A U of A senior administrator in information technology and cybersecurity is one of the principal architects of a new high-performance computing security overlay.  

Ian Czarnezki, associate chief information officer for research infrastructure and technologies, joined with subject matter experts from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NASA, the Department of Defense and several national laboratories to write the new guidance for the high-performance computing community.

"I truly appreciate NIST taking a leadership role and pulling together a group of subject matter experts to provide guidance for overlaying NIST SP 800-53 r5 moderate safeguarding in an HPC environment," Czarnezki said. "This effort builds on the great work from NIST SP 800-223. I am eager to review the feedback from the cybersecurity and HPC communities regarding the draft guidance." 

Per the abstract of the guidance, HPC systems provide fundamental computing infrastructure for large-scale artificial intelligence and machine learning model training, big data analysis and complex simulations at exceptional speeds. Securing HPC systems is essential for safeguarding AI models, protecting sensitive data and realizing the full benefits of HPC capabilities. 

"Ian's contributions to the important topic of HPC security standards illustrate why we've asked him to lead our research infrastructure office," said Margaret Sova McCabe, vice chancellor for research and innovation. "Not only is he working at the forefront of HPC standard setting, in doing so he's able to position the University of Arkansas to be a leader and its researchers to have access to the most advanced national thinking on the topic."  

NIST Special Publication and Public Comment Period 

The NIST special publication introduces an HPC security overlay that is designed to address the unique characteristics and requirements of HPC systems. Built upon the moderate baseline defined in SP 800-53B, the overlay tailors 60 security controls with supplemental guidance and/or discussions to enhance their applicability in HPC contexts. This overlay aims to provide practical, performance-conscious security guidance that can be readily adopted. For many organizations, it offers a robust foundation for securing HPC environments while also allowing for further customization to meet specific operational or mission needs. 

To craft the best possible guidance for the HPC security overlay, Czarnezki and his co-authors encourage the HPC community to review the draft special publication and offer feedback.  

The public comment period is open through July 3.  

See the publication details for a copy of the draft and instructions for submitting comments. Additional information can be found at the NIST HPC Security Working Group website. 

In addition to Czarnezki, the following experts contributed to the special publication: 

• Yang Guo (NIST),  

• Jeremy Licata (NIST),  

• Jeff Neel (Argonne National Laboratory),  

• Gary Key (Department of Defense),  

• James Waterman (Department of Defense),  

• Ian Lee (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, ShorePoint),  

• Catherine Hinton (Los Alamos National Laboratory),  

• David Shrader (Los Alamos National Laboratory),  

• Andrew Prout (MIT Lincoln Laboratory),  

• Albert Reuther (MIT Lincoln Laboratory),  

• Ted Bohrer (NASA),  

• Katsutoshi Ishisoko (NASA),  

• Kyle Earley (Ohio Supercomputer Center),  

• Aron Warren (Sandia National Laboratories),  

• Tony DeNardo (Sandia National Laboratories) and 

•  Erik Deumens (University of Florida).