Research projects to target security in use of personal data and digital technologies

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At a time when public interest in the use and exploitation of personal data is growing the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), which is now part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is to fund a total of eleven projects to further the understanding of Trust, Identity, Privacy and Security (TIPS) issues in the Digital Economy.

The research projects will received £11million over three years and are spread across the spectrum of technological, economic, cultural, social, legal, ethical, design, behavioural and political disciplines and will look to engage with those who use research whether in public or commercial activities.

The projects address a number of areas that present challenges for those using data and those giving others access to their data.

Researchers from the Defence Against Dark Artefacts (DADA) project at the University of Nottingham, for example, will look to explore the challenge of connecting cloud-based services and the Internet of Things (IoT) in workplaces and the home. How can data services operate in a secure way?

The TIPS 2.0 call was launched by the Research Councils Digital Economy Theme and its lead, Dr John Baird said: “The rapid digital technological changes that have already happened are already having profound effects on the way people live, individually and collectively.

“The advances in the interconnectedness of devices, data and people present both opportunities and challenges. Recent news items around how personal data can be obtained and used highlights the need for research that can understand the complexities socio-technical relationships while also safeguarding the integrity and usefulness of data.”

Among the grants are: ReEnTrust: Rebuilding and Enhancing Trust in Algorithms, which is being led by Professor Marina Jirotka, University of Oxford; PACE: Privacy-Aware Cloud Ecosystems, led by Professor Omer Rana, Cardiff University and Dr Raj Ranjan, Newcastle University and Realising Accountable Intelligent Systems (RAInS), being led by Professor Peter Edwards, University of Aberdeen; Professor Rebecca Williams, University of Oxford and Dr Jat Singh, University of Cambridge.

For full details on these projects visit the EPSRC website.