Trusted CI Blog

Now Open - 2026 NSF Cybersecurity Summit Call for Proposals

2026-04-10T13:53:00.004-04:00

It is our pleasure to announce that the 2026 NSF Cybersecurity Summit (Oct 27-29, Irvine) Call for Proposals is now open! The Summit Program Committee seeks proposals for:

Plenary presentations and Panel talks
Workshops and Trainings
Birds of a Feather (BoFs) and Project-specific meetings
Poster session
TLP:AMBER or RED talks

We welcome your proposals relevant to a broad range of topics related to the operational cybersecurity of NSF cyberinfrastructure and programs. We encourage proposals that address topics impacting the NSF CI Community. These include, but are not limited to:

Cybersecurity aspects of Research Security (Ex: The 14 NSF Critical Controls)
Security of AI use in research environments
Procurement, commercial tools, impacts on Controls, leverage in cybersecurity operations, etc.
Regulatory compliance
Securing cloud-based technologies
Network security and defense
HPC security
Digital forensics and incident response
Case studies and lessons learned
Zero-trust architecture implementation

More detail and guidance on submitting proposals can be found here:
https://www.trustedci.org/2026-cfp

The deadline for plenary, workshop, training, BoF, and project meeting submissions is Tuesday, June 30th.

Poster and TLP:AMBER or RED submissions are due Monday, October 5th.

Thank you on behalf of the Program and Organizing Committees. We look forward to receiving your proposals and hope to see you in October in Irvine!

Navigating AI Governance And Security Frameworks: Quick Practical Considerations for Research Institutions

2026-03-27T13:53:00.002-04:00

Article by Dhwanit Pandya

Executive Summary

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming embedded in research workflows, from data analysis and scientific modeling to autonomous agents and large language models (LLMs). A 2025 study indicates that AI adoption among researchers has surged to 84% globally, reflecting how quickly the technology is transforming research practices. At the same time, Microsoft asserts that generative AI is now used by roughly one in six people worldwide, while Stanford's AI Index 2025 notes a growing increase in organizational stakeholders reporting AI use. These reports highlight the speed at which AI capabilities are diffusing across industries and institutions. As AI adoption accelerates, research organizations increasingly need structured governance and security frameworks to manage emerging risks and ensure responsible deployment of AI systems. This theme also surfaced during the AI, Security, and Research Cyberinfrastructure panel at the Trusted CI NSF Cybersecurity Summit in October 2025.

This blog post examines key governance and industry frameworks on AI and explains how research institutions can use them to build a practical approach for secure use of AI in their research environments. In addition to these frameworks, supporting resources such as MITRE and OWASP guidance provide structured insights into adversarial techniques and emerging AI security risks.

Why Industry AI Governance and Security Frameworks Matter in Research Environments

Artificial intelligence is evolving rapidly. National initiatives such as the The White House Genesis Mission, policy guidance like OMB Memo M-25-21, and the National Science Foundation’s AI Strategy Plan signal a widespread push to integrate AI across research and scientific infrastructure. As these efforts accelerate, research facilities and cyberinfrastructure teams will need to consider how AI adoption may impact their cybersecurity programs.

In many research environments, AI capabilities may be adopted faster than industry frameworks can evolve to address them. Rather than waiting for a perfect framework, there is value in understanding the existing governance and security frameworks and evaluating how they can be applied to support the responsible and secure use of AI in research environments.

Current Use of AI

Across research institutions, AI systems are increasingly being used for tasks such as large-scale data analysis, scientific modeling, literature review, and hypothesis generation. These tools help researchers in fields like climate science, biomedical research, and materials science, extract insights from complex datasets, and accelerate discovery. As generative AI and machine learning capabilities mature, they are becoming integrated into everyday research workflows across universities, laboratories, and shared cyberinfrastructure environments.

Challenges

While AI is accelerating many aspects of research, it also introduces new challenges for security and governance. Many modern AI systems and agents operate with access to codebases, datasets, research infrastructure, external tools, and networked resources in order to automate tasks and support analysis. As these systems optimize predictions, process large datasets, and assist with troubleshooting or experimentation, questions arise around what level of access they should be granted and how their actions should be monitored. At the same time, the threat landscape surrounding AI is constantly evolving, making it increasingly difficult for institutions to fully understand and secure these systems, particularly in shared research environments where data, models, and infrastructure are widely distributed.

The Role of AI Governance and Security Frameworks

AI governance and security frameworks provide structured guidance for managing the risks associated with deploying AI systems within research infrastructure. They help institutions identify potential risks, establish governance practices, and implement safeguards across the AI lifecycle. For research environments that rely on shared datasets, computing resources, and collaborative platforms, the frameworks below offer practical reference points for adopting AI responsibly while protecting research infrastructure and scientific data.

Below is a summary of four existing frameworks, along with guidance on when a research institution might consider using each one.

1. NIST Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework

The NIST Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF) provides guidance for organizations and individuals involved in the AI lifecycle (often referred to as AI actors) to design, develop, deploy, and operate AI systems in a trustworthy and responsible manner. The framework is intended to be practical and adaptable as AI technologies evolve, enabling organizations to manage risks while continuing to benefit from AI innovation.

For research environments, the framework is particularly valuable because it focuses on how AI systems interact with organizational processes and infrastructure (core elements emphasized by the Trusted CI Framework’s approach to developing and managing a cybersecurity program). Key concepts include:

Govern - Establish organizational policies, oversight, and accountability to manage AI risks across the AI system lifecycle.
Map - Establish the context of an AI system by identifying its purpose, stakeholders, operational environment, and potential risks across the AI lifecycle.
Measure - Use testing, evaluation, verification, and validation (TEVV) methods and metrics to assess AI system performance, trustworthiness, and associated risks.
Manage - Prioritize and mitigate identified AI risks through continuous monitoring, incident response, and improvements across the AI system lifecycle.

When Research Institutions May Consider Using It

Research institutions can use the NIST AI RMF when they need a structured approach for evaluating and managing AI risks across research infrastructure. The framework is particularly useful for establishing governance processes for how AI systems are developed, tested, deployed, and monitored within research environments. By adopting the NIST AI RMF, institutions can improve their ability to document AI system risks, evaluate tradeoffs between trustworthiness characteristics, and support informed decisions about whether AI systems should be deployed within research infrastructure. The framework also helps organizations strengthen accountability, improve information sharing about AI risks across teams, and develop more consistent approaches for testing, evaluating, verifying, and validating (TEVV) AI systems over time.

2. NIST AI 600-1

NIST AI 600-1 is a companion document to the NIST Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF) that focuses specifically on risks associated with generative AI systems. It identifies risks that are unique to or amplified by generative AI and provides guidance for addressing them through considerations such as governance, content provenance, pre-deployment testing, and incident disclosure.

The document highlights several risk categories that are particularly relevant to research environments:

Confabulation (Hallucinations), where AI systems generate incorrect or fabricated information that may affect scientific accuracy
Data privacy risks when sensitive research datasets are used with generative AI tools
Information security risks, including the potential misuse of AI systems for cyber activities
Intellectual property concerns related to AI-generated research content and code
Dual-use risks, particularly in domains such as chemistry, biology, and materials science
Broader concerns such as bias, information integrity, and value-chain dependencies in AI systems

When Research Institutions May Consider Using It

NIST AI 600-1 can aid research institutions when evaluating risks associated with generative AI systems used in research workflows, particularly in environments involving sensitive datasets, dual-use research domains, or AI-assisted analysis. The document complements the NIST Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework by mapping generative AI risks to the RMF’s Govern, Map, Measure, and Manage functions, helping institutions integrate these risks into broader AI risk management practices.

