I monitor the funding “wish lists” that come out of the NSF in the US because they are an indicator of what some people think are the important issues. Today, the NSF wish list includes areas close to my heart: security, usability, and privacy. Hopefully, the funding will be granted, and other organizations will take notice.
National Science Foundation Requests $6.85 Billion for Fiscal Year 2009
The FY 2009 request includes $116.9 million for cybersecurity research and education, with $30.0 million specifically devoted respectively to research in usability ($10 million), theoretical foundations ($10 million), and privacy ($10 million) to support the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative. These investments in cybersecurity and information security and privacy will produce research results that allow society to more fully exploit the potential benefits of an increasingly networked world. In addition, the Scholarship for Service program, which funds scholarships to build a cadre of federal professionals with skills required to protect the nation’s critical information infrastructure, increases by 30 percent to $15 million. (emphasis added)