about us

Mission

The mission of the SAIT Laboratory is to serve as a focal point for members of different academic disciplines, government, and industry to carry out world-class research and to advance the practice and public awareness of information technology security and assurance through education and public service. SAIT Laboratory is established in response to Presidential Decision Directive 63, which calls for a comprehensive national effort to address the information security problem, including private-public partnerships, and increased education, training, research, and development.

To meet the needs of the combined constituencies, the focus of SAIT is simply on innovation and learning. The primary research function of the Laboratory is to provide an environment to foster world-class, applied research in information security technology. The Laboratory provides facilities that are used for research and graduate level teaching in security and information assurance, allowing security projects that are not safe to conduct using the regular campus computing facilities.

Headed by Professors Mike Burmester and Alec Yasinsac, SAIT Laboratory has a wealth of knowledge in security and assurance. With existing projects in, for example, Intrusion Detection, Secure Software, Wireless Security, Elliptic Curve Cryptography, Security Protocols, RFID Security, and Electronic Voting, the laboratory is on sound research footing. The added multi-disciplinary interactions with the FSU Departments of Mathematics, Information Management Systems, Communications, and Information Studies and the School of Criminology, the FAMU/FSU Department of Electrical Engineering, and the FSU Law School brings breadth in understanding of the technological and practical perspectives of information security in the Internet Age.

The SAIT Laboratory Corporate Sponsorship Program fosters mutually beneficial, long-term relationships among our sponsors, faculty and students. Among other benefits, our sponsors enjoy high visibility within the SAIT Laboratory community and SAIT Laboratory faculty and students benefit from resources and expertise provided by the sponsor community. Sponsorships are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

History

A few years ago, Computer Science at FSU decided to focus on the topic of “Trusted Systems” in particular for hiring. At that time, there were no experts among faculty members on Information Security at FSU although information security is one of the most important aspects of Trusted systems design.

• 2003

  • January: SAIT is awarded the National Science Foundation Scholarship for Service. The first students scholarships are given in the Fall 2003 term.

• 2002

  • June: SAIT is awarded the Department of Defense Information Assurance Education & Training Scholarship Program. The first student scholarships are given in the Fall 2002 term.

• 2001

  • Fall: FSU offers a Master of Science degree with Information Security Major.
  • Summer: The Security and Assurance in Information Technology (SAIT) Lab is created, including new laboratory facilities for research and education in Information Security: the Internet Teaching Lab, the Security Lab, the Virus Lab, and the Cryptography Lab.
  • Spring: SAIT launches the FSU Information Security Professional Certificate Program.
  • Spring: SAIT hires internationally-renowned cryptographer Dr. Michael Burmester.

• 2000

  • Spring: SAIT is recognized as a Center of Educational Excellence in Information Assurance by the National Security Agency (NSA).
  • Spring: Curriculum certified as compliant with NSTISSC standard for Information Security Professionals (NSTISSI No. 4011) for academic years 2000 through 2003.
  • Spring: Funding of a new laboratory for computer and network security is granted to the new Computer Science Security department.
  • Spring: A special Colloquium Series on Computer Security is held to poll interest for future programs.
  • Spring: Development of a new course in Network Security and Formal Methods begins.
  • Spring: Development of a new course in Computer Security begins.

• 1999

  • Fall: Dr. Yvo Desmedt develops a new course on Cryptography.
  • Fall: Dr. Yvo Desmedt and Dr. Alec Yasinsac are hired to meet a growing academic interest in the field of Information Security.
  • Summer: The FSU Computer Science Department offers a special course in Information Technology Security Tools and Practices in collaboration with JAWS Technologies, Inc..

Last Updated: Friday, October 19, 2007 @ 02:20:22PM EST/EDT Designed by Jonathan C. Nilson. Published by FSU SAIT. Please view our legal notices and privacy policy.