3. Cloud Security Alliance AI Controls Matrix (CSA AICM)

The CSA AI Controls Matrix (AICM), developed by the Cloud Security Alliance, provides a comprehensive set of security controls specifically designed for AI systems. The framework outlines 243 control objectives across 18 security domains, covering the entire AI lifecycle from data pipelines and training environments to model deployment and third-party integrations. While governance frameworks such as the NIST AI RMF focus on risk management and oversight, the AICM emphasizes practical implementation by defining concrete security controls that organizations can apply when developing and operating AI systems.

One way to think about the relationship between these frameworks: If NIST outlines the why and additional supporting resources such as MITRE shows the how, CSA AICM delivers the what.

For research environments where AI systems are used for data analysis, modeling, and experimentation, the AICM highlights several important areas:

Security controls for AI datasets and training pipelines, ensuring research data used for model development is protected
Controls for model development, deployment, and lifecycle management across AI systems
Identity and access management for AI services and infrastructure
Risk management for third-party AI models and external components used within research workflows
Monitoring and auditing mechanisms to track AI system behavior and operational activity

When Research Institutions May Consider Using It

Research institutions can use the CSA AI Controls Matrix when implementing operational security controls for AI systems and supporting infrastructure. The AICM can help research cyberinfrastructure teams translate governance guidance from frameworks such as the NIST AI RMF into practical security controls for AI deployments.

4. Cisco’s Integrated AI Security and Safety Framework

The Cisco Integrated AI Security and Safety Framework provides a structured approach for understanding and managing risks associated with modern AI systems. It introduces a taxonomy that categorizes AI security and safety risks across the AI lifecycle, including data pipelines, models, system integrations, and agentic components.

For research environments where AI systems are used for modeling, experimentation, and data analysis, the framework highlights several important areas:

Lifecycle-aware risk analysis across data pipelines, model development, deployment, and operation
Threat taxonomy based on attacker objectives and techniques, helping teams understand how AI systems may be targeted
Coverage of emerging AI risks, including prompt injection, model manipulation, and supply-chain compromise
Integration of safety and security considerations, recognizing that AI risks may involve both technical vulnerabilities and harmful outputs

When Research Institutions May Consider Using It

Research institutions can reference this framework when evaluating security risks in complex AI architectures and when developing threat models for AI systems used in research workflows. It is particularly useful alongside frameworks such as the NIST AI RMF and NIST AI 600-1, where governance and risk identification are already established, and complements the CSA AICM by providing a system-level view of how threats may emerge across the AI lifecycle.

How These Four Frameworks Complement Each Other

Each of these frameworks address different dimensions of AI security and governance and can be used together to provide a more comprehensive approach to managing AI risks in research environments. NIST AI RMF establishes the governance and risk management structure for AI systems. NIST AI 600-1 extends this by identifying risks specific to generative AI and mapping them to the RMF functions. CSA’s AICM complements these governance frameworks by translating risk management concepts into concrete security controls that can be implemented in practice. Cisco’s AI Security Framework adds a lifecycle and threat-modeling perspective, helping organizations understand how risks may emerge across AI systems and supporting infrastructure.

For example, a research institution’s team developing an AI model for analyzing biomedical datasets could use the NIST AI RMF to establish governance and risk management practices, NIST AI 600-1 to evaluate generative AI risks such as data leakage or hallucinated outputs, CSA AICM to implement operational controls around data access and model deployment, and Cisco’s framework to analyze potential attack surfaces across the AI system lifecycle.

Alignment with the NSF AI Strategy

The NSF AI Strategy emphasizes responsible and secure adoption of AI across research and operational environments through five pillars: governance, mission-driven AI use cases, data and infrastructure, responsible innovation, and workforce readiness. Applying frameworks such as the NIST AI RMF, NIST AI 600-1, CSA AICM, and Cisco AI Security Framework can help research institutions align with these pillars by establishing governance and risk management processes, improving security practices around AI-enabled data and infrastructure, and supporting the safe deployment of AI systems in research environments. Together, these frameworks provide practical guidance that helps translate the strategic goals outlined in the NSF plan into operational practices for AI systems used in scientific research.

Additional Resources for Understanding AI Security Threats

Alongside governance and control frameworks, resources such as MITRE ATLAS and the OWASP Top 10 for Agentic Applications provide valuable threat intelligence for understanding how AI systems can be attacked or misused. These resources help research institutions identify common adversarial techniques, emerging attack patterns, and security weaknesses in AI-driven systems, supporting more informed threat modeling and risk assessment when deploying AI within research environments.

Conclusion

As AI becomes more embedded in research workflows, understanding and applying established security and governance frameworks becomes increasingly important. The four frameworks reviewed here (NIST AI RMF, NIST AI 600-1, CSA AI Controls Matrix, and Cisco AI Security Framework) provide complementary perspectives that help research institutions approach AI adoption in a structured and responsible manner. By leveraging these resources alongside threat intelligence guidance such as MITRE ATLAS and OWASP, research organizations can better anticipate risks, strengthen security practices, and support the secure and trustworthy use of AI within research cyberinfrastructure.

Trusted CI Launches Secure Use of AI Effort

2026-03-24T08:09:00.001-04:00

Significant numbers of science research projects currently use or will use an array of AI resources to help facilitate scientific research, from machine learning (ML) for elements of the research data lifecycle, to generative AI large language models (LLMs). These resources are part of a rapidly evolving landscape where there is limited guidance on their cybersecurity and research security impacts. To address this critical gap, Trusted CI initiated the Secure Use of AI effort in January 2026 as part of its overall initiatives on AI. This new endeavor focuses on gathering and sharing information to help research cyberinfrastructure organizations and institutions of higher education understand the impact of AI on their research and cybersecurity programs, including the inherent limitations and vulnerabilities of different types of AI tools and systems.

Security risks associated with the use of AI resources in scientific research projects encompass two broad categories. The first involves adversarial attacks that deliberately target AI systems and their underlying components, such as the models, data pipelines, or supporting infrastructure. The second involves operational risks that arise from the behavior and limitations of AI systems, including model hallucinations, design flaws, or improper handling and interpretation of AI-generated outputs. The Secure Use of AI team is mapping the litany of concerns with frameworks for addressing them, thereby identifying urgent areas for scientific cybersecurity programs to adapt or augment their existing approaches. Additionally, as part of the initial phase of activities, the Trusted CI Secure Use of AI team will engage with community stakeholders to gather insights needed to clarify understanding, concerns, and challenges of AI use. This effort will include interviews of community experts on AI and security, and interviews or round table activities with research cyberinfrastructure operators to determine their evolving needs.The activities will result in the socialization of guidance and other outputs from this project among NSF and the broader federally-funded research community.

Through development and growth of relationships with NSF Major Facilities and collaboration with organizations such as CI Compass, the NSF SECURE Center, the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Pilot (NAIRR) and its NAIRR Secure effort, and others, Trusted CI will seek to foster a community of practice focused on the Secure Use of AI in Research environments.

If you have questions or suggestions, or need help securing AI in your research project or organization, please contact Trusted CI at help@trustedci.org.

Welcome to Our New Advisory Committee Members!

