Network exploring digital trust, identity, privacy and security is launched

Imperial College London is part of a new consortium leading SPRITE+, a network addressing engagement in digital trust, identity, privacy and security.

The SPRITE+ network, which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), was officially launched last week at an event which was attended by over 100 attendees from academia, business, government and civil society organisations.

The event encouraged delegates to think about the biggest challenges for digital security, privacy, identity and trust, with outcomes feeding into the identification of the SPRITE+ Challenge Themes during an Expert Fellows meeting which took place the following day.

The aim is for SPRITE+ to be a ‘one stop shop’ for engagement between academic and non-academic communities – a way for these communities to communicate and connect with each other, and a platform for building collaborations across the spectrum of issues relating to security, privacy, identity and trust.

SPRITE+ is led by a consortium of five universities: The University of Manchester, Imperial College London (via the Institute for Security Science and Technology), Lancaster University, Queen’s University Belfast, and the University of Southampton. To date its 13 project partners have pledged in-kind support for hosting internships, event hosting and organisation, and access to expertise, equipment, and data.

You can find out more about the Network on the SPRITE+ website.

Emma Barrett, Professor of Psychology, Security and Trust in the School of Social Sciences and Director of Sprite+, said: "I am delighted at the amount of interest, enthusiasm and energy that SPRITE+ has already generated. We have had engagement from across the academic community and from research end users in business, government, police and civil society. All are eager for more collaboration on issues of security, privacy, identity and trust in our digital world, and the SPRITE+ team is looking forward to creating opportunities to make that happen."

Professor Bill Lee, Co-Director of the Institute for Security Science and Technology, Imperial College London said: “With the proliferation of digital technologies throughout society the threats to consumers, business and critical national infrastructure have expanded and evolved. Collaboration is absolutely essential to meeting these challenges, which is why SPRITE+ is so important.”

Membership of SPRITE+ is open for free to anyone involved in exploring the future of trust, identity, privacy and security, from researchers, to industry, business, government, law enforcement and civil society organisations. Members receive a newsletter, they can join the discussion list, and have access to online resources and opportunities to attend events and bid for funds. Members’ online profiles offer opportunities to contact each other for networking and building collaborative relationships as well as hosting virtual meetings and workshops.

Register to join SPRITE+