles real world problems. This results in our research creating impact in the communities we serve. From large-scale studies conducted in socio-technical settings – such as exploring the resilience of the European Internet Backbone – to validating and benchmarking novel security solutions in the wild, we construct contextually valid, state of the art facilities to explore everything from behavioural impacts of cyber-attacks to the utility of next generation anomaly detection systems.
A research culture to inspire the next generation.
We are proud of our inclusive, interdisciplinary research community that produces insightful and influential cyber security researchers. We foster a supportive environment for our researchers to progress and achieve their research potential. To support this, we have invested in programmes of staff development mapped to the Vitae Researcher Development Framework and supporting community development and cohesion activities.
Engaging with the very best partners.
Our research delivers impact in business, policy and the wider public. Lancaster has a long tradition of working with the private sector, from SMEs to Apex organisations, to ensure our research delivers a material change in the way they operate and the capabilities they have. We also use our research credibility to be a rational voice in government and public to educate and inform on the radical, complex challenges that cyber security represents. We pride ourselves on how we build sustainable, transformative relationships to deliver disruptive, innovative research with considerable, internationally recognised, socio-economic impact.
The research of the CSRC is focused around four themes: Cyber Security Behaviours, Cyber Security Analytics, Software and Systems Security, and Critical Infrastructure Security.
We are one of the few multidisciplinary centres to tackle human and technological cyber security challenges in socio-technical systems by integrating computer science researchers with expertise from social and behavioural sciences.
We pride ourselves on developing sustainable relationships with industry. In particular, we have been recognised by government and received national awards for our engagement with small and medium enterprises.
We have cutting-edge facilities to develop and test new products and processes for the global marketplace, our business partnerships and engagement team can help you access a wide range of facilities. All our facilities are supported by teams of experienced technicians.
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