2026-03-17T14:44:00.004-04:00

In support of our expanded mission, Trusted CI is thrilled to welcome Damian Clarke, Ph.D. and Manish Parashar, Ph.D. to the Trusted CI Advisory Committee. Dr. Clarke rejoins the Advisory Committee after 2 years serving as special advisor to the program. His experiences in leadership positions at universities and university consortia, particularly in the U.S. Southeast, will be particularly valuable to Trusted CI as it works to further engage with institutions of higher education to determine how best to address the cybersecurity requirements of research security. Dr. Parashar brings a wealth of experience related to national cyberinfrastructure and artificial intelligence. We look forward to his input on our new AI initiatives and helping to define our future strategy to support the community with the secure use of AI technologies.

In addition to Drs. Clarke and Parashar, we wish to express our gratitude to the entire Advisory Committee for the guidance they provide and for sharing their time and insights to maximize the value of Trusted CI’s programs to the communities we serve.

SPHERE and Trusted CI Collaborate to Strengthen Research Security

2026-02-09T09:18:00.000-05:00

In February 2026, the NSF-funded Security and Privacy Heterogeneous Environment for Reproducible Experimentation (SPHERE) project hosted a week-long cybersecurity residency with Trusted CI, the National Science Foundation’s Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. The residency marked an important milestone in SPHERE’s transition from construction toward sustained operations, strengthening an already robust security posture through formal alignment with widely recognized best practices.

SPHERE previously partnered with Trusted CI during the 2024 Trusted CI Framework Cohort, where the SPHERE team adopted the Trusted CI Framework and completed a structured self-assessment of its cybersecurity program against the framework’s 16 Musts. The Musts identify the concrete, critical requirements for establishing and running a competent cybersecurity program. That cohort experience validated SPHERE’s foundational approach to security, while also highlighting an important next step: formally adopting a baseline cybersecurity control set and performing a gap analysis between that baseline and SPHERE’s existing controls. The Trusted CI Framework specifically recommends adoption of a recognized baseline control set in its Must 15.

Building on that groundwork, the February 2026 residency embedded Trusted CI staff directly with the SPHERE DevOps team for one intensive week at the USC Information Sciences Institute in Marina del Rey, CA. Working side by side, the teams aligned SPHERE’s existing cybersecurity controls with the CIS Critical Security Controls (CIS Controls v8), which SPHERE has now formally adopted as its baseline control set.

This work focused on mapping SPHERE’s existing practices to the CIS Controls, identifying gaps, and prioritizing future improvements. The residency also strengthened SPHERE’s alignment with NSF’s evolving expectations for research security, including closer alignment with the NSF Research Infrastructure Guide (RIG) and its set of 14 critical controls. By grounding its program in both the Trusted CI Framework and the CIS Controls, SPHERE gained a common language for documenting controls, reduced reliance on ad hoc decision-making, and ensured consistency with broadly accepted community standards.

During the residency, Trusted CI conducted site visits at all the sites that host SPHERE physical infrastructure. They visited the ISI and USC server rooms, and met virtually with SPHERE co-PIs and their teams at Northeastern University Khoury College of Computer Sciences and the University of Utah Kahlert School of Computing. These discussions helped ensure that SPHERE’s distributed architecture is protected in a coordinated and consistent manner across institutions.

With the gap analysis complete, SPHERE is well positioned to prioritize future security investments as it moves toward full operations. The outcome directly supports SPHERE’s core mission of enabling realistic and reproducible experimentation without compromising trust in the facility or the science it supports. Achieving this mission requires protecting the underlying infrastructure from attack and security breaches, safeguarding the integrity and availability of shared resources, and ensuring strong isolation and protection of researcher experiments and data.

SPHERE will share lessons learned from the residency with the broader Trusted CI Research Infrastructure Security Community (RISC), contributing back to the ecosystem that helped shape its approach.

SPHERE (Security and Privacy Heterogeneous Environment for Reproducible Experimentation) is an NSF Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-1 project (Award #2330066) spanning USC Information Sciences Institute, Northeastern University, and the University of Utah. SPHERE provides a public testbed for reproducible science and experimentation tailored to the needs of cybersecurity and privacy researchers and educators.

Trusted CI, the NSF Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, is supported by the National Science Foundation under Interagency Agreement #A2407-049-089-064206.0. Trusted CI’s mission is to enable trustworthy NSF science by partnering with cyberinfrastructure operators to build and maintain effective cybersecurity programs, publishing resources for the broader NSF community, and advancing the processes, tools, and knowledge needed to secure research progress.

2026 Trusted CI Scholars Program Now Accepting Applications

2026-02-04T14:24:00.002-05:00

As cybersecurity becomes increasingly vital across the scientific community, cultivating the next generation of cybersecurity leaders has never been more important. Trusted CI is proud to announce the Trusted CI Scholars Program (formerly Trusted CI Student Program), designed to equip students with essential skills, insights, mentorship, and hands-on experiences in cybersecurity.

The Trusted CI Scholars Program goes beyond technical training. It is about building a collaborative and innovative community of emerging leaders. If you are a student passionate about cybersecurity—or know someone who is—we encourage you to apply and join us in shaping a safer, more secure future for science and beyond.

Why Trusted CI Scholars Matter

Through mentorship, applied learning, and sustained interaction with cyberinfrastructure practitioners and the broader NSF community, Scholars learn from the processes, tools, and knowledge that Trusted CI advances to support secure research. In doing so, the program extends Trusted CI’s impact into the next generation of the cybersecurity workforce.

Additionally, as Trusted CI begins addressing the needs of higher education institutions related to research security, cybersecurity requirements, and artificial intelligence, early and proactive student engagement with these topics lays important groundwork for developing the skills, awareness, and readiness they may need to secure the nation’s science and research enterprise.

Goals of the Program

The Trusted CI Scholars Program is committed to:

Providing Foundational Knowledge: Gain practical insights into cybersecurity through workshops, mentorship, and participation in the annual NSF Cybersecurity Summit.
Growing Leadership Skills: Strengthen communication, collaboration, integrity and adaptability.
Empowering Advocacy: Serve as cybersecurity ambassadors within your communities, sharing knowledge with peers and connecting them to Trusted CI for advanced support.
Building Long-Term Connections: Join a growing network of Trusted CI alumni, opening doors to coaching, networking, and career opportunities in the cybersecurity field.

Highlights for 2026

This year’s program includes exciting enhancements:

Focused Workshops and Mentorship: Scholars will engage in tailored workshops and one-on-one mentorship with Trusted CI staff and subject-matter experts.
Alumni Engagement: Past participants will continue to have access to resources and Summit reunion opportunities, fostering sustained learning and long-term relationships. Alumni are also encouraged to share their experiences through blog posts, presentations, and outreach activities to inspire future cybersecurity professionals.
Streamlined Application Process: Applicants will submit a personal statement, professional bio sketches, and letters of support, enabling a more holistic evaluation.

Applications are now open on our submission website and close March 6.

For more information on how to apply, visit Trusted CI’s website or reach out to scholars@trustedci.org.

Together, we’re preparing the next generation of cybersecurity leaders!

Trusted CI 2025 Summit Report Now Available

2026-02-04T11:30:00.002-05:00

Last October, Trusted CI convened the 2025 NSF Cybersecurity Summit. This yearly event provides a forum for National Science Foundation (NSF) scientists, researchers, cybersecurity, and cyberinfrastructure (CI) professionals and stakeholders to share effective technical practices and brainstorm solutions to everyday challenges facing cybersecurity environment professionals. When the community comes together for the Summit, they collectively learn from each other.

The 2025 Summit was held in person in Boulder, CO, at the Center Green Campus at UCAR and NSF NCAR.

