Cyber Security Technologies
Envision it. Autonomous vehicles that only make secure connections with their surroundings. Digital systems that fully automatically lock out hackers and try to repair damage. And carefree online entrepreneurship in which competition-sensitive data is secure. That’s why we at TNO work on cyber security. Cyber Security Technologies stands for safe and secure working and living in our digital world.
Digital security is increasingly complex
Technology is developing at lightning speed. Ever more devices and applications are being connected to the Internet. We have more digital data, apps, and services than ever before. Everyone and everything is connected. Consumers, businesses, and public authorities.
With this growing interconnectedness and complexity, it’s increasingly difficult to maintain an overview. The need for secure, reliable, and robust cyber security solutions is increasing. Because what’s secure today may not be secure tomorrow. That's why we at TNO are working hard on the smart cyber security innovations of tomorrow.
Cyber security is a challenge for businesses
We read about it regularly in the media: cyber security is a prerequisite for keeping the Dutch economy running. Entire organisations are crippled by ransomware attacks. Or large parts of our daily lives are disrupted by a cyber attack.
How do you ensure that your IT security policy remains effective and contributes to the goals of your organisation? How do you ensure that you train enough competent people, that employees display cyber-safe behaviour, and that you, as an organisation, have the right knowledge and resources? The security of our information and network society is never complete.
Advancing organisations through IT innovation
This is why TNO continues to innovate in cyber security. And enters into new partnerships to share our specialist knowledge. In this way, we contribute to the competitiveness of the Dutch business community and to a reliable Dutch government. And we work on innovations that make the Netherlands safer and offer opportunities for business at home and abroad.
The Cyber Security Technologies expertise group
The Cyber Security Technologies expertise group works on the optimal protection of digital systems and the information contained in those systems. We have an overview of the full cyber security playing field. There, we select what we consider to be the most important topics. We have substantial knowledge and experience relating to:
- finding vulnerabilities in digital systems
- detecting anomalies in system behaviour
- advising on the removal of causes of anomalies
- finding ways to make systems operational again
- automating the above processes and viewing them as a whole, compared to the business processes of the organisations we help
Improved cyber security through innovations
We use our knowledge and experience to help companies improve their cyber security. We do this in different ways to suit different situations.
Every digital system contains vulnerabilities that are not yet known to the developers. Our expertise group develops ways to support designers and cyber security experts. We do this by automatically detecting and analysing unknown vulnerabilities in digital systems. And by researching detection techniques that can recognise vulnerabilities before a digital system is put into operation.
It’s important to detect cyber threats before they affect business operations. We therefore develop algorithms and software prototypes that can do this quickly and efficiently. For example, we’re researching how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can protect digital systems from threats by analysing data sources and looking for suspicious or anomalous patterns in data streams.
We also work on solutions for responding to an imminent attack. Analysing what’s happening, thinking of response options, and taking the best course of action to avoid or stop the attack and prevent further damage. We develop technology to automate such responses as much as possible. However, collaboration between humans and machines remains crucial for effective and efficient cyber security operations.
We focus on proactive and reactive response actions:
- Proactive response: the organisation is warned about a software vulnerability or about a new, frequently used method of attack. An analysis must then show what damage could occur and what options there are to prevent this.
- Reactive response: we respond to an attack within the organisation's infrastructure. It’s important to prevent further damage by denying the attacker access to the infrastructure, isolating affected systems, and removing malicious software.
We also work on technology that will allow digital systems to generate remedial actions based on decision theory. For example, restarting a ‘clean’ application or interrupting a potentially risky download.
In the future, this self-healing concept will protect an organisation’s entire digital infrastructure. And even include cross-organisational recovery technology. We focus on designing and testing the most appropriate combinations of resilience and recovery technologies.
Want to collaborate with TNO on cyber security?
We help organisations – and by extension society – to take steps towards a secure digital existence. To this end, we deploy:
- talented researchers who study and publish on the margins of known fields of knowledge
- people with practical experience who fully understand the processes of organisations with digital systems
- consultants who advise clients on the basis of their overview and broad knowledge base
- people who can build protective concepts that are so good that clients sometimes want to implement them immediately in their own protective layers.
Would you like to collaborate with TNO on cyber security? If so, please contact Karin Bosch.
European Cyber Security Perspectives
View our insights into recent developments, initiatives, and successes in cyber security, cyber crime, and cyber resilience.
Contact us
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Karin Bosch
Functie:Research ManagerKarin Bosch is research manager of the Research group Cyber Security Technologies. Within CST we innovate in automated vulnerablility research,
automated security, resilience, and secure monitoring & detection.-
Standplaats:Groningen
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Email:Email Karin
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