EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Open SecuRe NeTworks (CDT-FORT)

Future communication networks are set to become even more advanced and complex with the development of 6G and beyond. These systems are expected to be open, secure, and resilient, which is in line with the UK ecosystem of vendors diversification strategy. The future Network of Networks (NoN) will bring together various networks to help bridge the digital divide and contribute, directly and indirectly, towards achieving the UK's goal of NetZero .

The 2022 National Cyber Strategy outlines the need to 'ensure ... the next generation of connected technologies are designed, developed and deployed with security and resilience in mind and as part of a concerted effort to embrace a 'secure by design' approach'. Future networks will underpin Critical National Infrastructure in various sectors as they go through digital transformation, gradually becoming a NoN that integrates space and terrestrial networks that, in addition to mobile broadband, will deliver sensing, timing and positioning information. Due to the unprecedented complexity of NoN, new solutions that take advantage of AI/machine learning solutions are needed. Currently, there are insufficient people with the skills and experience to address these challenges.

Alongside the demand for these skills from our industry partners, the Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (CSEC) provides security evaluation to the UK government for a range of products used in the UK telecommunications market and in their most recent report (2021), NCSC stated that it is critical to recruit appropriate technical cyber security specialists and with demand outstripping supply, they were likely to see hiring challenges. The £80M DSIT-funded UK Telecoms Lab (UKTL) recently established to boost the security, resilience and performance of the UK's telecommunication networks, will also be looking to the CDT-FORT to help address its recruitment pipeline. Given the numbers of people required, cohort training is particularly beneficial in this...