“I love that Colorado has safe spaces for all."

“I love that Colorado has safe spaces for all." Haynes | Lakewood, CO

HAYNES, WE Love COLORADO'S SENSE OF SAFETY, TOO.  

That's why at CU Boulder, researchers are creating new ways to protect people here and across the world's most connected networks. 

Campus Location

Boulder Boulder
The GHOST Team in front of the Boulder Flatirons on campus.
External Link CU Boulder Earns $5 million Award For 5G Cellular Security Research

At CU Boulder, researchers are protecting people in ways that go beyond physical walls, safeguarding soldiers, businesses, and humanitarian workers wherever they connect.

With a $5 million National Science Foundation award, CU scientists are leading a groundbreaking project called GHOST, short for 5G Hidden Operations through Securing Traffic. Their goal is to keep Americans safe on untrusted 5G networks overseas, where malicious operators could track movements or extract private data.

Even encrypted 5G signals can reveal sensitive patterns like who's online, where they are, and when they communicate. That's why CU's interdisciplinary team is developing technology that
disguises cellular communications, hides user locations, and even generates decoy signals to throw off potential trackers. 

For soldiers, it could mean greater safety on the ground. For global companies and nonprofits, it's protection against kidnapping and surveillance. And for everyday users, it represents a safer digital future. As researcher Eric Keller explains, "This work is important because it's inherently about keeping our people safe."

By reimagining how we protect communication itself, CU Boulder researchers are proving that safety doesn't stop at our borders; it travels with us, wherever we go.