Jun 2018: Security Program at LSST

The concept behind the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is simple: conduct a digital image-based survey over an enormous area of the sky and build an extensive astronomical catalogue over the course of ten years. LSST’s astronomical data is the ultimate deliverable to its users. This unique scientific computing environment presents many cyber security challenges. LSST has in place a cyber security program to facilitate its scientific mission: to protect its data access requirements and rights. We will discuss the beginnings of LSST’s cyber security program, adoption and experience with its risk management framework, existing and planned security operations at LSST sites, including the observatory site in Chile and the National Center for Supercomputing Operations (NCSA).

Speaker Bio: Alex is a Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). He is the Information Security Officer for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). He is also a PI and co-PI for a number of NSF-funded cybersecurity projects.