RHUL Cyber CDT Blog

  Thanks to its flexibility, clear syntax, and a vast collection of third-party libraries, Python is currently one of the most popular programming languages. Its success, however, is also due to a large international community that constantly contributes to the surrounding software ecosystem and the integration of new features. But community is also about getting together and learning from each other, which explains why numerous Python conferences – collectively known as PyCon – are regularly organized all over the world. Being a Python enthusiast and given the importance of this language in my PhD research, last summer I submitted a talk proposal at a new event organized in Poland, PyCon Wroclaw . I am very pleased to report that my proposal was accepted, and that I delivered my talk, ' Serverless Computingand Python: Security Challenges and Ongoing Research ', at the end of November.   The main objective of the talk was to share the results of my last paper as well as p...

The Annual Global Forum on Cyber Expertise meeting was held at the Organization of American States headquarters building, impressively located next to the Washington Monument. The event welcomed global participants from senior policy makers through to technical experts. In between the keynote addresses and workshops, researchers from Royal Holloway’s CDT in Cyber Security and  Oxford University’s Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre were invited to discuss impact evaluation in cybersecurity capacity building. Cybersecurity capacity building aims to help to improve cyber security maturity, and the UK and likeminded nations regard it as paramount. At a time of heightened geopolitical tension, the focus remains on undermining the ability of adversaries to gain advantage through cyber means, as well as impeding the ability of cyber criminals to pursue nefarious goals. The aim is to reduce the cost of such attacks on the UK and partners. Impact evaluation in cybersecurity capacity bui...

From the 28th to 31st of May, a number of CDT researchers attended the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence conference on Cyber Conflict (Cycon). The conference took place in Estonia’s capital city of Tallinn, providing an excellent setting for understanding the current state and thinking of cyber conflict discussion. This year's theme was “Over the Horizon” as discussions centered around the future cyber conflict, and is sure to be beneficial in next year’s theme: “The Next Steps”. Talks ranged from Technical, Legal, and Strategic. The conference “Day 0” event was a day to enjoy workshops, including one workshop conducted by Dr Michael P. Fischerkeller, Dr Emily Goldman, and Prof Richard Harknett for the purpose of establishing a proactive cyber operational element into NATO. Other events on this day included a workshop incorporating tabletop game design into cyber election interference, discussions of AI, and the use of cyber capabilities in the ongoing war in Ukra...

The UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge is an annual competition designed to foster the next generation of cyber security professionals. Teams of four university students take on the role of senior government advisors responding to a complex and escalating cyber-attack with national and international ramifications. Competing teams receive intelligence packs consisting of reports gathered from multiple sources. They must work together to analyse the report, developing an understanding of the technological, political and legal implications of the content. Then, they present their analysis and recommendations to a panel of judges from government and industry. We’re delighted that CDT Student Phil Sheriff successfully coached a mixed team from different universities into third place. Kira from team Nocturnal shares with us her thoughts on the competition.  We were a mixed team from different universities across the UK including RHUL, University of Newcastle, University of Southampton an...

The Conference on Cyber Capacity Building was held in Ghana at the end of November 2023, with RHUL represented and jointly running a workshop. The aim of the conference was to mainstream cyber resilience and capacity building within the international development agenda, breaking down silos to help better integrate digital development and cyber-security. It was preceded by the Global Forum for Cyber Expertise conference, with a number of events bringing together considerable experience and expertise in the form of practitioners, donors, recipients and academics. The conference championed the theme of cyber capacity building. The subject matter ranged from the technical aspect of CERT information sharing and critical infrastructure protection through to implementing international commitments and the role of international law in strengthening cyber resilience. As with the very best conferences, there were opportunities to network and socalise with participants ranging from foreign ministe...