Interested in reading more takeaways from this year's Summit? Download the full Summit Report from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18484621

Trusted CI Mission Expanding to Address Cybersecurity for Research Security and AI

2026-01-16T11:19:00.002-05:00

As we enter into 2026, Trusted CI leadership is excited to share some important updates regarding the expansion of our mission. We will begin addressing the needs of higher education institutions as they relate to research security and the cybersecurity requirements of NSPM-33. In addition, we will begin major new strategic initiatives focused on the secure use of AI in research. Both of these changes represent significant expansion of our mission and also the number of institutions that we will directly impact.

Our core mission continues to be supporting the security of research through cybersecurity excellence. This includes our existing community of NSF Major Facilities and Mid-Scales, a community we remain committed to supporting. We will continue to host the annual NSF Cybersecurity Summit and will expand the program to include topics related to research security and AI. In addition, this year we’ll host our first Regional Summit in partnership with the University of Alabama.

In support of our expanded mission, we will begin partnering strategically with the SECURE Center and NAIRR-related projects. SECURE Center’s expertise in research security complements our cybersecurity expertise, and we will partner to provide comprehensive support to academic institutions who are navigating compliance with emerging NSPM-33 cybersecurity requirements. We will partner with NAIRR stakeholders to support their cybersecurity program needs.

We have established our plans for 2026 inclusive of our new objectives. This includes pivoting our cohort model to new communities focused on research security in 2026.

We look forward to engaging with new community members in the coming year! Please send any comments or questions to info@trustedci.org.

Trusted CI Completes Two Assessment Pilots with Cohort Graduates

2026-01-15T10:14:00.000-05:00

The second half of 2025 was incredibly productive for the Trusted CI team. After a successful cohort in the first half of 2025, Trusted CI shifted efforts to piloting two new kinds of assessments: a Trusted CI Framework reassessment for organizations who previously participated in a Trusted CI Framework cohort program and a Cybertrack+ Assessment with NOIRLab focused on assessing the most important cybersecurity controls.

Trusted CI Framework Reassessment Cohort Pilot

This pilot was a three month group engagement where previous cohort graduates had their cybersecurity programs re-assessed by Trusted CI, culminating in new ratings for each of the Framework’s 16 Musts and updated strategic recommendations. The Framework reassessment cohort was designed to be lighter-weight than the original Framework cohort, allowing organizations who are already well-versed in the Framework to quickly engage with Trusted CI, while preserving the opportunity to meet and learn from one’s peer organizations in a small-group environment. The pilot brought five NSF-sponsored organizations together for opportunities to share their experiences: Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC), Network for Advanced NMR (NAN), US National Science Foundation National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab), National Solar Observatory (NSO), and Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI).

CENIC reassessment presentation

Each organization had the opportunity to collaborate with other participants at the in-person Reassessment Workshop during the 2025 NSF Cybersecurity Summit in Boulder, CO. During the workshop, organizations presented on their mission and cybersecurity program, highlighted major changes from their previous assessment, as well as successes, challenges, and lessons learned. The group also held a hotwash on their experience with the reassessment cohort to help Trusted CI improve the program going forward.

“Participating in the Framework reassessment cohort pilot was a worthwhile experience that not only allowed the OOI to reengage with and learn from our Trusted CI and Major Facility colleagues but also to reflect on and better quantify all of the hard work that has gone into improving the OOI cybersecurity program since it was assessed in 2022 as part of the inaugural Framework cohort.” –Craig Risien, Ocean Observatories Initiative

Reassessment Workshop in Boulder, CO

Trusted CI Cybertrack+ Assessment Pilot with NOIRLab

Over last summer, Trusted CI kicked off a pilot assessment focused on assessing the most important cybersecurity controls. To do this, Trusted CI adopted the Cybertrack Assessment Methodology: This assessment methodology was developed through a partnership between Purdue University and Indiana University, with sponsorship from the Indiana Office of Technology. These assessments evaluate the most powerful cybersecurity fundamentals leveraging the Trusted CI Framework and CIS Controls, and provide actionable advice to improve an organization's cybersecurity posture. Cybertrack+ assessments expand this methodology to incorporate additional CIS Safeguards that are most important for operational technology (OT). In future assessments, Trusted CI plans to tailor the methodology to include the NSF Critical Controls that subsequently appeared in the 2025 NSF Research Infrastructure Guide.

Trusted CI engaged with NOIRLab to test the assessment on a research infrastructure organization. The Trusted CI Team worked with NOIRLab over a period of about two months, conducting written discovery and meeting for a fact finding session to clarify any outstanding details. At the end of this pilot, NOIRLab received an assessment report with prioritized recommendations to improve its controls implementation.

"The results of the Trusted CI Cybertrack+ Assessment included 5 top recommendations that will have an immediate impact on our cybersecurity posture. The rest of the report will help drive future projects that will further secure our research infrastructure. This was much more painless than other assessments, with better, more focused recommendations." –Jerry Brower, NOIRLab

The success of both the reassessment cohort and the Cybertrack+ pilot was significantly amplified by strong collaboration among all participants and the Trusted CI team. Trusted CI extends its sincere thanks to all participants for their commitment, time, and helpful contributions throughout these pilot assessments.

Trusted CI Director contributes to oral history project

2026-01-09T14:46:00.004-05:00

Trusted CI's Director Sean Peisert recently sat down with members of the Charles Babbage Institute at the University of Minnesota and recorded an oral history for the "Mining a Usable Past" project. In this conversation, Peisert discusses his early interests at UCSD, his transition into computer science, and the mentors who influenced his career path.

He also shares valuable experiences from his time at the UCSD Supercomputer Center and outlines his current roles as a Research Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and an Adjunct Professor at UC Davis, highlighting the importance of collaboration in the field of computer security.

Feel free to listen to his full interview on the University Digital Conservancy's website.

https://conservancy.umn.edu/items/e076d479-b49e-4fe0-971b-315d9865b174

Ships, Winches, and Cybersecurity: Trusted CI at RVTEC

2025-12-10T16:31:00.002-05:00

RVTEC attendees, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

In November, members of Trusted CI attended the 2025 UNOLS RVTEC Meeting in La Jolla, CA. The RVTEC (Research Vessel Technical Enhancement Committee) Meeting, “brings together marine technicians, engineers, and vessel operators from the U.S. Academic Research Fleet (ARF) and other agencies to share knowledge, advance best practices, and collaborate on technical solutions.”

The team contributed to many of the sessions on Cyber Monday, including a cybersecurity update from the Academic Research Fleet, the Secure by Design Operational Technology Vendor Procurement Matrix, and how-tos on developing a cyber risk assessment, an incident response plan, and cyber-incident drills.

During Mike Simpson’s presentation reviewing the 2025 activities of ARFSEC (the team that runs the fleet-wide cybersecurity program), he announced a new Ship Site Visit template that Trusted CI developed to collect information during NSF inspections of the ARF’s vessels. The purpose of the template is to document details about a vessel’s cybersecurity and cyberinfrastructure (CI) in order to identify what gaps might need attention. The template has been field tested during visits to the RV Sikuliaq, the RV Atlantic Explorer, the RV Rachel Carson, and will be used in the inspection of the RV Neil Armstrong.

The template can be found here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17807879

The 5-day meeting was packed with presentations, trainings, breakout sessions, and an impressive tour of the Scripps Nimitz Marine Facility.

Maritime vessels in the U.S. Academic Research Fleet are arguably the most complicated pieces of cyberinfrastructure in the NSF research infrastructure portfolio, and as such have complex and changing cybersecurity requirements. Trusted CI looks forward to continuing to support the ARF and the scientific progress that it enables.

