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Indiana University Provides Cybersecurity Expertise to U.S. Navy

  • 10/25/17

BLOOMINGTON, IN – The Indiana University Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research (CACR) recently announced that two researchers have been appointed temporary faculty members at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division.

Craig Jackson, CACR chief policy analyst, and Scott Russell, CACR senior policy analyst, will work with U.S. Navy leaders at Crane on cybersecurity research in support of U.S. Navy and U.S. Department of Defense systems.  

CACR has an established relationship with NSWC Crane to share cybersecurity expertise in the areas of information security and national defense. In July 2016, CACR and NSWC Crane entered into a two-year collaborative agreement to share personnel and expertise, and to collaboratively advance research and development in tackling cybersecurity challenges to our nation.

“Cybersecurity is a critical area of concern for national defense and economic security. IU is pleased to exchange personnel with Crane in furtherance of this important work,” says Brad Wheeler, IU vice president for information technology and CIO.

As CACR staff, Jackson and Russell have research interests that align well with Crane. Their expertise includes information security program development, governance, and evaluation, evidence-based security practice, risk management, legal and regulatory regimes’ impact on information security, and innovative control and process design.

“Our collaborative relationship with Indiana University continues to grow,” says Dr. Brett Seidle, NSWC Crane’s technical director. “The recent appointments of Mr. Jackson and Mr. Russell to NSWC Crane will bring invaluable expertise that will help us enhance our ability to address cybersecurity concerns within the DoD and ultimately support our service men and women.”

Jackson said, “Cybersecurity is a multidisciplinary field, and CACR has expertise in many areas related to cybersecurity — policy, law, process design, systems engineering and more. Our temporary faculty positions at Crane will allow us to really zero in on the issues affecting the U.S. Navy and national defense, and I’m excited to begin this important work.”

In addition to collaborating with the CACR researchers, Crane has affiliations with three other IU faculty members:

  • Lauren Christopher, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering (third year in program)
  • Mehmet Dalkilic, associate professor of informatics and computing, (first year in program)
  • Paul Salama, professor of electrical and computer engineering, assistant dean for graduate programs (fourth year in program)

CACR is a research center affiliated with the Indiana University Pervasive Technology Institute and a member of the Indiana University cybersecurity community, which includes the Maurer School of Law, the Kelley School of Business, the School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, REN-ISAC, the University Information Policy Office and the University Information Security Office.

NSWC Crane is the third-largest navy installation in the world, and one of Indiana’s largest high-tech employers with over 2,000 scientists, engineers and technicians. 

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