NTT DATA to jointly countermeasure data security risks with UTS in Australia, incorporating cutting edge encryption technology and stringent access controls

August 29, 2023

NTT DATA, Inc.

TOKYO – Aug 29, 2023 – NTT DATA, a global digital business and IT services leader, today announced that the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and NTT DATA, together with NTT Research, Inc., NTT Ltd. and NTT DATA Romania, have agreed to partner and utilise NTT's commercialised cryptography technology, Attribute Based Encryption (ABE) solution to enhance data security at the UTS Vault^* for research and use case development.

UTS Researchers and Rapido, UTS's Technology development unit, have worked in partnership with NTT DATA to validate ABE and co-develop use cases in areas including cloud computing, healthcare, IoT, and secure data sharing that provide a robust solution for protecting sensitive information while maintaining granular control over data access.

Attribute based Encryption (hereinafter ABE) is a powerful cryptographic technique that enables fine-grained access control and flexible policy setting at the data layer, with shared-secret encryption technologies enabling secure data sharing that can be integrated to existing applications and data stores. NTT Research owns key intellectual property and associated patents for this initiative and NTT DATA developed the data security solution integrated with ABE. The solution takes advantage of the proprietary cryptographic library that incorporates research by a laboratory in NTT Research a leading cryptographic team. NTT DATA and UTS have jointly developed an ABE use case and look forward to ongoing collaboration with industry including startups in the translation of the technology to new use cases.

• *The UTS Vault is a purpose-built, secure facility that is unique to New South Wales (NSW), enabling collaboration between private sector tenants and a public university to advance research and commercialisation in world-leading cyber security and data protection.

"We look forward to the exciting opportunities that this partnership creates in supporting the integration of ABE into current and future use cases. NSW will benefit from the acceleration of the cyber security and data protection industries through the development of expert skills, ideation of new and innovative solutions while helping our partners protect the integrity of their data.", said Professor Glenn Wightwick, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Innovation and Enterprise, University of Technology Sydney

"We are excited to collaborate with UTS on one of the first deployments of ABE, a solution that is a direct result of research conducted by NTT Research's Cryptography & Information Security (CIS) Lab Director, Dr. Brent Waters. ABE supports organizations like UTS who are aiming to ensure data security and privacy protection, while also ensuring that only necessary information is effectively shared amongst related parties according to their business needs. Today's connected world requires solutions that provide security/privacy protection and data-sharing flexibility. ABE will play a key role in achieving those requirements.", said Kazuhiro Gomi, President and CEO, NTT Research, Inc.

"The UTS Vault will help build a pipeline of highly skilled workers for the cybersecurity, technology and innovation industry by providing world leading cybersecurity education and hands-on experience for undergraduate and higher degree students, industry employees seeking to re-skill and startups. UTS and NTT will accelerate to establish and enhance cybersecurity collaboration in Sydney and grow a joint market for new R&D technology.", said Noriyuki Kaya, Executive Vice President, NTT DATA, Inc.