Date issued: 23 September 2009

• The building where CSIT is based at Queen’s University Belfast

  Ultra powerful processors to enable safer internet surfing
• Innovative CCTV analysis to cut crime on public transport
• Cutting-edge research to combat computer viruses

These are some of the research projects that will be the focus of a major UK cyber-security centre launched today.

The new £25 million Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), based at Queen’s University Belfast, is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Technology Strategy Board, Queen’s University Belfast and a range of partner organisations.

CSIT is unique because it brings together, under one roof, cutting-edge expertise in data security, network security, wireless network enabled systems and surveillance intelligence systems.

Harnessing this expertise, CSIT will help pioneer the concept of ‘converged security’ – the use of IT systems to improve people’s physical security while protecting the systems themselves to ensure they can’t be hacked into.

Professor John McCanny, Principal Investigator at CSIT, says:

“CSIT has an excellent technology platform based on world-leading expertise at the University and its Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT). Our starting points are mission-driven projects for which we have identified end goals. CSIT also has a strong entrepreneurial ethos. We’re confident that we’ll be able to fast-track the development of marketable applications of our technologies to the benefit of UK industry and the wider economy.”

CSIT is one of the first Innovation and Knowledge Centres, (IKCs), to be established in the UK.

Notes for Editors

Research project detailed outlines [photos available from the EPSRC Press Office]:

Ultra-powerful processors will make internet surfing much safer

Innovative content-processor technology that analyses internet traffic in real time, enabling threatening behaviour to be identified and stopped immediately.

Within 3 to 5 years, groundbreaking computer hardware being developed at CSIT could begin to make a major contribution to foiling cyber-crime and protecting internet users from paedophiles, harassment and other online threats.

CSIT is working on a new type of content-processor technology that, unlike current hardware used by network providers, can inspect and analyse internet traffic in real time – enabling risky or threatening online behaviour to be pinpointed and stopped before any harm is done. The key to this capability will be the new processors’ capacity to process data between 100 and 10,000 times faster than existing hardware and software-based content-processing solutions.

Although the internet is now a mainstream medium for communication, self-expression and information dissemination, the phenomenal volume of online traffic makes it impossible to police, control and manage using today’s technology. With literally billions of e-mail addresses and millions of websites in use, even advanced firewalls and similar measures offer only limited protection.

Quite simply, current data processing hardware can’t analyse traffic fast enough to enable every suspicious online conversation, virus-bearing e-mail and request to visit a ‘bad’ website, for example, to be detected and blocked automatically and immediately. The internet can therefore be a dangerous environment, especially for children and anyone who isn’t computer literate. 

Dr Sakir Sezer

“Because conventional processor technology can only deal with information character by character, it’s far too slow to analyse internet traffic in real time,“ says project leader Dr Sakir Sezer. “We’re developing parallel processors which can be scaled to process up to 32 characters (256-bit) at once, making real-time inspection of huge data volumes possible for the first time ever. Network providers will be able to install and use this technology to provide much better protection for internet users, as well as advanced user experience (i.e. quality of service), and efficient utilisation/management of network resources.”

To maximise the value of this leading-edge processor technology, Dr Sezer’s team also aim to optimise the rulesets that enable processing hardware to decide, based on the nature of the internet traffic, which website requests to block, which word sequences may indicate threatening behaviour, which traffic may be generated by malicious software (malware, adware, spyware, botware) and which unsolicited e-mails may carry damaging content (viruses, worms, spam).

“The combination of next-generation content-processor technology and more sophisticated rulesets will improve internet security beyond recognition, ensuring more threats and attacks are prevented or mitigated at a much earlier stage,” Dr Sezer comments. “That means less online bullying and harassment, less identity theft, fewer viruses and less internet misuse in general for users to contend with.”

Dr Sezer’s team integrates leading-edge expertise in: internet traffic/threat mining; policy/ruleset definition (including legal issues); technology development (harnessing hardware and software skills); and system-level security/network issues. They are also working in close consultation with equipment manufacturers, security vendors and network operators in the UK and US to ensure the project meets market needs and delivers real-world benefits as soon as possible. 

Intelligent CCTV analysis could cut crime on public transport

Intelligent computer technology that recognises suspicious behaviour in live internet-enabled CCTV feeds from buses and trains, allowing control room staff to intervene and prevent assaults, thefts and other incidents.

Innovative computer technology that automatically and accurately interprets behaviour in live CCTV feeds could be deployed in around 5 years to help protect transport users from potential assault, theft and other offences.

The technology will underpin a unique system which not only alerts CCTV control room staff that an incident might be about to occur, but also equips them to intervene and prevent it from happening.

Building on Queen’s University Belfast’s EPSRC-funded ISIS (Integrated Sensor Information System) project which developed the initial system, CSIT will now take the work forward in two key areas: increasing the sophistication of the data analysis techniques which the system incorporates; and equipping the system with the artificial intelligence needed to connect small-scale events, draw conclusions about their significance and prioritise information displayed in CCTV control rooms.

Initially designed for use on-board buses, the purpose of the system is to automatically analyse video and audio information captured by every camera/sensor in a CCTV network and instantly relay the feeds it judges most suspicious or threatening to four screens in the control room.

The controller can then decide what action(s), if any, to take. Options could include: alerting the police car nearest the bus; sending the relevant feed to a small screen in the bus driver’s cab (the driver can then activate a recorded warning saying a police car is on its way); linking up the bus with the police car so that the police can issue a warning via a video screen on the bus; or the controller can themselves speak to suspicious individuals via the video screen.

Although recent years have seen massive investment in CCTV systems across the UK, their impact has been very limited in terms of preventing crime. This is mainly because most CCTV control rooms are flooded with information from multiple cameras/sensors, making it difficult for controllers to pinpoint feeds showing situations that are likely to develop into criminal incidents.

Dr Paul Miller

“Our system will prioritise feeds but still ensure it’s the controller who makes the decisions as to what action to take”, says research director Dr Paul Miller. “The system will instantly give every live feed a score, based on factors such as time of day, crime statistics for the location, a threat assessment of the people shown and so on. This score will determine where each feed is placed in the queue for the controller’s attention.”

Specially developed algorithms, software and hardware will all play a vital role in the system. Because data will be transmitted around the system via the internet, the team includes experts in secure ad-hoc wireless networking to ensure that the system can cope with the high volumes of data moving about and can not be hacked into.

The team is also working in close collaboration with the Applied Criminology Centre at the University of Huddersfield, which is providing crime statistics for bus routes.

“We aim to develop a system which helps to make crime-free buses, trains, stations and airports a reality,” says Dr Miller. “Ultimately it could be adapted to protect many other kinds of critical infrastructure too.”

New processor promises big benefits in combating computer viruses

A high-speed data processor that will provide unprecedented protection from internet-borne malware (e.g. viruses) distributed by cyber-criminals.

As early as next year, a high-speed data processor now coming to market could start providing households and businesses with unprecedented protection from viruses and other internet-borne malware.

Developed by Titan IC Systems, a Queen’s University Belfast spin-out company with close links to CSIT, the RXP (Regular Expression Processor) is capable of investigating all internet traffic on a PC or other internet-linked appliance, identifying malware, spam or unusual behaviour (e.g. fraud) with unrivalled accuracy.

The RXP is unique because, unlike other anti-malware technology, it analyses all internet traffic in real time and allows the customer (e.g. a network provider) to describe the characteristics of viruses they want to stop, as these characteristics may change. Both of these capabilities are key to improving the level of protection provided.

Dovetailing with these capabilities is the RXP’s capacity to process huge volumes of data very quickly, thanks to the fact that it can process multiple characters simultaneously, rather than sequentially as is the case with conventional content processors.

It will therefore be able to cope with the massive explosion of internet data predicted in the years ahead and with growing demand for faster broadband speeds, as people increasingly watch TV via broadband, for example.

Dr Godfrey Gaston

“In the next few years, demand on the internet could grow ten or a hundred times over”, says Dr Godfrey Gaston, Titan IC Systems’ CEO and CSIT Director. “The RXP provides the processing power needed to analyse this tidal wave of data, thus providing a secure internet experience.”

Keeping viruses, worms, spyware and so on at bay is vital because the aim of such malware is no longer just to disrupt or damage appliances and networks. Today, cyber-criminals also use malware to gather personal, financial and other data about individuals and organisations – data that can be used to commit fraud, identity theft and other serious offences.

The RXP is designed to be incorporated in internet routers and gateways operating at local exchange or street level. Smaller versions are also planned for deployment in individual properties, delivering a ‘defence in depth’ internet security solution.

Working prototypes of the RXP are currently being evaluated by companies in the network equipment manufacturing sector, and a product launch is envisaged within around 6-12 months. Each RXP will be customised to the particular needs of each purchasing organisation. The RXP could also have potential applications in other fields, such as DNA profiling.

As Titan IC Systems continues to develop the RXP and other new products, it plans to work in close co-operation with CSIT, to the benefit of both parties.

“The link with CSIT will help the company stay right at the cutting edge,” says Dr Gaston. “Collectively, CSIT and Titan IC Systems provide a dynamic environment for knowledge transfer and the commercialisation of leading-edge ideas.”

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK’s main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. The EPSRC invests around £850 million a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone’s health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC also actively promotes public awareness of science and engineering. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK.

Queen’s University Belfast is a member of the Russell Group of the UK’s 20 leading research-intensive universities and an international centre of academic excellence rooted at the heart of Northern Ireland. The University has a broad academic profile which covers a wide range of disciplines, from medicine, law and engineering to the humanities, social sciences, science and agriculture. In recent years it has emerged as a major player on the international scene in areas ranging from wireless technology to poetry, cancer studies to climate change and from pharmaceuticals to sonic arts. Queen’s was one of the first UK universities to recognise the importance of bringing research excellence to the marketplace and has created around 50 spin-out companies, employing more than 900 people. It is the leading higher education institution in the UK for turnover from its spinout companies.”

The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led executive non-departmental public body, established by the government. Its role is to promote and support research into, and development and exploitation of, technology and innovation for the benefit of UK business, in order to increase economic growth and improve the quality of life. It is sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). For more information please visit www.innovateuk.org

If you’d like to arrange interviews with the academics involved please contact the Press Office at Queen’s University Belfast: Brian Arlow, e-mail: brianarlow@mac.com, tel 02891 470 700, mob: 0786 0289 143 or Lisa McElroy, e-mail: lisa.mcelroy@qub.ac.uk

For images contact:

The EPSRC Press Office on 01793 444404, E-mail: pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk