Background
Assurance---the correctness, reliability, availability, safety, and security---of information and information infrastructures is crucial for the economic well being of commercial enterprise and national security. The explosive growth of the Internet in the 1980's and 1990's has led to the deployment of inter-networked information systems of constantly growing complexity. Nearly every major business and government branch, including the U.S. military, has increased, and will continue to increase, its dependence on the Internet for day-to-day operations. Currently, without heroic measures, we are unable to routinely assure that our information systems will behave correctly, reliably, or safely, nor are we able to guarantee availability or security. There is a national need to focus on the fundamental science and engineering for system assurance, education of information system professionals in system assurance, and facilitating the transition of assurance technology and methodology into practice.

Mission
The mission of the CSA is to become an international center of excellence promoting improvement in system and information assurance. CSA will advance system assurance by providing a natural focus for collaboration among Syracuse University faculty and external partners. CSA’s efforts to improve system assurance will comprise three major areas: research, education, and technology transfer through Syracuse University's CASE Center.

Contact Information
Dr. Steve J. Chapin, Director
Center for Systems Assurance
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
4-295 CST
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY 13244
(315) 443-2938 (voice)
(315) 443-1122 (fax)
chapin@ecs.syr.edu