BU Research Blog

Following collaborative research on Secure by Design (SbD) conducted by Bournemouth University (BU) and Mima, with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), a new Cyber Security Advisory has been released. This guidance addresses the complex challenge of balancing security, safety, and human factors in requirements practices.

The project, led by Dr Duncan Ki-Aries and Prof Huseyin Dogan centred on developing and evaluating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that demonstrates how these critical domains can be effectively integrated into SbD practices. The goal: to enhance the design of secure, resilient, and user-aware systems for defence applications.

Figure 1. The Secure by Design Process Framework

The advisory outlines key findings from the research, explores the challenges of merging safety and human factors into SbD processes, and offers insights into potential improvements. It also signals directions for future projects aimed at advancing this integration.

Ongoing research at BU will continue to build on this foundation, drawing on the combined expertise of BU and Mima in Human Factors, Security, Systems of Systems Engineering, Safety, and Risk Assessment. This work remains committed to strengthening future defence capabilities through a robust Secure by Design approach.

Figure 2. The project team