Research Infrastructure Security Community (RISC)

RISC is composed of two primary groups:

1. Trusted CI subject matter experts and facilitators, and

2. Cybersecurity professionals at NSF-funded research infrastructure provider organizations.

These cybersecurity professionals are primarily Framework Cohort graduates, and include cybersecurity practitioners, IT practitioners, scientists and researchers, project and program managers, compliance officers, and research infrastructure leadership. The membership is diverse in terms of the types of research, size of organization, and geographic locations represented.

All RISC members are expected to:

1. Come with the willingness to share knowledge and experiences;

2. Engage in group discussions with respect for others’ perspectives; 

3. Adhere to any special handling requests for sensitive information that has been shared in the group (e.g., TLP-RED); and

4. Treat others with courtesy.

RISC members are invited to participate in a number of activities. These activities include:

Workshops

RISC hosts quarterly Workshops for the entire membership. These three-hour workshops allow for community members to share updates to their cybersecurity programs, deep dives on particular cybersecurity topics, discussion of new or evolving NSF cybersecurity policy, and new tools and training resources of interest to the community. All RISC workshops strive to be highly collaborative and interactive, with a significant focus on group discussion and sharing of personal experiences.

Workshops are held virtually or in-person when they align with widely attended community events such as the NSF Research Infrastructure Workshop and the NSF Cybersecurity Summit. A virtual attendance option is also offered for each in-person workshop. Attendance at each event is encouraged, though not required to maintain membership in RISC. In-person workshops typically include an informal social event hosted by Trusted CI.

Community Web Space

In addition to interactive workshops, RISC maintains online spaces for ongoing discussion and community building. These online spaces allow for the community to continue to engage, ask questions, provide updates, and share resources that might be valuable to the broader community.

Public Facing Products

RISC will occasionally collaborate to develop public facing products, including public statements on topics impacting the cybersecurity of NSF science, resources we feel would be valuable to a broader community, and updates on successes the community would like to celebrate. Although developed under the moniker of the entire RISC, any such public facing materials will only include the names of those community members who wish to be listed as such.

The primary decision making body for RISC is the RISC leadership team. The RISC leadership team includes both leadership from the Trusted CI Framework Team and representatives from the RISC membership. These “RISC Representatives” are selected from the community, and coordinate with Trusted CI to identify topics of interest to the community, plan upcoming workshops, and serve as a point-of-contact for RISC members. The RISC leadership team also evaluates ways to expand the RISC portfolio of activities that would be beneficial to the group. All major decisions impacting the community are made with significant consultation and feedback from the entire community.