Verónica Castro-AllendeThe Securing Convergent Ultra-large Scale Infrastructures SCULI program, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, marks a significant milestone in addressing the pressing need for cybersecurity on a societal scale. With £3 million in funding, the program, led by teams from Lancaster University, the University of Bristol, and the University of Oxford, aims to revolutionize cybersecurity measures across the UK’s critical infrastructures.
As the third-most-targeted country for cyberattacks globally, according to the House of Commons inquiry, the UK faces escalating risks to its essential services. Rapid advancements in technology, including interconnected cities and critical infrastructure, have heightened our reliance on these systems, consequently increasing the vulnerability to cyber threats and large-scale disruptions.
The SCULI program seeks to redefine cybersecurity strategies by scaling up expertise from component and system levels to encompass entire infrastructures. By leveraging partnerships with industry and government, the program endeavors to develop scalable solutions informed by real-world circumstances.
Key developments within the SCULI program include the creation of real-time cybersecurity models, innovative approaches to managing security provisions across diverse infrastructures, and the enhancement of detection capabilities to maintain trust in functional systems. Incident response playbooks tailored for ultra-large-scale infrastructures aim to optimize decision-making processes in the face of cyberattacks.
Professor Awais Rashid, leading the Bristol Cyber Security Group within the SCULI program, emphasizes the importance of industry and government partnerships in translating research advancements into tangible cybersecurity solutions.
Professor Sadie Creese, from the University of Oxford, underscores the program’s critical role in addressing the exceptional risks posed to essential services in the UK, heralding a transformative shift in cybersecurity approaches for large-scale infrastructures.
The SCULI program will provide cybersecurity at a societal scale, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council awarded £3 million in funding.
The Securing Convergent Ultra-large Scale Infrastructures (SCULI ) programme will be led by teams from Lancaster University, the University of Bristol, and the University of Oxford.
The teams will collaborate with partners in policy and industry to put in place extensive cybersecurity measures in the UK.
Why is cybersecurity at scale essential for UK infrastructures?
The UK is the third-most-targeted country in the world for cyberattacks, after the US and Ukraine, according to the House of Commons inquiry into the resilience of the country’s crucial federal infrastructure.
The pace of change in modern technologies is increasing, from bright buildings to connected cities and our critical infrastructure. Eventually, this increases our dependence on them, too.
As dependence increases, so does the risk of cyber-attacks and large-scale disruptions to infrastructures.
About the SCULI program
In a world with unmatched connectivity, the SCULI programme will draw on a special combination of expertise to transform the way we deliver cybersecurity.
Experts now create and test cybersecurity strategies for components and systems on a smaller scale. These are therefore expanded to the infrastructures used to provide services to the population.
The SCULI program aims to transform the way we secure crucial infrastructures, helping us to understand the issues at scale and create workable solutions for those problems.
The complexity cannot be eliminated, and preferably is accepted as a component of the issue created by designing and testing technological advancements.
The Bristol Cyber Security Group- SCULI Programme lead, Professor Awais Rashid, said:” The scale and ambition of the SCULI programme have now made it possible for us to mobilise important industry, government, and global partnerships to ensure that research advancements are informed by real-world circumstances and flow through real-world infrastructures. ”
SCULI Program: Real-Time Cybersecurity Innovations for Large-Scale Infrastructures
Researchers are creating a model that can automatically represent cyber security in real-time within the SCULI program. This model introduces fresh metrics to improve decision-making regarding cyberrisks.
Also, the initiative explores innovative methods to harmonise and manage security provisions across a diverse range of infrastructures. This includes developing strategies that take into account both contemporary and traditional system components.
The SCULI program is advancing detection capabilities, enabling an appropriate and timely assessment of security within functional infrastructures. For developments aim to maintain and strengthen trust in these systems.
The teams are even creating incident response playbooks tailored especially for ultra-large-scale infrastructures. These aim to optimize decision-making processes by achieving the ideal balance between automatic responses to cyberattacks and human intervention.
Sadie Creese, Professor of Cybersecurity at the Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, said: “With the UK facing exceptional risks to its essential services, the SCULI programme promises a vital and timely shift in the medical approach to the cybersecurity of large-scale infrastructure. ”