Slide from SatNAG update displaying CI resources available to the fleet

Helm control panel on the R/V Sally Ride

Test bench at the Shipboard Technical Support Calibration Lab

R/V Sally Ride

Leverage Trusted CI in your NSF Proposal

2025-10-21T12:31:00.000-04:00

NSF recently announced solicitations for both the Integrated Data Systems & Services (IDSS) and NAIRR Operations programs.

“The Integrated Data Systems and Services (IDSS) program supports operations-level national-scale cyberinfrastructure systems and services that broadly advance and facilitate open, data-intensive and artificial intelligence-driven science and engineering research, innovation, and education.” Proposals to this solicitation (NSF 25-544) are due by December 4.

The NAIRR-OC solicitation seeks proposals to establish a community-based organization that will be responsible for the foundational visioning, coordination, operations, and development activities in support of an integrated national infrastructure for AI research and education. The resulting award would advance the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) vision for a public-private partnership to accelerate AI innovation and national competitiveness. Letters of intent for this solicitation (NSF 25-546) are due by December 15.

Trusted CI offers the following suggestions to engage us in these areas:

Identify and utilize Trusted CI resources. The Trusted CI Framework provides recommendations and templates for establishing and maintaining cybersecurity programs. Our online training materials and webinars cover many cybersecurity topics tailored to the NSF cyberinfrastructure community. Our annual cybersecurity summit provides a venue for training sessions for cybersecurity practitioners, technical leaders, and risk owners from within the NSF Major Facilities, Mid-Scales, and broader NSF research cyberinfrastructure community.

Indicate your intent to approach Trusted CI. We invite proposing NSF research cyberinfrastructure projects to indicate their intention to approach Trusted CI once they are funded. Trusted CI resources and staff are available to assist NSF projects with cybersecurity plans and training, via consultations and other Trusted CI activities. Proposers are free to include language showing an awareness of cybersecurity of a specific issue and showing you are aware of Trusted CI, how we can help, and that you plan to approach us if funded to collaborate on addressing the issue. You can do this unilaterally without any commitment from Trusted CI (and please be aware it does not commit Trusted CI, we do our best to help all NSF projects, but are subject to our own resource availability). We ask that you let us know if you reference Trusted CI this way to help us plan ahead.

Possible language to include in a proposal:

Our proposal team recognizes [that cybersecurity is important for the effort we are undertaking | we have a cybersecurity challenge with regards to XXX]. To address this issue we plan to approach Trusted CI, the NSF Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (trustedci.org). Trusted CI engages projects such as the one we propose to help them address cybersecurity challenges and maintain the trustworthy nature of the computational science we support. We understand that engagements with Trusted CI are collaborative and have budgeted resources in our project to work with Trusted CI on our challenge.

Include Trusted CI as a funded partner in your proposal. You can include one or more of the institutions that compose Trusted CI (IU, LBNL, UIUC/NCSA, PSC, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Arizona State University, Sustainable Horizons Institute) via a subcontract on your proposal, a process that provides a firm commitment of our participation. Please contact us to discuss which partner would be most appropriate, whether the commitment would be exclusive for a given solicitation, and the level of effort that would be involved. In this case, we would provide a custom letter of collaboration indicating our agreement to the terms of the subcontract.

Including Trusted CI in other ways. The above are examples and we are open to discussions on other collaborations not listed. If you are preparing a proposal and would like additional assistance from Trusted CI, don't hesitate to contact us to discuss how Trusted CI can help.

More information can be found here: https://www.trustedci.org/includingtrustedci. Please reach out to us at info@trustedci.org with any questions.

Trusted CI Ambassador Engagement at the EarthScope Retreat

2025-10-15T14:59:00.185-04:00

Earth’s movements tell a story, from shifting tectonic plates to subtle tremors beneath the Earth’s surface; movements that uncover the Earth’s ever-changing dynamics. Understanding that story requires precise, continuous measurements, and EarthScope provides the infrastructure to make this possible. The facility supports transformative research and education in the geosciences, offering a global community of scientists and educators access to instrumentation, observations, and infrastructure that help decode the physical processes of our planet.

In September 2025, Trusted CI Ambassador Megha Moncy attended the EarthScope Data Services Retreat in Warwick, Rhode Island, spending three engaging days with the dedicated staff. At the retreat, she had the chance to meet the Data Services team face-to-face and share insights on how Trusted CI supports NSF facilities. She connected with researchers, managers, and leadership, gaining a deeper understanding of EarthScope and exploring practical ways to integrate cybersecurity into day-to-day operations.

Bridging Science and Cybersecurity

As part of her ongoing Ambassador engagement, which includes regular check-ins with Rob Casey, Moncy serves as a liaison between EarthScope and the broader Trusted CI team. She connects the facility with the right cybersecurity expertise, offering guidance on information security, risk management, and other security needs tailored to support the facility’s mission. Building on this ongoing work, the retreat provided an ideal setting for Moncy to highlight how smart, mission-focused cybersecurity can enable groundbreaking scientific work and support EarthScope’s research effectively.

Megha Moncy, Trusted CI Ambassador to EarthScope presenting cybersecurity insights to the EarthScope team.

During her 30-minute session, Moncy presented Trusted CI’s core mission and the need for helping research facilities find the sweet spot between pushing the boundaries of science and managing cybersecurity risk. From there, she guided attendees through the Trusted CI Framework’s four pillars, Mission Alignment, Governance, Resources, and Controls; demonstrating how each pillar provides practical guidance to strengthen security while supporting the facility’s scientific mission. The session also explored the challenges and opportunities of securing operational technology (OT) and Internet of things (IoT) - enabled instruments. Moncy also highlighted the “Secure by Design” approach, explaining how building security into systems from the start can prevent problems that would be much harder to fix later.

Beyond her formal presentation, Moncy participated in team-building activities and lunches with leadership and management. These moments allowed informal conversations about cybersecurity priorities, potential collaborations, and the ways Trusted CI can support EarthScope’s mission. Amid the retreat, some exciting news arrived: EarthScope Consortium received the much awaited National Geophysical Facility (NGF) award, opening the door to expanded resources and new opportunities, including for strengthening cybersecurity across the facility.

Reflections from the Retreat

Attending the EarthScope retreat gave Moncy the opportunity to connect with staff and gain an up-close view of the inner workings of a major geophysical facility. She observed a team deeply committed to advancing Earth science and was able to share insights on how Trusted CI’s guidance and services can help strengthen the security and resilience of that work. She is especially grateful to Rob Casey for the invitation to participate, to the organizers who made the retreat run so smoothly, and to the EarthScope staff whose engagement, curiosity, and energy made the three days fly by. The experience left her inspired by the team’s dedication and the collaborative spirit that drives discovery at EarthScope, and she looks forward to many more opportunities to work together.

Safely Steering Scientific Progress on the High Seas

2025-10-01T12:38:00.002-04:00

Modern cars are like computers on wheels. From the dashboard displays to the steering wheel and even your car keys, a complex dance of computer parts and mechanical components work together to keep you safe and on the road. Today’s maritime ships are a similar blend of machinery and software. From computers to networks and satellites, the modern ship purrs with an electronic hum, but also includes more mechanical tools like winches, cranes, engines, and bilge pumps. But the very same seamless systems that help ships run smoothly can be compromised. Like cars, ships must be protected against potential hackers and other malicious actors.

The R/V Sally Ride, docked in Alameda, CA in 2024.

