The University of Bristol has been awarded a new and prestigious status for its world-class research in the field of cyber security, playing a pivotal role in helping to make government, business and consumers more resilient to cyber attack. Andrew Charlesworth, Reader in IT & Law, and Director of the cross-disciplinary Centre for IT & Law, which is based in the Law School and Department of Computer Science, is one of the researchers involved in the bid.   The University has been named  as an Academic Centre for Excellence in Cyber Security Research – a new status which means the University will work more closely with the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the UK cyber community and industry.  The status has been awarded to eight universities by GCHQ in partnership with the Research Councils’ Global Uncertainties Programme (RCUK) and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). 

Promoting academic excellence is at the heart of the Government's Cyber Security Strategy and the University of Bristol hopes this will lead to exciting opportunities for its students and graduates.  The centres have been introduced to increase the number of top quality graduates in the field of cyber security, ultimately aiming to build a skills base able to make the UK one of the most secure places in the world to do business online.  Work carried out in at the University of Bristol will support GCHQ’s cyber defence mission, boost research to keep up pace with technological change and drive up the level of innovation. In return, Bristol University will receive a £50,000 capital investment from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and future funding opportunities. It will also play a part in formulating the future Cyber Security research agenda.