[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 92 (Thursday, May 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27007-27008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-11444]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Toward a Federal Cybersecurity Research Agenda: Three Game-
changing Themes

AGENCY: The National Coordination Office (NCO) for Networking and 
Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD).

ACTION: Notice.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tomas Vagoun at [email protected] or 
(703) 292-4873. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through 
Friday.

DATES: May 19, 2010.
SUMMARY: Representatives from Federal research agencies will present 
themes to exemplify and motivate future Federal cybersecurity research 
activities.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Overview: This notice is issued by the National Coordination Office 
for the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development 
(NITRD) Program. In concert with the White House Office of Science and 
Technology Policy, agencies of the NITRD Program have identified three 
initial research and development (R&D) themes to exemplify and motivate 
future Federal game-change cybersecurity research activities: (a) 
Tailored Trustworthy Spaces, (b) Moving Target, (c) Cyber Economic 
Incentives. On Wednesday May 19, 2010, from 1:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. PDT, 
representatives from the National Science Foundation, the Department of 
Homeland Security, and other agencies, will present the three themes at 
the Claremont Hotel, 41 Tunnel Road, Berkeley, CA 94705. This event 
will be webcast. For the event agenda and information about the 
webcast, go to: http://www.nitrd.gov/CSThemes.aspx. This event will be 
the first discussion of these Federal cybersecurity game-change R&D 
objectives and will provide insights into the priorities that are 
shaping the direction of Federal research activities. Following this 
event, an on-line forum will be opened at http://cybersecurity.nitrd.gov/ to provide an opportunity for comments and 
feedback.
    Background: With the increased attention to cybersecurity, the 
President's Cyberspace Policy Review challenges the Federal community 
to develop a framework for R&D strategies that focus on game-changing 
technologies that can significantly enhance the trustworthiness of 
cyberspace (by ``cyberspace'' we mean the globally interconnected 
network of information technology infrastructures, including the 
Internet, telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded 
processors in critical industries). Achieving enduring trustworthiness 
of the cyberspace requires new paradigms that re-balance security 
asymmetries of today's landscape: the cost of simultaneously satisfying 
all the requirements of an ideal cybersecurity solution in a static 
system is impossibly high, and so we must enable sub-spaces in 
cyberspace to support different security policies and different 
security services for different types of interactions; the cost of 
attack is asymmetric, favoring the attacker, and so defenders must 
increase the cost of attack and must employ methods that enable them to 
continue to operate in the face of attack; the lack of meaningful 
metrics and economically sound decision making in security misallocates 
resources, and so we must promote economic principles that encourage 
the broad use of good cybersecurity practices and deter illicit 
activities. The research agenda will be built by initially focusing on 
the three themes and on enabling component technologies supportive of, 
or required by these themes. The Federal research community welcomes 
feedback to refine these themes so that they can form the basis of an 
enhanced research agenda. In the pursuit of these three initial themes, 
we expect new themes, possibly complementary and possibly overlapping, 
will emerge, enriching our understanding of how to design and build a 
more trustworthy cyberspace.
    Submitted by the National Science Foundation for the National 
Coordination Office (NCO) for Networking and Information Technology 
Research and Development (NITRD).


[[Page 27008]]


    Dated: May 10, 2010.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2010-11444 Filed 5-12-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P