Our Dean of Research and Enterprises – Tuapapa Rangahuu, Marcus Williams, earlier this week attended the professorial address of our newest professor, Dr Christian Probst. Marcus captures below what this very special event was about including Christian’s journey to Unitec and his work.
On Monday, Dr Christian Probst gave his professorial address, Defend, attack, transform – how to protect our critical infrastructure, at Ngākau Mahaki at Te Noho Kotahitanga marae. Acting CFO and Executive Director of Partnerships David Glover did the honours, placing the Unitec Professorial robe on him after it was blessed by Hohepa Renata who conducted the pōwhiri for the manuhiri.
Guests included came from University of Waikato, Fisher and Paykel, Kordia, Datacom, NIWA, Tech Futures Lab, and others, testament to the impression that Christian has made in his field of expertise, in only six months at Unitec.
Coming from the Technical University of Denmark where he headed the Section for Cyber Security at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Christian was recruited to direct our High Tech Transdisciplinary Research Network and his presentation was testimony to his broad and culturally engaged perspective of security in the digital domain. He discussed how important it is for organisations to identify critical parts of their infrastructure and to base countermeasures, development, and training activities on a continuous risk assessment. Christian presented his work on an attack navigator that helps organisations to mitigate threats including attacks on the physical, cyber, and social level, illustrating the importance of research into cyber security.
The address included a question time and Associate Professor Helen Gremillion from Social Practice asked how an individual could protect their own information in a world dominated by social media. Christian explained that it is very difficult to control data once set free, and that it requires tremendous effort to keep track of where data is released and how it should be governed. He highlighted the fact that social media companies often offer their products for free, because their revenue comes from selling the data they collect on consumers. Helen’s question further underscored the truly transdisciplinary nature of this topic, reaching as it does into every aspect of modern life.
Professor Probst is the Science lead on the Unitec contract in STRATUS, New Zealand’s most significant cyber security research project, and is now working with professors at the University of Auckland, University of Waikato, the National Cyber Policy Office in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Vodaphone, Datacom, as well as half a dozen security firms throughout NZ. In October, he travels to Singapore (funded by MBIE) with the STRATUS research team to promote CRaaSH, the unique cyber security software developed by Unitec aimed at providing accessible security solutions for small to medium businesses.
It was an impressive address on a critical topic globally and an area of strategic importance for Unitec. Yet the memorable part of the gathering was without a doubt the warmth and generosity of spirit that is always engendered by our most fabulous venue where the spirit of Te Noho Kotahitanga endures.