Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Science Foundation's Division of Information and Intelligent Systems awarded a five-year CAREER Project Grant totaling $352,406 to The Leland Stanford Junior University, effective May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2031, under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070). This award supports the development of next-generation network scanning tools and methodologies designed to comprehensively identify Internet-connected devices and software vulnerabilities. The project will deliver three primary categories of research outputs: (1) advanced network scanning probes leveraging artificial intelligence and software fuzzing techniques to safely identify hardware and software manufacturers, products, and versions; (2) new methodologies to uncover relationships between Internet entities and extract device ownership information; and (3) predictive methods for identifying Internet services as they come online. Research findings, publications, open-source software, and other deliverables will be made publicly accessible through the Stanford Engineering Security Research Group website.

The grant also supports significant educational and workforce development components, including the creation of new cybersecurity curriculum and hands-on research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to advance understanding of Internet security practices. No sub-awards are planned for this Project Grant. The award is intended to advance national cybersecurity capabilities by enabling U.S. organizations to more rapidly identify and remediate network vulnerabilities before potential attacks occur.