The 2011 Federal Cybersecurity Research and Development Plan cites "Accelerating Transition to Practice (TTP)" as one of five strategic objectives in the Cyber Security and Information Assurance (CSIA) Program Component Area. TTP remains a strategic objective of Agencies which fund cybersecurity research, including NSF. However, the NSF cybersecurity portfolio contains only a small amount of security research that has been transitioned into operational activities. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) of the White House defines transition to practice as research that "creates measurable improvements in the cybersecurity landscape". NSF encourages security researchers with promising applied research projects to submit TTP (Transition to Practice) projects, and while some researchers take advantage of this opportunity, others lack information about how to identify an early adopter for their technology. Early adoption is a crucial step for gaining valuable feedback about the usefulness and effectiveness of a security technology. This EAGER will serve as an outreach vehicle to cybersecurity technology adopters such as scientific cyberinfrastructure operators and Chief Information Officers (CIOs) at university campuses, informing them of the benefits of adopting cutting edge cybersecurity capabilities into their organizations and matching them up with security researchers looking for partnership opportunities.
In 2015, NSF sponsored two workshops which brought together key stakeholders to provide insights on how to improve the TTP process and encourage more TTP adoption, therefore improving cybersecurity for scientific cyberinfrastructure. An important outcome of that workshop was the identification of specific barriers to TTP. This follow-on project identifies specific ways in which NSF can overcome these barriers as they consider how to address TTP for the future. The project establishes workshops for early adopters to learn about specific cybersecurity projects that need adopters, and provides opportunities to engage with the NSF-funded cybersecurity community to foster more transition of cybersecurity research into the hands of the operational Information Technology Community. The expected outcome is that NSF expands the impact of the cybersecurity research it funds by producing more TTP results in the near to mid-term in order to make cyberspace safer.
