Comcast, UConn to open cybersecurity program

Comcast Corp. and the University of Connecticut recently struck up an agreement to open a Center of Excellence for Security Innovation at the university’s Storrs campus.

The center will fuse the expertise of UConn’s researchers in the existing Center for Hardware Assurance, Security and Engineering with Comcast’s experience in Internet systems security to develop detection systems and analytical tools. These systems and tools will ensure computer chips and other hardware components that are important to Internet broadband systems remain protected from attacks, unauthorized access and counterfeit products, according to a press release.

“This new Center of Excellence for Security Innovation further establishes UConn as a national leader in hardware security analysis and technology,” said Kazem Kazerounian, dean of UConn’s engineering school, in a statement. “It is yet another example of how academic-industry partnerships can advance science, improve people’s lives, and create a new generation of highly-skilled workers prepared to resolve the technological challenges facing our nation and world today.”

Comcast is one of the founding members of the Center for Hardware Assurance, Security and Engineering, which is also sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, Honeywell International Inc., Samsung C&T Corp. and CISCO Systems Inc.