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Bill Buchanan (computer scientist)
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Bill Buchanan is a Scottish computer scientist. He is a professor at Edinburgh Napier University, where he leads the Blockpass ID Lab, and the Centre for Cybersecurity, IoT and Cyberphysical[1] [non-primary source needed] and the Scottish Centre of Excellence in Digital Trust and DLT.[2] In 2017, he received an OBE for services to cyber security[3] and was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.[4]
Key Information
Career
[edit]Buchanan's work focuses on applied cryptography, blockchain, cybersecurity, citizen-focused health care and digital identity.
On 6 May 2015 he launched The Cyber Academy at the Merchiston Campus of Edinburgh Napier University with a goal of "bringing together industry professionals, law enforcement and academics with a view to combining strengths to combat the growing threat of criminal use of hacking software to steal money, data and intellectual property."[5]
In November 2015, Buchanan and his team set up a fake Web site for hackers to gain access to, as part of a BBC Panorama programme.[6] In 2016, Buchanan was also included in the FutureScot list for the "50 Scottish Tech People Who Are Changing The World".[7]
Buchanan is the creator and sole author of the Asecuritysite.com web site. Asecuritysite was a shortlisted finalist at the Security Training Programme of the Year at the Computing Security Excellence Awards 2024.[8]
In 2018 Buchanan was the lead academic on a project designed to improve the security of Internet of Things (IOT) devices. The aim was to test how vulnerable IOT devices and networks are to hacking.[9]
Awards and recognition
[edit]- In 2015, named in the "50 most influential UK higher education professionals on social media".[10]
- In 2015, led a cipher cracking team to win the Universally Challenged competition.[11]
- In 2016, included in "The Digital List: 50 people from various areas of Scotland's technology industries who are changing the world".[7]
- In 2017, appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to cyber security, and was the first person to receive an OBE related to cyber security.[12]
- In 2023, received the "Most Innovative Teacher of the Year" award at the Times Higher Education Awards 2023.[13]
- In 2024, elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE).[14]
- In 2025, was named in Stanford's Top 2% of Cited Scientists in the World for 2024 (Position 100,347) and for his career (Position: 198,502).[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "Bill Buchanan". Napier. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Kevin (31 January 2025). "Academics and business leaders launch Scottish 'centre of excellence for digital trust'". FutureScot. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "OBE, MBE for University stalwarts". Napier. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Professor William Buchanan". Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ McCulloch, Scott (5 May 2015). "Napier University to launch new International Cyber Academy". businessInsider. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ "BBC Panorama".
- ^ a b "The Digital List". FutureScot. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ TCC. "Security Excellence Awards 2024 - 2024 Shortlist". event.computing.co.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ "Edinburgh Napier and Glasgow's Censis partner in cybersecurity drive". The Scotsman. Scotland. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "The 50 most influential UK higher education professionals on social media". Times Higher Education (THE). 7 October 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ Journalist, Deadline News (12 March 2015). "Code cracking students best in Britain". Deadline News. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Judy Murray among Scots on honours list". BBC News. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ "Times Higher Education Awards 2023: winners announced". Times Higher Education (THE). 7 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ Thomas, James (8 April 2024). "Eminent cultural and scientific figures named as RSE Fellows". Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Ioannidis, John P. A. (19 September 2025). "August 2025 data-update for "Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators"". 8. doi:10.17632/btchxktzyw.8.
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