History of Information Security at Purdue

With the nation's first computer science department, established in 1962, Purdue has been part of many of the earliest developments in the field - from the theoretical foundations of computing, to operating systems and networks, to security.

Graduate student, Dorothy Denning, published one of the very first Ph.D. theses in the area of security in 1975. Since then the department has grown steadily in the number of faculty and students studying and developing in the area of security.

Early intrusion detection, analysis, and prevention work began with the COAST Lab in the early 1990's, as well as a growing and steady production of PhD theses in the information security field. In 1998, responding to more and more multidisciplinary interest in topics of information security and privacy, the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) formed to recognize and lend assistance to this expanding nature of the work at Purdue.

Over the years, faculty from almost 20 different academic disciplines have contributed to the research product from Purdue, and have produced by some estimates as many as 20 percent of the nation's Ph.D. theses in information security. Most of these degrees have been in traditional disciplines, but since 2000 and 2003, CERIAS has offered interdisciplinary masters and PhD degrees in information security, which have added to the unique character of information security research and education at Purdue.