King's College London

King’s has been identified as having first-rate research with scale and impact, joining – alongside the University of Kent and Cardiff University – an existing scheme which forms part of the Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy. The strategy aims to make the UK the safest place to be online and helping to support the country’s thriving digital economy.

The university will now have the opportunity to bid for funding to develop cutting-edge research in cyber security, including at Doctoral level, as well as attend annual conferences and workshops.

The scheme aims to create a better understanding of the strength of the UK's academic capability in cyber security and identify areas where there are research opportunities or technical gaps. It makes collaboration between academia, business and government easier, and helps make sure cutting-edge research is turned into practical products and services. This includes developing tools to tackle mass marketing fraud online and better understand cyber criminals.

Dr Jose M. Such, Director of the Centre, and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Informatics at King’s College London, said:

“We are thrilled to be recognised for the high-quality socio-technical cyber security research we conduct at King’s College London. This recognition acknowledges the critical and diverse mass of researchers working on this area at King’s from different but complementary angles and points of view.

“Our research focuses on three main research themes and their interrelationship: the use of AI for cyber security together with the cyber security of AI itself, the theoretical aspects of cyber security like verification and testing, and the socio-political and strategic aspects of cyber security.”

Minister for Digital Margot James said:

“These universities are doing fantastic research in cyber security and they are rightly being recognised for their pioneering work.

“We have some of the best minds in the world working in the field and thanks to this scheme they can now help shape our National Cyber Security Strategy and develop the talent and services of tomorrow.”

Chris Ensor, Deputy Director for Cyber Security Skills and Growth at the NCSC, said:

“The UK has world-class universities carrying out cutting edge research into all areas of cyber security.

“It’s fantastic to see three more universities recognised as Academic Centres of Excellence and I’m especially pleased that we now have centres in all home nations.

“The NCSC looks forward to collaborating with these institutions to make the UK the safest place to live and work online.”