Trusted CI, the NSF Cybersecurity Center for Excellence, has been working with operators of research vessels across the United States to defend ships from cyberattacks. They have been supporting ships before construction on "secure by design" approaches as well as cybersecurity in research vessel operations. Research vessels are floating laboratories and instruments for landlocked researchers to gather information about what lies beneath the waves. The U.S. Academic Research Fleet includes 17 vessels, which are built with the finest electronics and observational instrumentation. They depend upon strict safety protocols to keep them safe.

But as Sean Peisert, the director of Trusted CI explains, “There are the experiments and equipment that are brought onboard, many of which also have digital and computing elements in them, making them potentially vulnerable to cybersecurity issues.” The consequences of a successful cyberattack could range from loss of data in a scientific experiment to a ship being dead in the water without propulsion, with the implications ranging from loss of time and funding to dangers of the safety of those on board.

Trusted CI’s Sean Peisert prepares for an inspection of the R/V Sally Ride in 2024.

Cybersecurity for a ship isn’t easy. It’s hard enough just keeping a ship running without thinking about computers. Case in point, Trusted CI had plans to join a training cruise in 2024 that was cancelled due to weather conditions. These are the kinds of real-world issues that research vessel operators have to deal with on top of all of the computers and science equipment that makes research vessels so special and distinctive.

In 2023, Trusted CI worked with experts in maritime operational technology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Oregon State University to develop “The Operational Technology Procurement Vendor Matrix,” a guide to ensure protection against cyberattacks by a proactive procurement process. Additionally, Trusted CI’s staff has been involved in visiting ships to better understand just how technology operates in real-world conditions. Most recently, Trusted CI's visits have also included observation of ship inspections, which happen at regular intervals by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Navy.

What happens during one of these ship inspections? Peisert says that when he visited the Office of Naval Research’s R/V Sally Ride for a National Science Foundation and US Navy / INSURV inspection, they examined the vessel’s in-port and onboard elements. The inspection of the ship involved evaluating its performance while underway, including its engines, navigation equipment, and crew procedures, and verifying that it met Coast Guard requirements for communication and navigation, including a range of traditional and modern systems. A man-overboard drill was also conducted, including communications between the ship and the recovery team.

Trusted CI’s Dan Arnold, left, conferring with marine technicians on the R/V Sally Ride in 2023.

The inspection wasn’t just limited to computer systems; inspectors also checked the state of the vessel's physical assets. “It may be interesting to know that Coast Guard rules require not just satellite, modern GPS, and digital, topological navigation charts,” Peisert observes, “but that ships must also carry HF radios that can propagate for thousands of miles, as well as paper charts, and even a sextant for determining latitude.” Inspectors even conducted visual inspections of the ship’s overboard handling system (“A-Frame”) to check the metal for potentially corrosive rust.

So far, the Trusted CI team has visited the Office of Naval Research’s R/V Sally Ride and Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon, the future home port of the R/V Taani. Team members Mike Simpson and Mikeal Jones were present for the Office of Naval Research’s R/V Thomas G. Thompson inspection in September 2024. The Trusted CI team was also involved at the RVTEC 2024 Meeting hosted by the University of New Hampshire in October 2024.

The Trusted CI team is currently preparing for upcoming collaborations with research vessel teams. Simpson and Jones will be present in October for the National Science Foundation Inspection of the R/V Atlantic Explorer in Bermuda. Another Trusted CI team member, Ishan Abhinit will be involved in the National Science Foundation inspection of the R/V Rachel Carson this November. Finally, Mike Simpson will be involved in the National Science Foundation inspection of the Office of Naval Research’s R/V Armstrong in December 2025.

As for Trusted CI Director Peisert, he plans to join the crew of the R/V Sikulaq, operated by University of Alaska, Fairbanks, in the Spring. While on board, he plans to participate in a cyber-incident drill that will take place during the transit to exercise the crew's skills and procedures in responding to simulated cybersecurity threats while at sea. Peisert says, “Trusted CI looks forward to more of these visits going forward as it continues its ongoing support of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet to ensure that the vessels' cybersecurity programs are as robust as possible for ensuring ship safety and the progress of the ocean science being conducted on the vessels.

Stay tuned for more information about Trusted CI’s maritime activities. Want to check out the activities happening on land this fall? We are hosting a ‘birds of a feather’ session at the NSF Cybersecurity Summit and we will be presenting during Cyber Monday at RVTEC this November.

Announcing the 2025 Trusted CI Fellowship!

2025-09-26T11:22:00.000-04:00

Trusted CI, the NSF Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, is proud to announce the 2025 Trusted CI Fellowship recipients!

We have selected ten individuals with professional interests in cybersecurity from a competitive national pool. These Fellows represent a wide range of institutions, disciplines, and experiences, united by a shared commitment to advancing cybersecurity in their communities in support of trustworthy open science. Throughout their Fellowship year, the Fellows will receive: * Recognition for their contributions to cybersecurity in the open science community. * Professional development opportunities, including specialized training. * Full travel support to participate in the 2025 NSF Cybersecurity Summit in Boulder, CO (October 20-23). Trusted CI looks forward to supporting their journey and seeing the impact they will make in strengthening the security of scientific cyberinfrastructure.

Please join us in congratulating the 2025 Trusted CI Fellows! Learn more about our Fellows on our website: https://www.trustedci.org/2025-fellows

NSF Cybersecurity Summit | Extended Hotel Block Deadlines – Book Now!

2025-09-22T10:04:00.000-04:00

Planning to attend this year's NSF Cybersecurity Summit in Boulder, CO?

Great news — the hotel room block deadlines have been extended!

Boulder Marriott & Residence Inn
Book by Tomorrow, September 23, to secure your group discount.

Hilton Garden Inn
Book by Friday, September 26, to secure your group discount.

Trusted CI Webinar: No Harness, No Problem: Extending Fuzzing’s Reach via Oracle-guided Harness Generation, Monday September 22nd @ 10am Central

2025-09-09T11:58:00.003-04:00

University of Utah's Stefan Nagy is presenting the talk, No Harness, No Problem: Extending Fuzzing’s Reach via Oracle-guided Harness Generation, on Monday September 22nd at 10am, Central time.

Please register here.

As NIST estimates that today's software contains up to 25 bugs per 1,000 lines of code, the prompt discovery of exploitable flaws is now crucial to mitigating the next big cyberattack. Over the last decade, the software industry mitigated increasing complexity by turning to a lightweight approach known as fuzzing: automated testing that uncovers program bugs through repeated injection of randomly-mutated test cases. Academia and industry have extensively studied fuzzing's three main challenges—input generation, program feedback collection, and, most critically, code harnessing—accelerating fuzzing to find many more vulnerabilities in less time. However, the critical nature of scientific computing—multi-purpose software toolkits, bespoke APIs, and high-performance environments—demands analogous advances in the vetting of scientific cyberinfrastructure.

In this talk, I will showcase my group's research on automatic code harnessing, a key step toward making fuzzing scalable to today's complex scientific libraries. First, I will introduce our core approach Oracle-guided Harnessing: a technique that mutationally constructs and refines fuzzing harnesses using only library headers, validated through correctness oracles spanning compilation, execution, and coverage. Next, I will discuss our extensions of this approach to the C and Python library ecosystems, where it has uncovered over 70 previously-unknown security vulnerabilities and logical bugs across widely-used codebases. Finally, I will outline my vision for synergistic harnessing techniques that combine emergent large-language-model–driven methods with our Oracle-guided strategies, charting a path toward fully automatic, broadly applicable, and error-free harnessing.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Stefan Nagy is an Assistant Professor in the Kahlert School of Computing at the University of Utah, where he directs the FuTURES³ Lab. His work lies at the intersection of software engineering, computer systems, and security, with a focus on making automated vetting of software and systems more effective and efficient irrespective of kernel, architecture, and source code. His research frequently appears at top venues such as ICSE, USENIX Security, and ACM CCS, and has led to the discovery of more than 200 previously-unknown software bugs and security vulnerabilities (futures.cs.utah.edu/bugs). He holds a PhD from Virginia Tech and a BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Join Trusted CI's announcements mailing list for information about upcoming events. To submit topics or requests to present, see our call for presentations. Archived presentations are available on our site under "Past Events."

