The big players hope they can get the private sector and the government to work together

Oct 25, 2012 14:57 GMT  ·  By

IT industry giants Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Honeywell, Intel Corporation, Lockheed Martin, and RSA/EMC have joined forces to form a non-profit research consortium that’s known as Cyber Security Research Alliance (CSRA).

Cyber security has become an important issue not only for private organizations, but also for governments. Major economic powers, including the US, are focusing many of their resources on enhancing both their defensive and offensive capabilities and most of them have realized that collaboration with the private sector is vital.

“Putting into practice the exciting cyber security innovations that emerge from research requires active partnerships between government and industry and also among private sector stakeholders,” said Chuck Romine, director of NIST’s information technology laboratory.

“The emergence of CSRA can strengthen both kinds of partnerships and we look forward to working with this new organization to promote a trustworthy cyberspace for our nation and its citizens.”

The consortium will focus on developing viable approaches to technology transfers, tackling cyber security R&D activities, and prioritizing the challenges posed by cyber security based on the collaboration of all stakeholders.

The CSRA hopes to bring together all the key actors in an effort to address national cyber security research and development, and bridge the existent gap between the private sector and the government.

“The CSRA is organized to leverage expertise, from member companies and partners in government and academia. Together we hope to create viable, game changing cyber security solutions,” said Lee Holcomb, president of the CSRA and VP of strategic initiatives at Lockheed Martin.

Currently, the CSRA is also collaborating with the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to arrange a symposium in early 2013, to bring together academia and researchers from both private and government sectors.