UK universities helping Japan counter cyber security attacks  

23 February 2015

Queen's Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), a UK Cyber Security Academic Centre of Excellence, has signed an important ‘Memoranda of Understanding’ with the Network Security Laboratory of the Japanese National Institute of Communications and Technology (NICT).

The partnership between Queen’s, Lancaster University, Imperial College London, and NICT, the sole Japanese national laboratory dedicated to information and communications technology research, was brokered through the Science and Innovation Network.

The agreement will see the institutions work in partnership on ground-breaking ideas and technologies to protect computers and data from cyber-attacks.

Commenting on the agreement, Queen’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Patrick Johnston, said: “This cyber security collaboration is the latest example of our growing reputation as a powerhouse of world-class research, promoting innovation, advancing knowledge and supporting the needs of society.”

Dr Godfrey Gaston, Director of Operations at CSIT at Queen’s, said: "The threat to our cyber security respects no borders and is truly global in its reach. This is an exciting opportunity for us to work with Japan’s premier Cybersecurity Research Institute and reflects CSIT's growing reputation as a global innovation hub for cyber security research."

Welcoming the signing DG Toshiyuki Minami of the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication said: "With the growing degree of threats in cyberspace, now is the time to enhance cooperation together with industry, academia, government and also internationally. We would like to learn from the experience of the London Olympics and develop further resilient measures to enhance cyber security."

British Ambassador to Japan Tim Hitchens replied by stating "Japan and the UK share values toward the governance of cyberspace. I look forward to seeing the partnership for cyber security become even stronger, including the cooperation in research and development."

Representatives of CSIT visited Japan along with representatives from Lancaster University and Imperial College London, two other UK Cyber Security Academic Centres of Excellence, for the signing ceremony hosted at the Ambassador’s Residence of the British Embassy in Tokyo. Following the ceremony, delegates from the three universities and the NICT participated in a workshop to discuss the framework and themes for research collaboration.

Media inquiries to Andrew Kennedy, at Queen's University Communications Office, call 028 9097 5384 or email comms.officer@qub.ac.uk

Photo caption: Dr Godfrey Gaston (front right), Director of Operations at CSIT signs the MOU with Director General Dr Kazumasa Taira from NICT while DG Toshiyuki Minami of Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication and British Ambassador to Japan Tim Hitchens, (back right) look on.

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