VMware to sponsor CyLab’s Future Enterprise Security Initiative

VMware, Inc., a leading innovator in enterprise software, recently announced it will be a founding sponsor of CyLab’s Future Enterprise Security Initiative (FutureEnterprise@CyLab), which has a mission of rethinking security across enterprise ecosystems through innovations in artificial intelligence, computer science, engineering, and human factors research.

“VMware is an industry leader for security solutions built for a rapidly expanding, multi-cloud world,” says David Ott, a senior researcher in VMware Research and a co-director of the VMware Academic Program. “Enterprises around the world are trying to keep up with change and stay ahead of sophisticated adversaries in an evolving technology landscape. At VMware, security is an inherent design consideration in all that we do to protect our customers from cyberattacks.”

At VMware, security is an inherent design consideration in all that we do to protect our customers from cyberattacks.

David Ott, Senior Researcher and Co-Director, VMware Academic Program

Ott says that VMware, in the form of charitable gifts through the VMware University Research Fund, has sponsored university research over the years as a way of giving back to the research community and as a way of promoting open research, which he says VMware strongly believes in. 

“We look for the results of CyLab’s research to broadly benefit the academic research community, and the broader industry which puts new ideas and technology to work,” Ott says.

VMware’s goals in sponsoring FutureEnterprise@CyLab, according to Ott, are threefold. First, they are seeking a better fundamental understanding of challenging problems in security and privacy—including both current and future technology challenges.

“The work that academic researchers do often sheds light on dark and muddy areas,” says Ott, “… areas that need analysis and a more fundamental understanding.”

Second, VMware hopes their sponsorship will enable the exploration of new, experimental approaches. Lastly, they’re hopeful that the FutureEnterprise@CyLab initiative will identify whole new areas of work that open doors within the security and privacy research landscape.

“Vyas Sekar’s work in programmable, software-defined security, for example, really helped the field and opened up new research avenues,” he says. 

Sekar, a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), will serve as a co-director of FutureEnterprise@CyLab, along with ECE and Institute for Software Research professor Lujo Bauer.

We’re excited to see how our collaboration shapes our rethinking of security across enterprise ecosystems.

Vyas Sekar, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

“We are thrilled to have VMware as a founding sponsor of the Future Enterprise Security Initiative,” says Sekar. “We’re excited to see how our collaboration shapes our rethinking of security across enterprise ecosystems.”

To learn more about partnering with CMU CyLab and the Future Enterprise Security initiative, contact the CyLab Partnerships team.