The aim of the chair is to develop novel processes, techniques and technologies for compliance-driven security solutions for Software-Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technologies in 5G networks. It will address state-of-the-art and novel research topics in security at the core and edge of 5G networks.

The chair has been awarded to Professor Lingyu Wang, professor at the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE). Professor Wang will collaborate with researchers from Ericsson Research Security in Montreal, other professors that are experts in the subject matter, and graduate students to pursue developing advanced security solutions.

These solutions will encompass full security management lifecycle, including monitoring security compliance, detecting compliance breaches, and mitigating them proactively.

Professor Wang says: “As the Internet of Things (IoT) grows in tandem with emerging 5G technology, it’s crucial to assure the security and stability - peace of mind - of both physical and virtual infrastructures across our increasingly networked world. To that end, I’m honored to partner with Ericsson for our research on SDN/NFV security and strengthen Canada’s leadership in innovation and in creating high-skilled workers in such a strategically important area.”

The Ericsson-Concordia University partnership extension builds on successful past collaborations, mainly in the Audit Ready Cloud research project, which focused primarily on Cloud security.

Eva Fogelström, Director of Security, Ericsson Research, says: “With the increased focus on cybersecurity in general, and on security assurance in particular, it’s vital that we pursue research in new advanced methods and solutions for compliance and monitoring. We are truly motivated to continue and strengthen our collaboration with the leading researchers at Concordia University to generate state-of-the-art results that will help build the trustworthiness of future mobile networks.”

Concordia University is home to two cyber security master programs with more than 150 graduate students and a security research center with more than 50 Ph.D. and M.Sc. students. Concordia recently received major funding to establish a new cybersecurity fusion center, awarded to Professor Mourad Debbabi, Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, Gina Cody School and a major collaborator in the NSERC/Ericsson-awarded chair.

Professor Debbabi says: “The numbers reflect Concordia’s strategic commitment to cybersecurity. The Concordia Computer Security Laboratory now has a total of 65 cybersecurity researchers, including 10 professors, 55 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows making strides in prevention, detection, mitigation and recovery methods.”

Twenty Ericsson-powered 5G networks are already commercially live in 14 countries across four continents – part of 70 5G agreements or contracts Ericsson has globally.