Funded by the European Commission, TITAN (Trusted envIronments for confidenTiAl computiNg and secure data sharing) it’s a 36-month project that will deliver an open-source software platform focused on enabling secure sensitive data sharing, and demonstrate them in the EOSC ecosystem.
The University of Murcia in Spain assumes the coordination of TITAN and Dr. Antonio Skarmeta is the man behind the wheel.
Antonio Skarmeta has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Murcia and has been a full professor there since 2009. Over the years he worked on several national and international projects (e.g. ENABLE, DAIDALOS, SWIFT) on topics such as networking, security and IoT, and 5G. He coordinated some H2020 projects and now he assumes the Horizon Europe project TITAN on confidential data collaboration & secure and privacy-preserving data processing. He has also been chair of several conferences and workshops, with special attention to IEEE 5GWF and now the IEEE Future Networks World Forum.
Antonio was kind enough to answer a few questions about TITAN.
What was the main motivation to assume the leadership of a project like TITAN?
Our interest at UMU, particularly my own, lies in exploring the security and privacy challenges associated with open science and data sharing. This is a subject we have extensively researched over the past year. Furthermore, the opportunity to influence and guide the architectural solutions within the project was a significant factor in our decision to take the lead on this proposal.
In what other projects or initiatives is UMU involved?
The University of Murcia (UMU) is at the forefront of various projects focused on security and data management, like CERTIFY. Furthermore, the university is actively participating in other projects, for example, TANGO, where the concept of data spaces is a key consideration.
On a national scale, UMU is engaged in collaborative efforts aimed at designing data spaces specifically for the sharing of scientific data across different sectors. These initiatives reflect UMU’s commitment to advancing data security and facilitating efficient data exchange in diverse fields.
Coming back to TITAN, what have been the project’s biggest challenges so far?
The main challenge the project has faced so far is ensuring that the concept proposed by TITAN aligns with the vision set out by the EOSC Interoperability Framework. Another significant challenge is determining how the approach of confidential computing can be effectively implemented to provide services within the context of EOSC’s Architecture.
And by the end, what do you expect to be TITAN’s impact on the area of secure data sharing?
TITAN will focus on end-to-end secure data sharing and collaboration platform requires advancements in network security, distributed access control, security domain segmentation, application of state-of-the-art protection for data in use, as well as usable and scalable data anonymisation.
If you had to describe the project in one word, what would it be?
Confidential.
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