Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS)

Differential privacy (DP) has been accepted as the de facto standard for data privacy in the research community and beyond. Both companies and government agencies are trying to deploy DP technologies. Broader deployments of DP technology, however, face challenges. This project aims to understand the needs of different stakeholders in data privacy, and to develop algorithms and software to enable broader deployment of private data sharing.

There has been a rapid escalation of targeted cyber-attacks, called Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), on high-profile enterprises. These skilled attacks routinely bypass widely deployed protection mechanisms. Existing second-line cyber defenses (e.g., intrusion detection systems) are helpful, but they often generate a flood of information that overwhelms cyber analysts. Moreover, analysts lack the tools to piece together attack fragments spanning multiple applications and/or hosts.

This CAREER research focuses on human factors in authentication using mobile devices. Mobile authentication is a crucial component of authentication, especially as mobile devices become ever more connected to the broader security ecosystem. A major concern is how users authenticate as they use their devices over months or years. This research will involve empirical studies of the choices and actions users take over time. Qualitative and quantitative measures will be employed to better understand user mental models, perceptions, and behaviors related to mobile authentication.

This project aims to tackle some of the most significant challenges facing the design and adoption of risk-informed cyber insurance policies; these challenges include cyber risk interdependence, correlated risk and value-at-risk, and a fast-changing threat landscape. The research has the potential to bring about a paradigm shift in the design of cyber insurance policies so that they are used as effective economic and incentive mechanisms consistent with cyber risk realities; in doing so it also introduces new ways of thinking about cybersecurity in a holistic, risk management context.

The project will investigate human factors in network security. The security of network systems relies on proper protection from not only known vulnerabilities, but also new vulnerabilities resulting from unexpected human behavior. The project will directly address a user's situational behavior and its consequence on network security. It engages in the challenges of modeling decision-making process and integrating it in the human-network interaction.