Due to the increase in the number of computer security incidents and the need for academic research centers to support and meet the research needs of society in this field, and with the motivation to improve knowledge and engineering ability in the field of computer system security and information processing and transfer results to society, the research center APA (awareness, support, assistance for vulnerabilities and cyber security incidents) of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad started its activity in 2015.

APA is an acronym that consists of the first three letters of the words awareness, support and aid, and APA is named for the aforementioned research center considering the following three goals:

Awareness:

Improving awareness and understanding of issues related to information security among cyberspace users and service providers.

Support:

Support for the creation and use of appropriate technology to resist cyber attacks and limit damages and ensure the continuity of critical cyber services.

Computer aid:

Aid for identifying and fixing vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks and for better management of dealing with intruders’ techniques in preventing the increase in the amount of waste and detecting and tracking attacks and attackers.