News: Introducing the MIT Cybersecurity Clinic

The critical infrastructure that our cities rely on is not as secure as we would hope. Previous attacks on systems like electrical grids and financial networks have shown that these systems are at risk. Further, as a post on the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning states, “[i]n recent months, major cities like Atlanta, Baltimore, and Dallas, as well as smaller towns in the United States have been attacked by hackers using ransomware to take control of critical urban infrastructure.”

As a way of addressing this issue, in 2020 the MIT Science Impact Collaborative, located in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, will form the MIT Cybersecurity Clinic. Larry Susskind and Daniel Weitzner will co-manage the Clinic, which Susskind notes will involve, “students from multiple departments [that], once trained to identify vulnerabilities to cyberattacks, will work in teams to assist public agencies around the country in taking steps to reduce their risks of attack.”

Learn more and read an interview with Larry Susskind on the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning site: