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University of Essex homepage Research Topics Security and Resilience
Research Topics

Security and resilience

computer

We have never been more connected. Or more at risk.

With scammers and hackers a prolific part of online life, cybersecurity is an essential but increasingly expensive part of business for companies and institutions across the globe.

International crises caused by war and natural disasters have led to mass displacement of populations, increasing tensions across borders and the rise of the Far Right in politics. And the spread of disinformation on social media has made it harder for governments to get essential information out to their citizens during a crisis.

Climate change not only makes some natural disasters more frequent and more destructive, but it also threatens our crops and water, putting nations at risk of increasing food insecurity. The damage caused by such disasters to lives and businesses places a significant burden on the economies and living standards of countries. Those in the Global South bear the brunt of these disasters, while already having less resources to rebuild after.

And the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the weaknesses of our modern world. The first global pandemic of the millennia exposed the depth of online misinformation, the difficulties in maintaining international supply chains, and how economies struggle to recover after lockdowns. Building resilience to similar disruption is essential for our future.

The University of Essex has taken an interdisciplinary approach to studying these multi-faceted issues. Academics are working across departments and institutions, partnering with charities and NGOs, and involving affected communities, to find solutions and bridge knowledge gaps across the globe.

Selected projects

Security

Misinformation and Disinformation and Deep Fakes AI4HEALTHSEC EU-China Security Cooperation Statutory duty of care for social media platforms Multilingualism Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Africa

Resilience

RuBP Regeneration REbuilding a sense of PLACE (REPLACE) Online Romance Fraud Toolkit (ORF) ARISE: Advancing Resilience and Innovation for a Sustainable Environment Syria in Transition

Our departments

Researchers in the Department of Psychology are working to understand human behaviour online and in-person, with areas of expertise including political psychology, communication and language, and feelings around fairness and equality. Research on trust and political divides is also carried out by the Department of Government, alongside work on reconstruction (post-conflict and after natural disasters), and security co-operation across continents.

Local community work is being carried out in the School of Health and Social Care, which has recently launched of the Centre for Coastal Communities. Individual and community security is also an area of focus for both the Department of Sociology and Criminology and Essex Law School, where researchers are studying the long-term impact of online scams on individuals, and how data collection for security purposes puts individual freedoms and privacy at risk.

Academics in the Department of Economics and Essex Business School are working to understand how to make businesses and economies more resilient. Their work has revealed that companies are starting to understand the risks climate change poses to their futures. Businesses are increasingly looking towards sustainability to fight climate change, while governments are focusing on how to improve resilience in local communities.

In the School of Life Sciences experts in plant science are developing crops that are resilient to the effects of climate change, such as drought, improving food security for billions around the world. Marine biologists in the School are working on projects around climate change and marine ecosystems, including how sustainable fishing practices for human consumption may not be enough to maintain fish populations.

And in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering our researchers are working to improve cybersecurity across multiple fields, from network security in the age of the Internet of Things, to security of data such as digital healthcare records.

A white feather looming out of a black background.
Louder than Words: The Dark Before the Dawn

Join Ismene Gizellis and Han Dorussen in conversation with Jules Pretty on conflict, peace-keeping, cooperation, governance after conflict, and the impacts on women. Ismene Gizellis and Han Dorussen are political scientists from the Department of Government at the University of Essex.

Listen to this podcast

Research news

Essex refugee expert named senior advisor at UNHCR
The University of Essex’s Professor Geoff Gilbert has been appointed a senior advisor at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in recognition of his outstanding research and work on forcibly displaced people.
Lettuce grower joins with Essex robotics experts to transform crop farming
Lettuce farming is being revolutionised thanks to an exciting partnership between the University of Essex’s Robotics group and a major agricultural firm.
Star Laws: Reform needed to stop final frontier becoming billionaire wasteland
Private space missions bankrolled by billionaires are exploiting a regulatory black hole and leaving unwanted satellites and other junk to float in outer space.
More research news
Essex human rights expert supports historic drug reform in Pakistan
World-first toolkit launches to support people displaced by climate change
Crime-affected children add their voice to new research
Foreign aid can reduce risky migration journeys - says study
How governments can be smarter at saving businesses
Christmas dinners saved by climate change resistant roasties
Essex peacekeeping experts deliver special workshop
Most US voters agree on values - is polarisation exaggerated?
Fight to create climate change resistant rice secures £2m
How to make our diverse UK coastal areas more resilient
Essex to sow the seeds of onion farming's future
Trust levels in the police only 42% in East of England
Russian courts weaponising foreign media to impose conditions on the truth
Advanced army robots more likely to be blamed for deaths
Achieving sustainability in the ready-made garment and fashion sector
Pioneering community-led projects could be the key to tackling social issues
Major grant to focus on impact of shared language on conflict
New £3m climate crop lab will create food for ‘tomorrow’s atmosphere today’
Essex expert praised in House of Lords for work on Online Safety Bill
Small businesses in Essex to learn critical lessons on cyber security
Investors back the environment over profits new research shows
Essex to lead global project aimed at reducing civilian harm in war
Why we need to fall out of love with flaky white fish - study
News stories highlighting kindness inspire communities
Essex expert in call for AI weapon systems guidance
New insights into engineering climate smart crops for future
Post-conflict reconstruction research backed by ERC funding
Scam prevention in Kenya needs new approach study finds
Issues around EU integration driving success of far-right parties in western Europe
New £1M project to investigate climate change vulnerability across at-risk communities
Climate change policies and implementation issues: lessons to be learned from South Asia
Essex coastal defence project team invited to COP27 in Egypt
Report urges Home Secretary to reform police accountability
Deadly tendrils of powerful mafia exposed by University of Essex professor
NHS vaccine texts looked like scams to more than 50 per cent of recipients

Centres and institutes

Centre for Coastal Communities
Essex Plant Innovation Centre (EPIC)
Michael Nicholson Centre for Conflict and Cooperation
Human Rights Centre
Centre for Commons Organising, Values Equalities and Resilience (COVER)
Centre for Global South Studies
Professor Klaus McDonald-Maier, wearing a blue shirt and looking straight at the camera.
Brighter Futures: The Apple and Isaac - Your Devices and Cybersecurity

In this video Professor Jules Pretty is joined by Professor Klaus McDonald-Maier from the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, to discuss the transformation of our lives thanks to technology, and the risks and challenges such technology presents.

Watch the video

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