Digital Safety Research Institute

Understanding potential benefits and harms in the digital ecosystem

A growing percentage of the world population uses the digital ecosystem is to get information and conduct business. Advances in artificial intelligence are creating huge improvements in medicine, science, and creative works. While these progresses are extremely beneficial, cybercrime and disinformation are also increasing.

The Digital Safety Research Institute (DSRI) at UL Research Institutes aims to partner with other safety-minded organizations to help protect individuals from rapidly evolving digital threats. Learn more below and visit DSRI.org.

DSRI aims to help protect individuals from digital threats

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Cybersecurity threats

Unwanted access to personal devices can lead to surveillance, lateral movement, and data theft. 

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Privacy threats

The collection and brokering of private information can lead to massive data breaches, identity theft and fraud, and harassment. 

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Algorithm threats

Algorithms that counter individuals’ best interests can lead to discrimination, addiction, polarization, radicalization, phishing and malware.

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Information threats

The freedom to post anything online can lead to inappropriate content, mis/disinformation, deception and scams, slander, and biometric loss.

Creating a new digital safety ecosystem

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Advocate tools

Working with advocacy groups, we will create testing tools that enable advocates to dynamically test and compare apps in ways individuals can easily understand.

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Individual tools

Working with consumer groups, we will create tools that enable individuals to better understand digital systems and protect themselves from digital threats.

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Developer frameworks

Working with safety-minded developers, we will create safer-by-design app frameworks, platforms, and machine learning processes to enable developers to rapidly create safer devices and apps.

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Basic research

Working with researchers, we will aggregate, mature, and integrate advanced digital discoveries into individual and advocate tools and safer-by-design developer frameworks.

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Interested in working with us?

Would you like to help create a better digital safety ecosystem? Check out partnership opportunities and jobs at the Digital Safety Research Institute.

Explore our research publications

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