Syracuse University will tighten cyber security on campus this semester with new federal grants, politicians said.

The National Science Foundation recently awarded Syracuse University a $300,000 federal grant to research possible ways to strengthen security in cyberspace. SU will be doing collaborative work with Cornell University, which was awarded $1.6 million.

The grant is among 33 new projects funded through NSF’s Cyber Trust, a new program that funds research to make computer systems safer. The grant will allow researchers to create more security for servers and e-mail, and it will also create entirely new technology that will automatically keep information more secure.

‘Protecting computer systems from hackers is an important part of homeland security,’ said Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-New Hartford), who chairs the House Science Committee.

Boehlert pushed strongly for the grant with the help of Rep. Jim Walsh (R-Onondaga), chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, he said.

‘Both representatives are the go-to people in Congress for science types and investment spending-that’s quite a bit of influence.’ said Dan Gage, communications director for Walsh. ‘It’s unique that they are able to help the local institutions and companies who are trying to use these local funds to expand their companies and research at the corporate and educational level.’

The appropriated money is seen as a great honor to Cornell and SU, Gage said.

‘It’s a credit not only to the universities and their reps, but also its researchers who attained them,’ Gage said.

Although plans are still uncertain, SU and Cornell already began their research, and results for tighter cyber security should appear in the near future.

Boehlert believes the money will allow for the creation of new technology in a thriving area of commerce and communication.

‘These grants will help enhance homeland security for the entire nation while helping our area continue to become a hub for cyber security research,’ Boehlert said.

Published on September 27, 2004 at 12:00 pm