BANGALORE, India and BELFAST, Ireland, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
A major new strategic partnership aimed at combating the global cyber security threat has been signed between Queen's University Belfast and Infosys, a global leader in consulting and technology.
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The collaboration brings together Infosys with Queen's University Belfast's Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), one of the UK's largest and most prestigious university cyber security research labs, and Invest Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland government's regional business development agency.
The partnership will establish a research, education and commercialization model, to develop solutions and intellectual property for combatting cyber security threats arising out of the rise of digital and Cloud-based business models. Infosys and CSIT will work jointly on a range of topics including combatting malware, security of mobile and cloud infrastructures, and privacy issues for financial markets.
The three-year agreement will lead to the establishment of a CSIT-Infosys Cyber Lab that will become part of a global network of companies and institutions developing security technologies. As part of the CSIT advisory and governing board, Infosys will play a key role in developing the centre's research roadmap and gain access to its research and technologies for commercial usage.
Infosys and CSIT will also promote joint research projects and sponsor PhD scholarships, internships, faculty sabbatical and exchange programs. They will impart training and education on advanced concepts in data privacy, cloud, contemporary web application and wireless security as well as intelligent surveillance systems. Together, the partners will also jointly seek funding from agencies in India and Europe for relevant projects.
Welcoming the agreement, Senior Vice President, Infosys Labs and Products R&D, Subu Goparaju, said: "The rise of cloud and mobility solutions has only increased the need for greater cyber security. This is a top concern we hear from executives around the globe. Our partnership with Queen's University will provide Infosys insights into cyber-crimes and access to the important work being done at CSIT. We believe the outcome of this partnership will not only result in stronger products for our clients, but in a safer digital world."
Signing the strategic partnership Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast, Professor Sir Peter Gregson, said: "Queen's both welcomes and values its partnership agreement with Infosys, one of India's leading technology companies. Cyber security affects us all. Be it via smartphones and their apps, online banking or through developments in cloud based services, we are all at risk of cyber security attacks.
"Queen's agreement sees Infosys join with over 20 other industrial partners, including many global players who have committed to supporting CSIT in its quest to solve some of the real world security challenges of the future. It is intended that through this partnership society will be the real winner."
Today's announcement comes after Prime Minister David Cameron's recent visit to India when he signed the UK-India cooperation deal that will see the creation of a joint task force to exchange and share information to identify and counter cyber security threats.
Commenting on the Queen's Infosys partnership, Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts, said: "The UK is recognised as a world-leader in combating cybercrime and has real competitive and technology advantages in this field. The work at Queen's University's CSIT, which I have seen at first hand, is a tangible example of our expertise in this area and I welcome its latest partnership with Infosys. It will be good for Infosys, good for Queen's University and good for the interests of all our households and businesses in both our countries."
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster commented: "I am delighted to see that the initial introductions made by Invest Northern Ireland's team based in India, linking Queen's to Infosys' Global Internship Programme and Infosys Labs, have developed and grown into a viable and important business partnership.
"This partnership between Queen's and Infosys is an excellent example of collaborative working. By pairing knowledge and research contained within our world class universities with business we can work together to provide practical solutions to commercial challenges. Such partnerships are of real importance to growing our economy. I look forward with interest to how this partnership between Queen's, Infosys and Invest NI develops.
"This is also an excellent example of the global opportunities that exist for Northern Ireland. If we are to grow our economy we must look beyond our own shores. This partnership between Queen's in Belfast and Infosys in India just goes to show that there really are no limits to how far we should look for opportunities."
Additional Resources
Notes to Editors
About CSIT
The Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) was established in 2009 with over £30M funding and is based in the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) at Queen's University Belfast. CSIT is an Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC), one of only six prestigious centres in the UK. With over 80 people working in the Centre, it is the UK's largest university cyber security research lab and is acknowledged as an "Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research" by the UK Government, in partnership with the Research Councils' Global Uncertainties Programme (RCUK) and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). CSIT has world leading capability and research excellence in security for Cyber, Cloud Computing, Smart Grid and Cyber Physical Systems.
CSIT operates a successful Open Innovation Model of engagement with partner companies who commit to inform CSIT research roadmaps and access CSIT technology to evaluate for exploitation. Member Companies include BAE Systems, Thales, Q1 Labs, IBM, Altera, Cisco and McAfee/Intel. These companies, along with key government stakeholders and numerous hi-tech small and medium sized enterprises, have access to direct, and absorb, over £30M worth of applied research in their specific market application.
About Infosys
Infosys partners with global enterprises to drive their innovation-led growth. That's why Forbes ranked Infosys #19 among the top 100 most innovative companies. As a leading provider of next-generation consulting, technology and outsourcing solutions, Infosys helps clients in more than 30 countries realize their goals.
Visit http://www.infosys.com and see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY), with its 156,000+ people, is Building Tomorrow's Enterprise® today.
Invest Northern Ireland
Invest Northern Ireland works with individuals, companies and organizations in manufacturing and tradable services which show the ambition and commitment to grow by being more innovative, more entrepreneurial and more internationally focused.
Invest NI's resources are focused on assisting our clients to improve competitiveness, increase innovation, promote a stronger international focus and create more positive attitudes to enterprise.
Invest NI's full range of support and services are delivered through local offices in Belfast, Coleraine, Ballymena, Craigavon, Londonderry, Newry, Enniskillen and Omagh, and an international office network.
Safe Harbor
Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012 and on Form 6-K for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2012. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law.
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