Effective Cybersecurity for Research

Abstract

The ever-present tension between institutional cybersecurity and researchers has long hampered attempts to secure research. It is also the reason why institutional cybersecurity efforts in academia have been confined to the most sensitive research. The situation has persisted due to other factors also, for instance the complexity of the research environment, but new developments are quickly changing the status quo. Emerging threats and funding requirements scoped beyond individual awards are pointing to a future where securing research holistically is no longer optional. This paper describes an approach to cybersecurity for research that shows great promise in securing research comprehensively. A product of years of work, it focuses exclusively on the researcher and the research mission. It has been stress tested on a large campus, with success exemplified by researchers embracing it voluntarily and research being accelerated greatly.