NSF Announces $23 Mn Investment in Privacy-Enhancing Tech

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a US$23 million new investment to advance privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) in solving real-world problems.

The Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing in Practice (PDaSP) program, is in line with directives from the recent "Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence" (AI EO). It aims to improve capabilities for securely sharing and analyzing data across various applications, including those critical to federal agencies.

PDaSP is overseen by the NSF Directorate for TIP, working jointly with the NSF Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. 

"The explosive growth of data and computational power in today’s world provide tremendous opportunities to accelerate scientific discovery and innovation. NSF is uniquely positioned to lead efforts to enable and promote data sharing in a privacy-preserving and responsible manner to harness the power and insights of data for public good. Through this program, NSF will prioritize use-inspired and translational research that empowers federal agencies and the private sector to adopt leading-edge PETs in their work,” Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for  Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP), said.

Industry partners include Intel Corporation and VMware LLC, while federal agency partners include the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology.