HP inaugurates university Chair to partner on future cyber security challenges

The new HP Chair in Cyber Security has been inaugurated at the University and Professor Mark Ryan, an internationally recognised expert in cyber security, will occupy the role.

As part of the UK Government’s CyberInvest initiative this new partnership between HP Labs and the University of Birmingham will pave the way for leading research into cyber security.

Professor Ryan is an internationally-recognised expert in cyber security and leads the Security and Privacy group at the University of Birmingham’s School of Computer Science. The group has grown into one of the principal cyber security groups in the UK and is also one of the EPSRC/GCHQ Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Research. 

HP Labs Bristol is primarily focused on security and is HP’s largest Labs presence outside of California. HP is an endpoint device infrastructure company, and endpoint devices are a critical component for security. It is where users consume and create information. This is true today for PCs and Printers and will be even more so with future cyber-physical systems and 3D printing.

The HP Security Lab is focused on research and innovation for endpoint device ecosystems for the company core, growth and future businesses.

HP’s investment in the Chair and the partnership between its Security Lab and the University of Birmingham is part of the company’s global commitment to cyber security research and to supporting the UK Government’s efforts to address the world’s most pressing cyber security challenges.

Simon Shiu, Director of HP’s Security Lab, said: “Increasing pervasiveness of technology means cyber security will become even more important and challenging.  It is a top priority to invest now in research and partnerships to address this issue. Academia, business and government each have different contexts, experiences and skillsets. It is critical for us to work together to successfully address our shared future cyber security challenges. This new Chair is a critical step forward.”

Mark Ryan, Professor of Cybersecurity at University of Birmingham and newly appointed HP Chair, said: "The internet of things is going to bring a new wave of innovation, affecting how the physical world and the digital world interact. Figuring out how to support privacy and security for users in this setting is a huge task. This research chair is a great opportunity to work with a company that can complement the skills of academics and help bring theoretical ideas into practical realities."

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