Government Chief Scientific Adviser to launch University of Bath’s new Institute for Digital Security and Behavior

(Press-News.org) Professor Dame Angela McLean, Government Chief Scientific Adviser, will lead the launch of the University of Bath’s new Institute for Digital Security and Behaviour (IDSB), on Wednesday 29 January, at Bath’s Guildhall, in a keynote speech on Securing the Future.

The Institute marks a new research collaboration, bringing together behavioural and social scientists to address the risks to society posed by digital technology.

Researchers will study the fundamental causes of vulnerability to harm and the factors that can make people, organisations and societies safer and more secure, understanding more about the context of geopolitics, regulation, economy and business.

Key research projects in the new Institute are studying online safety and harms; global politics of security and technology; emerging and future technologies;  human, economic and organisational aspects of cyber security; and digital data and national security.

Speaking ahead of the event, Professor McLean said: “The technologies most critical to the UK’s future have complex data and security requirements. They need expert input, and not just from the scientists and engineers responsible for advancing these technologies. 

“By putting the interests of people and society at the heart of its work, the University of Bath’s Institute for Digital Security and Behaviour should play a major role in tackling major issues around the safe and successful deployment of technologies.”

The researchers hope that working alongside businesses, parliamentarians, and government stakeholders, will see research insights implemented in practice and in regulation over the next five years, to help create a safer world.

“While new digital technologies provide incredible opportunities for growth, innovation, and prosperity, they also create risks and threats, and the human and social challenges they present are often the most intractable,” said  Adam Joinson, Professor of Information Systems and Co-Director of IDSB.

Laura GE Smith, Co-Director of IDSB and Professor of Psychology, said: “We take a ‘whole of society’ approach, which puts people at the heart of digital security. We want to help make the UK a more innovative, safe, secure, and resilient digital society, to develop the next generation of leaders in digital security and behaviour, and to help advance the UK as a global leader in this domain.

“We see the impact on individual lives – our children vulnerable to social media abuse, and people and businesses falling victim to cyber crime such as phishing and hacking. Threats to UK institutions increased with the war in Ukraine, and the general public have been targeted with disinformation seeking to interfere in elections. Terror groups use social media to spread hate, recruit members and plan terror attacks in the real world.”

The new institute will address these challenges, leading research to help people and organisations navigate the digital revolution, including artificial intelligence, social media and digital data.

New research from IDSB published on 24 January revealed how memes spread conspiracy theories by creating unity in online groups.

For more information on the work of IDSB visit www.idsb.ac.uk

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