A portal to cutting edge research into the cyber security of cyber-physical critical systems

RITICS Mission

The programme is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and is coordinated by the School of Convergence Science at Imperial College London.

Research

Conduct research which advances knowledge in areas identified as having the greatest potential to transform the academic state-of-the-art and user practice

Engagement

Provide a focus for liaison with stakeholders from the NCSC, and other parts of government and business

Impact

Outputs will be disseminated, promoted and applied, where appropriate, to improve cyber security of cyber-physical systems and critical infrastructure in the UK as a whole

Call for Fellowship 2027

Submission deadline: Monday 28th September, 5pm

Call Document Available Here   

The Research Institute in Trustworthy Inter-connected Cyber-physical Systems (RITICS) is inviting proposals from researchers for part-time fellowships.

Topic Areas

We invite applications which respond to the challenges identified in the NCSC’s Cyber-Physical Problem Book. The challenges currently include:

  • How do we build security for systems with long operational lives?
  • How do we incentivise better security for cyber-physical systems?
  • How can we understand the security of a wide variety of cyber-physical assets?
  • How do we have confidence in the security of cyber-physical systems?
  • How can we make use of emerging technologies in a secure way within cyber-physical systems?
  • How do we build resilience across a ‘system of systems’ ?

Alternatively, proposals could address either Problem CC5 or Problem CC6 from the Problem Book chapter on Cross-cutting problems:

  • How can we accelerate the adoption of modern security mitigations into Operational Technology?
  • How do we incentivise investment in – and markets for – foundational technology that is secure by design?

Proposals should make clear how the proposal addresses Cyber-Physical and OT aspects of the problem. Under the fifth problem in the Cyber-Physical Problem Book we are particularly keen to fund a fellowship to look at the effect of the dramatic advances in AI technologies on Cyber-Physical Security; we intend that least one of the Fellowships will address this area.  This call is open to researchers in UK universities and industrial research laboratories.  University researchers will be expected to cost their fellowship using their Institution’s Full Economic Cost (FEC) model and will be reimbursed at 100% of FEC costs. Industrial researchers may add a reasonable overhead to their costs.

Key Dates

Activity Date
Call for Fellows Published Tuesday 7th July 2026
Proposals due to be submitted Monday 28th September 2026
Announcement of Results Monday 19th October 2026
Fellowships Starts Friday 1st January 2027
Fellowship Completed Friday 31st December 2027

RITICS Fest

The Research Institute in Trustworthy Inter-Connected Cyber-Physical Systems (RITICS) was thrilled to announce the launch of an annual workshop series. The event offers a unique platform to showcase and discuss the latest advancements in the security of Industrial Control and Cyber-Physical Systems across the UK.

What are Critical Systems?

Critical systems are those that provide critical services, such as transport, energy, water and telecommunications. Underpinning services, such as high-value manufacturing, are also considered critical systems.

These critical systems can be described as being cyber-physical, in that they contain networked computers which can control physical parameters.

This opens them up to cyber security threats, which can have physical consequences.

Funding Opportunities

We are excited to announce the availability of a small fund to support members of the RITICS community. This funding can be utilised for various purposes such as travel grants, workshop organisation, feasibility studies, and similar activities. Individual awards will be capped at £5,000.

To apply, please submit a one-page document (A4 size) with reasonable margins and a minimum font size of 11pt. The application should outline the purpose of the funding, the benefits it will bring to the RITICS community, and include a detailed breakdown of the costs.

Applications will be reviewed twice a year, during Spring and Autumn. Preference will be given to early career researchers. All applications to be sent to ritics@imperial.ac.uk

RITICS Aims

  • To understand the harm that threats pose to the provision of critical systems
  • To confidently articulate these threats as risk to delivery of critical systems at a business and national level
  • To identify novel effective and efficient interventions for business or governments to reduce the risks to critical systems
  • To understand and compare both the effectiveness and costs of potential interventions. This includes technical interventions, such as altering system architecture, through to policy interventions by governments and regulators
  • To best detect intrusion in critical systems, including embedded and bespoke systems, and identify whether incident response differ to established practices for enterprise IT
  • To identify the obstacles to (perceived) best practice being applied to critical systems

RITICS is coordinated by the Institute for Security Science and Technology; Imperial College London’s hub for security research and engagement.

At the Institute for Security Science and Technology we coordinate interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary research in security across Imperial College London. We further act as a security science, technology and innovation interface for academia, government and industry.