Secure Your Hotel Room for the NSF Cybersecurity Summit Before September 19

2025-09-04T09:25:00.000-04:00

Time is running out to book your hotel room for this year's NSF Cybersecurity Summit in Boulder, CO!

The deadline to reserve your room at the discounted group rate is September 19th, and availability is limited.

Reserve your hotel room

This annual Summit brings together cybersecurity practitioners, technical leaders, and risk managers from the NSF Major Facilities and Cyberinfrastructure community. Attendees will also include key stakeholders and thought leaders from across the scientific and cybersecurity landscapes.

There is still time to register for this year's Summit—the deadline is October 6. If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to us.

Register for this year's Summit

We hope to see you in Boulder!

Summit Organizing and Program Committee

Trusted CI Celebrates Sixth Cohort Graduation & Opens Call for 2026 Engagement

2025-09-02T10:44:00.000-04:00

Trusted CI’s sixth Framework Cohort, “Foxtrot”, successfully completed the six-month program of training and workshop engagement focused on learning and applying the Trusted CI Framework. The Cohort members entered the engagement with a commitment to adopting the Framework at their organizations. They then worked closely with Trusted CI to gather facility information and create validated self-assessments of their cybersecurity programs based on the Framework. Each organization also emerged with a draft Cybersecurity Program Strategic Plan (CPSP) identifying priorities and directions for further refining their cybersecurity programs. Foxtrot cohort included the following research-oriented organizations:

ALMA | DERConnect | UC Davis | US ATLAS | ZEUS

The foundation of the cohort program is the Trusted CI Framework. The Framework was created as a minimum standard for cybersecurity programs. In contrast to cybersecurity guidance focused narrowly on cybersecurity controls, the Trusted CI Framework provides a more holistic and mission-focused standard for managing cybersecurity. For these organizations, the cohort was their first formal training in the Trusted CI Framework “Pillars” and “Musts” and how to apply these fundamental principles to assess their cybersecurity programs.

Feedback on the program from cohort participants has been strongly positive:

"Participating in the Trusted CI Cohort was an excellent experience and brought significant value to our team. As a research group working at the intersection of the power grid and renewable energy, cybersecurity is critical for both our daily operations and the broader transition to smarter, more connected technologies. The cohort facilitators provided expert guidance and a practical framework that helped us clarify our cybersecurity risks, baseline controls, stakeholder responsibilities, and more. Through their collaborative and thorough approach, we developed an actionable, strategic plan and gained a holistic understanding of our security posture. With this training, we feel empowered and better prepared to implement a robust cybersecurity program, strengthening both our research and industry collaborations."

- Keaton Chia, R&D Engineer and Project Manager, DERConnect

2026 Framework Cohort Call for Participation Open

Trusted CI has a few spots left for the 2026 Framework Cohort engagement (starting January 2026). To learn more or to submit the interest form for your organization, visit trustedci.org/framework/cohort-participation.

Engagement with RISC

Concurrent with leading Foxtrot, Trusted CI continued quarterly engagement with graduates of the five previous Framework cohorts through the Research Infrastructure Security Community (RISC). Trusted CI established RISC as a community of practice to provide a forum for cohort graduates to expand their cybersecurity knowledge, share experiences, and build relationships within the NSF research cyberinfrastructure community.

For more information, please contact us at framework@trustedci.org.

Registration now open: 2025 NSF Cybersecurity Summit – October 20–23 in Boulder, CO

2025-08-18T08:04:00.003-04:00

We’re excited to announce that registration is now open for the 2025 NSF Cybersecurity Summit, taking place October 20–23, 2025, at the UCAR Center Green Campus and NSF NCAR in Boulder, Colorado.

🔹 Explore the 2025 Program
Check out this year’s engaging sessions and speakers.

🔹 Register to Attend
Please complete your registration by October 6, 2025.

🔹 Plan Your Stay
Trusted CI has secured hotel accommodations for Summit attendees.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Please send an email to summit@trustedci.org

We look forward to seeing you in Boulder this October!

Trusted CI Webinar: Securing Medical Imaging AI Models Against Adversarial Attacks, Monday August 25th @ 10am Central

2025-08-10T13:54:00.001-04:00

University of Pittsburgh's Shandong Wu is presenting the talk, Securing Medical Imaging AI Models Against Adversarial Attacks, on Monday August 25th at 10am, Central time.

Please register here.

While AI is increasingly present in clinical practice especially for medical imaging, it is imminent to ensure cybersecurity of imaging diagnostic AI models. Newly advanced adversarial attacks pose a threat to the safety of medical AI models, but little is known about the characteristics of this threat. Medical adversarial attacks may lead to serious consequences including patient harm, liability of healthcare providers, and other ethical issues or crimes. It is imperative to study this cybersecurity issue to mitigate potential negative consequences and to ensure safety of health care. In this talk, the speaker will discuss cyber vulnerabilities of deep learning-based medical imaging diagnosis models under adversarial attacks, show real-world experiments on how adversarial attacks can fool AI models to decrease diagnosis performance and to confuse experienced radiologists, and present several methods of defending adversarial attacks to secure AI models in medical imaging applications.

Speaker Bio:

Shandong Wu, PhD, is a Professor in Radiology, Biomedical Informatics, Bioengineering, and Intelligent Systems at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Wu leads the Intelligent Computing for Clinical Imaging (ICCI) lab, and he is the founding director of the Pittsburgh Center for AI Innovation in Medical Imaging. Dr. Wu’s work focuses on developing trustworthy medical imaging AI for clinical/translational applications. Dr. Wu's lab received multiple research awards such as the RSNA Trainee Research Award twice in 2017 and 2019, the 2021 AANS Natus Resident/Fellow Award for Traumatic Brain Injury, the 2025 SPIE Imaging Informatics Best Paper Award, etc. Dr. Wu’s research is supported by NIH, NSF, multiple research foundations, Amazon AWS, Nvidia, and many institutional funding sources. Dr. Wu has published > 190 journal papers and conference papers/abstracts in both the computing and clinical fields. His research has been featured in hundreds of scientific news reports and media outlets in the world.

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Trusted CI visits IceCube

2025-07-31T11:10:00.003-04:00


Trusted CI staff member Megha Moncy holding one of the many hard drives shipped back from the South Pole containing neutrino research data

"Have you ever held $300,000 in your hands?" At least that's the way Steve Barnet put it as he allowed us to hold one of the hard drives that had been shipped back from the main IceCube Neutrino detector in Antarctica. Steve is the IT manager for the IceCube Neutrino Detector, which is an NSF Major Facility allowing scientists from around the globe to study neutrinos. Steve estimates that each drive shipped back has around $300,000 worth of scientific data on it, based on the cost of collecting the data.

In June 2025, members of the Trusted CI team took the opportunity to tour the IceCube Neutrino Detector data center and development facility at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. The team learned about the custom designed sensors and equipment that make up the 1 cubic kilometer detector buried under 1.5 km of ice at the South Pole.
Because the detector produces about 1TB per day of data, and satellite communication to the South Pole is limited, it's still far more efficient to ship hard drives back to the lab after a season of data collection at the detector is finished. However, because the data is so valuable, they write the data to at least two separate arrays of hard drives and ship them on separate logistical channels in case of catastrophe during shipment.

