On June 12, Sandia National Laboratories inaugurated its new Cybersecurity Technologies Research Laboratory (CTRL). The CTRL resides on the grounds of the Livermore Valley Open Campus. In a press release on the opening Jim Costa, a senior manager of computational sciences and analysis at Sandia’s California site said, “With CTRL, we can run experiments and talk more freely about a wide range of cyber research activities, and we can do so with a variety of U.S. and international collaborators but without some of the unrelated restrictions that are often associated with a national laboratory.”

Costa went on to explain that, “At the same time, we can do these things in a uniquely controlled environment where we know what activities are taking place and we can monitor who and what else is in the building. We look at CTRL like our own neighborhood hangout for Sandia and visiting cyber professional who need an open but secure place to meet and collaborate.” Costa also noted that Sandia has a decades-long history in cybersecurity, with its origins residing in Sandia’s nuclear weapons program.

Broadly, CTRL will promote stronger relationships between industry, academia and national laboratories in the research and development of cybersecurity solutions through technology, practices and policy. Specifically, CTRL aims to:

Develop the science and computing foundation necessary for robust cyber security research and development.

Develop critical relationships to help understand the full range of technical threat concerns facing industry, government (nonclassified) and academia.

Develop, test and help implement cybersecurity approaches in real-world situations.

Promote the various technical domains that support the advancement of cybersecurity, essential to the security and stability of the U.S. and the world.

Develop political and social awareness of the real, imminent threat and the consequences posed by cyber exploits and attacks.

Provide a window to the external world on open cybersecurity and related work throughout Sandia, along with acting as a Bay Area resource for open work performed at Sandia’s New Mexico location.