Dive Brief:

• The National Security Agency is funding cybersecurity research at four major universities, Federal Computer Week reports.
• The funding — $8.2 million altogether — was awarded in one-year contracts that could be extended.
• The agency had previously awarded three science-of-security grants to universities in 2012, funding research projects through June 2014.

Dive Insight:

The so-called "lablets" created by the latest round of NSA funding will focus on the science of security, and on quantifying behaviors and characteristics of cyberattacks and threats. The agency awarded the cybersecurity research funding contracts to the University of Maryland, North Carolina State University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Illinois — each for a period of one year, with options for two one-year extensions. Each school received between $1 million and $2.5 million for the first year. Results from the research are not classified and will be published via the Science of Security Virtual Organization. The NSA says it approached nearly 300 university departments with the opportunity.