Empowering Research Security: NSF SECURE Analytics Announces Flagship Platform, Argus

April 29, 2025 - Argus is the flagship data collection, analysis, and reporting platform for NSF SECURE Analytics, a $17.5 million award supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation's funded SECURE (Safeguarding the Entire Community of the U.S. Research Ecosystem) initiative. Argus supports the NSF’s mission to empower the research community to mitigate foreign interference in research by enabling advanced tracking, visualization, assessment of global collaboration patterns, funding flows, and institutional risk indicators. Argus integrates research intelligence, natural language processing, and machine learning to deliver actionable insights that will help safeguard the U.S. research ecosystem. Argus will be released to the public through a deliberative process. Phase 1 release of Argus in fall 2025 will include basic level access to select beta testers. Phase 2 release of Argus in spring 2026 will include broader basic level access to accredited users, coupled with beta testing of advanced level access.

“Our SECURE Program is designed to empower the community and enhance safeguards for US R&D efforts. The Argus platform is a great example of our awardees harnessing scientific and innovative approaches that equip the community to make risk-informed decisions, while advancing the sciences in an open, transparent and trustworthy ecosystem.” - Dr. Rebecca Keiser, Acting Chief of Staff and Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy, NSF

Leveraging NSF ACCESS for Enhanced Capabilities

To accelerate the development of Argus, SECURE Analytics is leveraging NSF ACCESS (Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support). ACCESS’s national network of advanced computing systems, data storage capabilities, and AI-ready infrastructure provides the computational backbone necessary for Argus to conduct large-scale data ingestion, entity resolution, and real-time risk detection across millions of research records. This integration ensures Argus remains agile, scalable, and accessible, aligning with NSF’s vision of democratizing participation in cutting-edge science and enhancing national competitiveness and research security.

NSF ACCESS: A Pillar of Support

NSF ACCESS is a national program funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, designed to provide researchers and educators with no-cost access to high-performance computing (HPC), data storage, and expert support services. By extending the legacy of XSEDE, ACCESS enables cutting-edge research through scalable computational systems, big data processing capabilities, science gateways, and hands-on assistance. SECURE Analytics utilizes ACCESS to power Argus, ensuring it is built on a trusted, high-performance foundation capable of analyzing vast research publication datasets, detecting foreign interference in research, and supporting real-time intelligence reporting.

Jetstream2: Powering Argus with Cloud-Based Supercomputing

Further enhancing Argus’s capabilities, SECURE Analytics is leveraging Jetstream2—NSF’s next-generation cloud-based supercomputing platform. With 8 petaFLOPS of computing power and an “always on” environment, Jetstream2 provides flexible, on-demand infrastructure for advanced research security analysis. This platform enables SECURE Analytics to scale up AI-driven risk detection, process massive research datasets, and run complex analytics without the constraints of traditional HPC queues. Jetstream2’s interactive, user-friendly cloud interface offers immediate access to virtual machines, GPUs, and storage, allowing rapid iteration and real-time research intelligence generation. By integrating Jetstream2, part of the NSF ACCESS ecosystem, SECURE Analytics ensures Argus operates continuously, processes data securely, and generates real-time, data-driven insights. This seamless access to cloud-based supercomputing is central to building a resilient, scalable analytics hub that can adapt to evolving threats and deliver timely, actionable insights to protect the U.S. research ecosystem.

Conclusion

The integration of Argus with NSF ACCESS and Jetstream2 exemplifies the commitment to safeguarding the U.S. research ecosystem through scalable, secure, and data-driven innovation. As the research community continues to face challenges from foreign interference in research, platforms like Argus, supported by NSF’s advanced cyberinfrastructure, play a crucial role in enhancing national competitiveness and research security.

“It is increasingly crucial to have solid information about collaborators, their affiliations and funding sources to ensure U.S. funded research interests and our international collaborations are well protected from malign foreign talent programs or other threats to research security. The Argus platform will enhance the ability of institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, and small and medium-sized businesses to make risk-informed decisions about collaborations and research security.” - Dr. Kevin Gamache, Director, NSF SECURE Analytics

About the NSF SECURE Analytics: Led by Texas A&M University (Kevin Gamache), in partnership with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University (Glenn Tiffert) and Parallax Advanced Research (LJ Eads), NSF SECURE Analytics provides data collection, analysis and reporting that enhance the research community's capacity to make risk-informed decisions about research security. We serve institutions of higher education, other non-profit research performing organizations, and small and medium-sized businesses. NSF SECURE Analytics collaborates with the NSF SECURE Center (led by University of Washington) and five SECURE Regional Centers, the Research and Innovation Security & Competitiveness (RISC) Institute, the Council on Government Relations (COGR), the Academic Security & Counter Exploitation (ASCE) Program and is seeking collaborative opportunities with research institutions and potential partnerships (domestic and international).