Working with the Cyber Security R&D Center

The Center works closely with the information technology industry to conduct and coordinate R&D activities across public and private sectors, with the venture community to bring R&D products to the marketplace, and with the education community to improve security awareness and help grow the cyber security workforce. For more information, contact us.

Information Technology Industry Outreach

The Center is building strong links with industry to leverage the billions of dollars industry invests annually in cyber security research and development. Of course, ultimately it is this industry that will deploy the solutions that are critical for national cyber security. To ensure that cyber security R&D is relevant, validated, and applied – and because 85% of the nation’s cyber infrastructure is in the private sector – we engage with private industry in a number of ways:

  • Our program activities include industry participation
  • Center-developed technology can be directly transferred to industry
  • The Center coordinates programs and test beds that incorporate technology from multiple industrial players to leverage industry investment and R&D and to promote best practices.

Venture Community Outreach

The Center is building strong partnerships with the venture community, using a proven model built on three important principles:

  • We will be venture capital’s partner – not competitor
  • We will work with the top-tier of the community – thereby greatly increasing the probability of a successful venture
  • We will provide outstanding opportunities for funding new and existing ventures

The Center believes that the venture capital community can be an outstanding resource to further its mission. The Center can leverage venture capital funding in three fundamental ways:

  • Co-investing in emerging startups that offer products and services and that serve an important national need
  • Providing funds to the portfolio companies for development of demonstrations or prototypes, hence influencing venture R&D
  • Providing knowledge of emerging requirements and standards that will help venture capital portfolio companies develop the government as a customer

Education Outreach

The Center engages with the educational community to improve security awareness and help grow the cyber security workforce. To this end, the Center will:

  • Work with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to influence the creation of innovative programs with educational impact
  • Work with the university colleagues to promote and foster (possibly joint) cyber security research and education
  • Partner with the cyber research organizations
  • Work with Silicon Valley and other companies to raise cyber security awareness and competence in their staffs