Steve Barnet (right), giving a tour of the IceCube development facility.

The IceCube data center in Madison also simulates the layout of the facility in Antarctica so that they can better plan any changes made to the infrastructure and to be sure that equipment that is shipped down to the South Pole facility will fit around corners, be compatible with installed equipment, and have enough power.

The IceCube sensors, which are called "digital optical modules", are about the size of a basketball but surprisingly weigh more than a bowling ball. Most of the weight is owed to the thick glass in each sensor pod that shields the sensitive electronics and photomultipliers from the 1 to 2 kilometers of ice that sit above them. The unique sensors were designed and built by several institutions within the international IceCube Collaboration to withstand the extreme environment of Antarctica.

Trusted CI staff member Mark Krenz holding one of the digital optical modules.

Neutrinos are a fundamental particle generated by the universe's most extreme events such as supernovae and black holes. They travel in straight lines from their origin through the universe, passing through ordinary matter. As neutrinos pass through the Earth from all directions, including through the core of the planet, neutrinos whose path takes them through the south pole IceCube detector pass through the large cubic kilometer of ice making up the array. Most of them pass right through the detector without any interaction, but occasionally they hit an atom in the ice and generate secondary charged particles which travel through the ice faster than light travels through ice. This produces Cherenkov radiation, which creates a blue flash of light. This blue light phenomenon of Cherenkov radiation is what the photomultipliers actually detect.

IceCube's testing and development array of sensors.

The facility also has a test array of sensors that are not encased in glass and stacked closely together that allow IceCube staff to run tests and diagnostics on the electronics before performing the same operations on the production sensor array. This reduces the chance of an incident that damages the entire array, "which would be bad", according to Steve (he likes understatement). Availability is a crucial security requirement for the IceCube array, and one of the threats against the sensors continuing to function is the extreme cold damaging the electronics inside. If the array loses electricity, it would only be a matter of a day or so before large parts of the array would become unrecoverable. Thus, it is important that a generator powering the array in Antarctica run continuously uninterrupted over the lifetime of the experiment. Trusted CI benefits from visiting the IceCube facility by seeing the equipment and better understanding the processes used to program, deploy, and protect the equipment from a variety of security threats.

Trusted CI Webinar: TIPPSS to improve Trust, Identity, Privacy, Protection, Safety and Security for Cyberphysical Systems, Monday July 28th @ 10am Central

2025-07-14T12:06:00.001-04:00

Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub's Florence Hudson is presenting the talk, TIPPSS to improve Trust, Identity, Privacy, Protection, Safety and Security for Cyberphysical Systems, on Monday July 28th at 10am, Central time.

Please register here.

The challenge of providing end to end trust and security for operational technology systems has been a growing challenge and increasingly imperative. An IEEE effort was begun in 2016 to tackle that challenge, resulting in the publication of the first IEEE/UL TIPPSS standard (IEEE/UL 2933-2024) and the awarding of the 2024 IEEE Standards Association Emerging Technology Award to the TIPPSS standard working group. The goal of the TIPPSS standard, which is envisioned to be a family of standards, is to improve Trust, Identity, Privacy, Protection, Safety and Security (TIPPSS) for cyber-physical systems, beginning with Clinical Internet of Things and expanding to research infrastructure, the energy grid, distributed energy resources, and more. In this webinar we will discuss the initial IEEE/UL TIPPSS standard for clinical IoT data and device interoperability, the details of the technical and process elements of the standard, and the opportunity to apply it to all operational technology. Future TIPPSS presentations planned include "TIPPSS for navigating a changing cybersecurity landscape at the Electron-Ion Collider and other scientific research facilities" in collaboration with Brookhaven National Laboratory at the ICALEPS 2025 conference (The 20th International Conference on Accelerator and Large Experimental Physics Control Systems) September 20-26, 2025 in Chicago, bringing the TIPPSS discussion to research infrastructure and the IT systems that support it. Trusted CI's initiatives in Secure by Design and the Trusted CI Operational Technology Procurement Vendor Matrix are very complementary to the TIPPSS initiative, and there is more we can do as a community in this effort together. Join us to discuss the imperatives and possibilities.

Speaker Bio:

Florence Hudson is Executive Director of the Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub at Columbia University, leading over $10M in projects funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Transportation. She is also Founder & CEO of FDHint, LLC, a global advanced technology consulting firm. A former IBM Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Internet2 Senior Vice President & Chief Innovation Officer, Special Advisor for the NSF Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, and aerospace engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab and Grumman Aerospace Corporation, she is an Editor in Chief and Author for Springer, Elsevier, Wiley, IEEE, and other publications. She leads the development of global IEEE/UL standards to increase Trust, Identity, Privacy, Protection, Safety and Security (TIPPSS) for connected healthcare data and devices and cyberphysical systems, and is Vice Chair of the IEEE Engineering Medicine & Biology Society Standards Committee. She earned her Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering degree from Princeton University, and executive education certificates from Harvard Business School and Columbia University.

IEEE Emerging Technology Award

IEEE 2933 Working Group Leadership Team

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Applications are now open for the 2025 Trusted CI Fellowship!

2025-07-10T09:06:00.000-04:00

We’re excited to announce that applications are now open for the 2025 Trusted CI Fellowship. This is your chance to receive expert training, work closely with Trusted CI members, and further empower the NSF community to secure its own research.

Click here to learn more about the Fellows program and to view our past Fellows

Click here to apply for the program

The application deadline is Thursday, July 31, 2025

Trusted CI’s past Fellows have been an amazing success with 35 Fellows from various fields, including:

Research Technologies
Astrophysics
Criminal Justice
Network and Combinatorial Optimization
and Computer Engineering

Fellowship Benefits:

Participation in Virtual Cybersecurity Institute Training Workshops
Receive funding to attend the 2025 NSF Cybersecurity Summit
Access to Trusted CI staff and other Cybersecurity professionals

Participation in the Fellows program will occur from October 2025 to April 2026.

Now Open - 2025 NSF Cybersecurity Summit Call for Participation

2025-06-10T10:33:00.000-04:00

It is our pleasure to announce that the 2025 NSF Cybersecurity Summit (Oct 20-23, Boulder) Call for Participation is now open! The Summit Program Committee seeks proposals for:

Plenary presentations and Panel talks
Workshops and Trainings
Birds of a Feather (BoFs) and Project meetings
Poster session
TLP:RED talks

We welcome your proposals relevant to a broad range of topics related to the operational cybersecurity of NSF cyberinfrastructure and programs. However, we encourage proposals that address topics highly ranked by the NSF CI Community. These include:

HPC security
AI in cybersecurity: Practical use in operational security and/or balancing automation and oversight
Network security and defense
Regulatory compliance
Staying on top of emerging threats (how-to guide)
Pros and cons of federal, academic, and private research funding
Digital forensics and incident response (case studies)
Zero-trust architecture implementation
Security of research IOT
Adjusting your cybersecurity program during cuts

More detail and guidance on submitting proposals can be found here:
https://www.trustedci.org/2025-cfp

The deadline for plenary, workshop, training, BoF, and project meeting submissions is Monday June 30th.

Poster session submissions are due September 5th. TLP: RED submissions are due October 10th.

Thank you on behalf of the Program and Organizing Committees. We look forward to receiving your proposals and hope to see you in October in Boulder!