Unitec & NICT Join Forces in Cybersecurity Research Facility

Media Release

Unitec and NICT Join Forces in Cybersecurity Research Facility

27 September 2012

Unitec Institute of Technology and Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) will launch New Zealand's first Cybersecurity Research Facility, on the 27th of September 2012 at Unitec's Mt Albert campus.

The joint venture aims to conduct research and provide organisations around the country with state of the art cloud-computing age Cybersecurity Technologies.

The facility will set up the first NZ-wide Darknet/Livenet station which will monitor New Zealand Cybersecurity through decentralised traffic monitoring and computing.

The world of Cybersecurity is becoming an increasingly important and strategic component of the future of science and technology. However, possible solutions to the shortage of skilled people in this ever-evolving area need to be looked at.

"Addressing anticipated skill shortages, educational needs and the need for advanced technologies is a shared responsibility of tertiary institutions, industry and government," says Unitec's Associate Professor and Head of Department of Computing, Hossein Sarrafzadeh.

That is why it is essential that the facility engages with a number of stakeholders to try and increase the number of skilled people in the computing industry, and to improve and maintain advanced technologies within New Zealand.

Unitec is looking at an initial three-year partnership with NICT with the aim to continue for a further three years after that.

Says Hossein, "This joint research and development initiative between Unitec and Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology is a good first step towards building New Zealand human and technological capital, and enhancing our competitive advantage in the use of cyberspace."

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ENDS

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