Dr. Spafford's current research interests are focused on issues of computer and network security, computer crime and ethics, and the social impact of computing. Spaf's involvement in information security led, in early 1993, to the formation at Purdue of the COAST Project and Laboratory (of which he was the director) focussed on research to develop workable security technology and practical tools. In May of 1998, Purdue University established the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) and appointed Dr. Spafford as its first Director. This university-wide center is intended to address the broader issues of information security and information assurance, and draw on expertise and research across all of the academic disciplines at Purdue. Because of its structure, and the incorporation of the COAST group in its activities, the CERIAS is the largest and most broadly-structured academic research center in the world in its field.

Among many professional activities, Dr. Spafford is a member of the Computing Research Association's Board of Directors, and he is a member of ACM's U.S. Public Policy Committee. In 1996, he was named a charter recipient of the Computer Society's Golden Core, for his past service to the Society, and in 1997 he was named as a Fellow of the ACM. Dr. Spafford is the Academic Editor of the journal Computers & Security, and on the editorial and advisory boards of the Journal of Artificial Life and Network Security.

Dr. Spafford is co-author of the award-winning book Practical Unix & Internet Security (with S. L. Garfinkel), published by O'Reilly and Associates (1991, 1996).