Every aspect of society now depends on the Internet. Global connectivity is growing exponentially. Wireless is becoming the dominant means of access. With more and more devices connected and performing critical control functions – the so called ‘internet of things’ - cyber security is both a human-internet issue and a device-internet issue. Cyber security has become critical for everyone: Government, business, and every individual.

Cyber security in practice is perceived by many to be broken, and new and radical approaches are needed to mend it. The subject must be rethought and re-engineered from policy and regulation through to meeting the demands and needs of all parts of society.

There is a need for a trusted, persistent presence that can bring together government, academia, industry, business, trade bodies and users, on an international scale, as a community to deliver a secure cyber environment fit for all, making the Internet a safe and trusted place to conduct business and communicate with friends.

The Institute is dedicated to providing that presence by introducing a multidisciplinary and multi-organisational approach to innovation in cyber security that overcomes specialisation and segregation to meet corporate and societal needs and expectations.

We turn the traditional model of research on its head, by listening first to end users, policy makers, business leaders, and others, and developing projects that meet their short and medium term needs. We deliver projects for clients by drawing on our extensive network of experts at Royal Holloway and beyond.

Royal Holloway is internationally recognised as a centre of excellence in cyber security. It is home to the Information Security Group (ISG), a pioneering interdisciplinary group producing world-leading research, education and knowledge exchange of a quality, scope and volume unrivalled in the UK. The ISG has built relationships with every industry sector and has established an international alumni network of several thousand graduates. The ISG is recognised by GCHQ as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research, and Royal Holloway has been awarded a Cyber Security Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) - one of only two CDTs in the UK to address cyber security expertise.

The Institute builds on the success of the ISG, the CDT, and additional policy, science, and business expertise at Royal Holloway and beyond. We provide multi-disciplinary resources dedicated to the business of applied research and training in cyber security to meet the needs of clients, and serve as a catalyst to bring together those who are best equipped to re-think cyber security in an innovative and joined-up way.

The Information Security Group

The business of the Institute embraces security policy, security threat analysis, and security solutions. Based on a strong technical foundation, it expands to encompass technical, social, and policy means to counter cyber security threats.

The business is undertaken as client funded projects with defined deliverables and an IPR model, for single clients and consortia, using experts from a variety of fields within the research community who have interest, capability and capacity to deliver.

The Institute provides an environment to bring together influencers and creators of cyber security to identify pressing problems and opportunities, to provide a broad research community with which to engage and resource projects, to be a place to further understanding and influence and to broker pairings of expertise with needs.

The Institute commissions and disseminates white papers, facilitates technical and regulatory theme specific technology and policy briefings, organises workshops and networking and briefing events, and facilitates product reviews and assessments.

It is intended that the Institute will provide a fund and facilities for incubating promising start-up companies, and tenant facilities for cyber security initiatives.

The Institute will establish a professional development programme that will include client bespoke courses.