NC State Department of Computer Science faculty were well represented at the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Biennial Security, Privacy, and Trust in Cyberspace (SaTC) Conference in August. The meeting, which took place from August 6-7 in College Park, Maryland, was co-organized by Department Head Daphne Yao. 

Housed within NSF’s Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), SaTC works to build trust in all aspects of global cyber ecosystems, which includes: 

• Supporting cutting-edge research on security, privacy and trust
• Building a multidisciplinary research community
• Fostering interagency and international collaborations
• Developing a well-trained cyber workforce

“The SaTC program is the largest funding program at NSF, with a diverse portfolio supporting deeply rigorous investigations into how to proactively secure our vast, pervasive — and sometimes highly personal — cyberspace,” said Yao. “It has generated and continues to generate far reaching impacts on many sectors, including finance, healthcare, energy, telecommunications, transportation and quantum computing.”

At the conference, Distinguished University Professor in Security Sciences Laurie Williams co-led a breakout session on faculty success and mentoring, while Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Security Sciences William Enck served as a panelist, discussing the impacts of artificial intelligence on the security research community. 

Having distinguished faculty not just discussing, but leading, the broader conversations surrounding cybersecurity is a testament to the hard work of Yao, Williams, Enck and many other NC State computer science researchers, as well as the department’s overall influence when it comes to this increasingly critical industry. 

“The NC State Department of Computer Science has been a longtime leader in the field of cybersecurity and privacy research,” said Yao. “Back in 2012, the department hosted the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM) flagship cybersecurity research conference, the Conference on Computer and Communications Security, in Raleigh.”

Many generations of cybersecurity leaders have worked and thrived at NC State. Just one example is Professor Emeritus Douglas Reeves, who was a pioneer in designing innovative intrusion detection methods for enterprise security.

But the department isn’t just relying on past successes — a new class of leaders is emerging. Assistant Professor Xiaorui Liu recently received a grant from the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, supporting his work on securing agent-based scientific AI workflows against new and non-traditional attacks. 

Computer science Ph.D. students are honing in on cybersecurity as well: Madison Thomas’s research focuses on cybersecurity education for students aged 6-16, while Md Nazmul Haque’s research combines large language models with cybersecurity knowledge to address-real world problems. 

“We have a large group of renowned cybersecurity thought leaders and a highly successful Secure Computing Institute, led by Williams and Enck, who work closely with industry and government partners,” said Yao. “The newly launched Master’s degree in Cybersecurity will further solidify our leadership in both cybersecurity education and workforce development.”

Growing the cybersecurity and privacy area has long been a strategic priority for the department, and Yao plans to continue that work in her role as department head.

“The cybersecurity success and national leadership we see today are the result of decades of strategic investment by NC State in this critical field,” said Yao. “Providing a supportive environment for faculty and students to conduct cutting-edge research is a top priority of ours as a land-grant, R1 institution.”