Integrated Security and Privacy in a Networked World (ISTRICE)

Istrice and the large UT project Prosecco started in 2004. Before that date, at the UT there was some research in computer security, but without a clear focus and without critical mass. Notable exceptions to this were the group of Slump and Veldhuis (at that time already prominent in Biometric recognition), and some individual initiatives in the Database group (Jonker) and in the DIES and CADTES groups (Hartel, Hoepman, Etalle).

Thanks to the Istrice and Prosecco programs, the situation has dramatically changed. We have achieved critical mass: nowadays, the UT hosts the largest multidisciplinary research group in computer security of the Netherlands, with projects ranging from Risk management to Intrusion detection. We will substantiate this in the rest of the document. Istrice and Prosecco have brought together groups of a different nature that – before these projects – had insufficient scientific interaction and critical mass.

Research agenda

The new focus is the result of our analysis of what is concretely happening in the world around us.

Area 1: Biometrics

At present, biometrics is receiving world-wide attention as a potential means to secure access to content and locations and to authenticate (internet) transactions. As it uses body (or occasionally behavioral) characteristics, it is the most “personal” method capable of verifying or identifying a persons identity. ISTRICE groups focus in particular on: fingerprint recognition, face recognition, template protection, and grip pattern recognition

Area 2: Information Security

This is a broad area which deals with the protection of sensitive information in enterprises. Particular emphasis is put on the problems around data protection in collaborative environments. Topics of interest are access control, trust management, privacy, risk management and accountability, and information security applied to the healthcare sector.

Area 3: Network Security

The network is often the weakest technical link in a security infrastructure, and (ad-hoc) wireless systems present security and privacy challenges that are still unanswered. ISTRICE groups carry out research in: network intrusion detection, protocol engineering, security of wireless, resource-constrained devices, and quantitative methods in network security.