Expertise at Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh is one of the leading cyber security research institutions in the UK and currently the only Scottish University recognised as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research by the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding council.

This scheme recognises that there is a critical mass of academic staff engaged in leading-edge cyber security research with a proven track record of publishing high-impact cyber security research in leading academic journals and conferences.

The University’s cyber security and privacy research network spans across several disciplines such as Informatics, Design, Engineering, Maths, Sociology, Law, Politics and International Relations, Social and Political Sciences.

Eight key research themes exist across the University:

1.    AI and Security

  • Influenceability (AI social engineering)​
  • Authentication by agent negotiation
  • Combining safety & security​
  • Preventing cyber-physical attacks

2.    Data Science and Security

  • Wide-range tracking of data, computing​
  • Anomaly detection in software, networks​
  • Adversarial learning​
  • Privacy-aware learning

3.    Cryptography and Distributed Ledger

  • Privacy enhancing technologies
  • Blockchain technology
  • Design-oriented interventions​
  • Practical mix-nets, e-voting systems

4.    Secure Future Networks

  • Optical networking
  • Wireless propagation control
  • Reconfigure networks under attack​
  • Ensuring/defeating location privacy​
  • Bluetooth presence inference

5.    Privacy and Security for Devices and Internet of Things

  • Security of mobile applications​
  • Verifying ARM cores and microcontrollers
  • Profiling device vulnerabilities​
  • Novel protection ideas​
  • Testbeds for IoT at home, office and city

6.    Protocol and Programme Verification

  • Formal logics and programming languages​
  • Protocol design analysis​
  • Verified cryptographic proofs
  • Checking software implementations ​
  • Discovering and fixing flawed designs

7.    Quantum Cyber Security

  • Hybrid quantum-classical server-client​
  • Infrastructure: verification, quantum digital signatures
  • Post-quantum cryptography​
  • Quantum blockchain​
  • Multi-party quantum computation

8.    Socio-technical, Human Factors, Law and Risk

  • Privacy Impact Assessments ​
  • Surveillance and interaction with privacy​
  • Ethics for cyber security​
  • Usable security and privacy​
  • Sociology and criminology of attackers
  • Computer embodiment of law
  • Business cyber risk assessment
  • Security in Fintech applications
  • Health applications