Protect

Computer systems security is an arms race between defenders and attackers that has mainly been confined to software technologies. Increases in the complexity of hardware and the rising number of transistors per chip have created opportunities for hardware-based security threats. Among the most pernicious are malicious hardware footholds inserted at design time, which an attacker can use as the basis of a computer system attack. This project explores of the feasibility of foothold attacks and a fundamental design-time methodology for defending against them.

The ability to generate random numbers -- to flip coins -- is crucial for many computing tasks, from Monte Carlo simulation to secure communications. The theory of building such subsystems to generate random numbers is well understood, but the gap between theory and practice is surprisingly wide. As built today, these subsystems are opaque and fragile. Flaws in these subsystems can compromise the security of millions of Internet hosts.

Since the seminal work of Shannon in 1949 cryptography has been founded on unproven computational complexity. The security of cryptographic systems could fall apart if the assumptions behind their design turn out to be false. Thus, it is crucial to base the security of crypto-systems on weakest possible assumptions. A main component of finding minimal assumptions is to ``separate'' cryptographic tasks from assumptions that are weaker than those used in constructions. In light of recent developments in cryptography, the following two directions will be pursued:

This frontier project tackles many of the fundamental research challenges necessary to provide trustworthy information systems for health and wellness, as sensitive information and health-related tasks are increasingly pushed into mobile devices and cloud-based services.

How does the average user cope with the threats they encounter while engaged in the most sensitive of all online activities, online banking? Online Safety for the Ages (OSA) examines generational differences in motivations to use risky online services and self-protective measures in the context of online banking. An influx of older adults attracted to the Internet by social media but at times unfamiliar with dealing with the hazards of online life, as well as younger users who are sometimes oblivious to those dangers, pose distinct challenges to the preservation of online safety.