Shannon Muchmore
Tulsa World
09/12/2008

Critical infrastructures rely on computer systems that must operate correctly and, in a time of growing cyberwarfare, must be secure. The University of Tulsa Institute for Information Security is a national leader in research to protect such systems.

"We're one of the best, if not the best, university in the country in information security," said David Greer, executive director of the institute, which is housed in Keplinger Hall on the TU campus.

Professors and students study government and industrial issues for protecting information processing systems, particularly in the oil and gas sector, Greer said.

"We get to work on real problems and come up with real solutions," he said.

Many systems in the oil and gas industry are computerized with specific equipment that controls every aspect of a machine. Once the computers are connected to the Internet, they are at risk for manipulation. They must be protected just like home or office computers, but the process is far more complicated, said Mauricio Papa, associate professor with the department of computer science at TU. "When you're at this level, it's a little bit different," he said.

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