NYU’s Center for Cybersecurity (CCS) is an interdisciplinary academic center in which leading edge research, teaching, and scholarship are directed into meaningful real-world technology and policies.

IMPACT

CCS faculty and students work to address attacks on many fronts that threaten the security, safety, or privacy of potentially millions of people worldwide. Beyond their value in teaching key principles, CCS initiatives address real threats to organizations, companies and individuals, such as using emerging encryption strategies to better secure data, identifying the security weaknesses in today’s and tomorrow’s 5G networks, preventing deepfakes and the distortion of images, and protecting the computing units on automobiles from remote attacks. Read more here.

INTERDISCIPLINARY

An interdisciplinary approach governs most CCS programs. The Center offers an M.S. in Cybersecurity Risk and Strategy specifically tailored for business executives. Last summer, CCS faculty and students worked with NYU Tandon colleagues, and educators from NY City College of Technology in the U.S., and the National Institute of Technology – Karnataka (NITK) in India to develop a summer research program focused on 3-D manufacturing that tapped expertise in both materials engineering and electrical and computing engineering. Guest speakers and conferences at Tandon and at the NYU Law School also explore the intersection between government policy, technical innovation, and social responsibility, and bring together leading women in cybersecurity to address some of the most pressing issues in the field today. Read more here.

EVENTS

The Center for Cybersecurity is home to CSAW, the most comprehensive student-run cybersecurity event in the world. Though Covid-19 pushed CSAW into a virtual environment for 2020 and 2021, it has continued to add new competitions and to draw attendees to multiple competition sites. The event is overseen by OSIRIS, a student-run cybersecurity research lab that also sponsors weekly Hack Nights to introduce students to a wide variety of complex and immersive topics. CCS also hosts lectures and workshops throughout the year, including the annual Women Leaders in Cybersecurity program. Read more here.

RESEARCH

Collectively, the CCS faculty can boast of 7 NSF CAREER awards, 3 Jacobs Excellence in Education awards (NYU Tandon faculty honor), 2 “Brilliant 10 under 30” awardees from Popular Science magazine, and 2 IEEE fellows. In collaboration with a cadre of gifted graduate students, the faculty routinely present at top-level conferences on topics ranging from privacy protection to securing hardware elements and software supply chains. CCS faculty lead a number of research labs, including the Secure Systems Laboratory, Laboratory for Agile and Resilient Complex Systems (LARX),the Energy-Aware, Secure, and Reliable Computing Research Group (EnSuRe), and the newest team the Machine Learning, Embedded Systems, and Software/Systems Security (MESS). These labs allow students to learn by doing, to work alongside distinguished faculty and professionals, and to contribute directly to the growth of the field. Read more here.

LAW

As part of its mission, the Center for Cybersecurity, a collaboration between the Law School and NYU Tandon School of Engineering, addresses questions at the meeting point of security and technology: How should the government and private parties interact when it comes to cybersecurity? What kind of legal and technical framework will enable companies to shore up their digital defenses? And what is the appropriate level of risk management for private companies? The two schools have achieved national leadership in the development of interdisciplinary research, teaching, and public outreach to address these vexing questions. They have established a pioneering Master of Science in Cybersecurity Risk and Strategy Program. This one-year program is for experienced professionals from a range of backgrounds who seek to deepen their understanding of cybersecurity risk and strategy. Three scholarships are also available to JD students interested in this area: the NYU Cyber Scholars Program, the ASPIRE Scholarship, and the Latham and Watkins Award in Technology and Law.