The inter-university research centre CYBERCAT is born

08/05/2018

On 8 May the new Cybersecurity Research Centre of Catalonia (CYBERCAT) was presented in Barcelona. The new inter-university centre includes six universities: URV, UOC, UdL, UPC, UPF and UAB and is coordinated by the Rovira i Virgili University. It brings together the research groups working on technologies in security and information privacy and includes over one hundred researchers, the country's top experts in this field.

This is the first research centre to include all groups working on security and privacy with the aim of becoming a national and international leading centre. Its objectives is to gather funding, become visible in the media and work as a liaison between the industrial sector and the government. programmes PhD relations research existing Catalan universities.

Intensifying joint efforts

The researchers who form part of these groups already work together to produce scientific papers, on multilateral research projects, in co-directing PhD theses, etc. Once the centre formallyopens, these relations will only strengthen. Among the initiatives taking shape are projects related to smart cities, mainly on mobility and citizen participation. Also important is the work conducted in cryptography and data anonymisation, aimed at creating technologies which can meet the requirements of the new EU General Data Protection Regulation, which will come into force at the end of May.

Cyber Security

Cyber security is one of society's priorities: communication and information systems are fundamental. In recent years cyber attacks and personal data theft have increased greatly and companies are aware of the importance of security for their reputation. There is also a growth in the number of job positions and need of experts in this sector.

In this sense, research at the CYBERCAT is focused on minimising the information collected from usesrs and providing security and privacy; while at the same time it aims to design security protocols which can be beneficial to all parts involved (co-utility).

Members of CYBERCAT

The CRISES group, coordinated by researcher Josep Domingo-Ferrer of the Rovira i Virgili University, will be the coordinator of the new centre made up of the following research groups: KISON, coordinated by David Megías  of the Open University of Catalonia; ISG, coordinated by researcher Miquel Soriano of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, as well as MAK, coordinated by Jorge Villar; C&G from the University of Lleida, coordinated by Josep M. Miret; and WICOM, represented by researcher Vanesa Daza of the Pompeu Fabra University. On behalf of the UAB there will be the research group in Security of Networks and Distributed Applications (SENDA), represented by lecturer of the Department of Information and Communication Engineering Jordi Herrera.