Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI)

The second in a three-part series about George Mason's participation in the CCI NoVa Node. This entry is on innovation and entrepreneurship.

George Mason faculty and students identified an important vulnerability in anonymization of health data. They recently presented a paper on the findings at one of the world's most prestigious computer security conferences.

This is the first of a three-part series about George Mason University’s role as the NoVa Node headquarters of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI), Virginia’s main access point for workforce development, cybersecurity innovation, and research.

When cyber security engineering major Connor Wadlin learned about ransomware attacks on organizations, such as the one on the Health Service Executive in Ireland, in his CYSE 445 System Security and Resilience class, it confirmed his commitment to dedicating his educational and professional career to protecting and preserving human lives.

Kun Sun, professor in the Department Information Sciences and Technology, will work with local company CodeLock on software security, supported by the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative's Academic Support for Cybersecurity Entrepreneurship and Next-Gen Development (ASCEND) Fund. 

Mason researcher Vijay Shah has joined a $2 million project to develop a system to secure 5G Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture, a collaboration between Mason and Virginia Tech, Penn State University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Two College of Engineering and Computing faculty members, Kai Zeng and Vijay K. Shah, are part of a project awarded $1.7 million by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund.

As plans for Mason Square progress, the Cyber Security Engineering (CYSE) department, the fastest growing department in the College of Engineering and Computing, is eager to leverage the space.

Researchers from the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative take on projects that expand the contributions of social scientists to cyber security challenges through funding of multidisciplinary projects.