Our Vision & Mission is to serve the nation by acting as a catalyst for enhancing cyber/critical infrastructure security and striving to be the most respected, sought out, single expert source on cyber/critical infrastructure security issues for government agencies, private companies, educators, and the media.

Together, the McCrary Institute and its multiple research centers, deliver a one-stop shop for all things cyber, from the standpoint of policy, research, education, and technology. Our innovative approach and solutions are designed to enhance security, bridge industry silos, and support U.S. national security interests.

 

Research Advantages with Auburn University

Auburn University is a nationally ranked land grant institution recognized for its commitment to world-class scholarship, interdisciplinary research, and an undergraduate education experience second to none. As a land-grant institution, Auburn University is dedicated to improving the lives of the people of Alabama, the nation, and the world through forward-thinking education, life-enhancing research and scholarship, and selfless service. Auburn is dedicated to conducting classified research with the U.S. national security community and private sector companies to protect and defend our nation against emerging threats.

The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, with 6,300 students and 200 tenure-track faculty, is ranked among the best public institutions in the nation by U.S. News and World Reports with one of the largest engineering enrollments in the U.S. The college maintains export controlled and collateral classified lab space, up to Top Secret.

Auburn’s commitment to deeply technical, interdisciplinary cybersecurity education, and research has set it apart as one of only ten universities to hold all three NSA Center of Academic Excellence designations.

 

Distinction & Honors

  • Recipient of the Defense Security Service James S. Cogswell Outstanding Industrial Security Achievement Award
  • Defense Security Service Award for Excellence in Counterintelligence
  • NSA/DHS Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research
  • NSA/DHS Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education
  • NSA Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations
  • Auburn maintains accredited secure spaces to facilitate classified research

WHAT WE PROVIDE

COMPLETE END-TO-END CYBER SOLUTION

Auburn's McCrary Institute activities span the spectrum, from conception and prototype to implementation and application. Whereas other universities and think tanks in the cybersecurity field can only offer one or two elements, we're a think-and-do operation that provides complete end-to-end cyber life-cycle service.

At the McCrary Institute our renowned researchers, faculty, and senior fellows immerse themselves in cybersecurity work that illuminates the issues, forecasts risks, assesses their implications, and imparts essential guidance to key policymakers across governments and industry. The institute's triad of support facilities are in key locations: Washington DC, Huntsville, and Auburn, AL, offering close working relationships and strategic partnerships with its policy and technology subject matter experts.

 

EXPERTISE IN 3 STRATEGIC AREAS: POLICY, EDUCATION, & RESEARCH

The McCrary Institute draws on the extraordinary capabilities of its experts on and off-campus to develop real-world solutions to pressing cybersecurity concerns. Talented faculty in the top tiers of their disciplines bring decades of experience and innovation to the intricate challenges of protecting the nation's infrastructure. Clear-eyed policy work meshes with world-class engineering to form a formidable deterrent against increasingly more sophisticated cyber threats.

 

POLICY INTENT & OBJECTIVES

  • Identify the most concerning cyber and critical infrastructure security issues and challenges on and over the horizon. Inform decisionmakers and collaborate with them in order to help shape strategy and outcomes that support and advance U.S. national and economic security.
  • Enhance awareness and understanding of cybersecurity by providing expert content, analysis, and resources to a wide audience through multimedia channels and in-person forums.
  • Convene leaders in an environment of trust that encourages candid discussion, actionable solutions, and that builds deep long-term bonds with key practitioners as well as their agencies/companies.
  • Partner with decisionmakers in government and industry and connect them with our subject matter experts and students to advance work on current and emerging threats.
  • Bring greater visibility to cyber and critical infrastructure security issues to build public awareness.

 

RESEARCH INTENT & OBJECTIVES

  • Connect researchers with external partners (public/private) that will enable them to meet their cyber and critical infrastructure security needs.
  • Focuses on customer driven applied research.
  • Generate additional federal projects on AI, data science, machine learning, and a custom focus on cyber-informed engineering.