Kevin Fu
Interested in embedded security? Apply to join the second annual Embedded Security Workshop. The workshop will be hosted by Kevin Fu, former CCC Council Member and principal investigator of the SPQR Lab at the University of Michigan.
From their website: “The workshop consists of a diverse set of talks by leading faculty and industrial researchers across the world ranging from medical device security to physics of analog sensor cybersecurity. Students will give lightning pitches of their research and participate in small breakout groups for discussion. The speakers range from industrial researchers to practicing neurosurgeons. The event focuses on improving diversity and inclusion for leading research in embedded security.
There is no fee to attend this workshop, thanks to our sponsors. Instead, participants must apply with a statement on how they actively engage in encouraging diversity and inclusion for research on embedded security. The workshop has a limited number of spots for this interactive workshop and moderated breakout sessions. The program organizers will select participants based on application statements on (1) how the research workshop will help their academic careers, and (2) how the participant helps foster the mission of diversity and inclusion for embedded security research.”
The workshop will take place virtually on August 27-28, 2020, and the registration deadline is August 21st (or when the workshop fills to 50 people). Keynote speakers include Dr. Kevin Kornegay (Morgan State University); Dr. Erika Petersen, MD (UAMS Medical Center); and Paul Kocher (entrepreneur and researcher). Visit the workshop webpage to learn more and submit an application to attend.
In August 2018 the first embedded security workshop was held at the 27th USENIX Security Symposium in cooperation with Computing Community Consortium (CCC). That workshop produced the Grand Challenges for Embedded Security Research in a Connected World, which focused on the challenges and potential research opportunities across five major areas of embedded security:
- Medical and health devices,
- Drones and transportation,
- Smart homes,
- Industry and supply-chain,
- And the smart grid and critical infrastructure.
From the report: “The workshop breakout presentations revealed that there were numerous common themes in terms of trends, challenges, and solutions that impacted most or all of the five applications areas. However, there were also some important distinctions between the areas. For example, increased connectivity leads to increased attack surfaces in all five areas, however network-based defenses vary considerably depending on the threat models and impacts on performance and utility. As another example, machine learning algorithms and the move towards autonomous systems are particularly significant in all areas, especially for detecting intrusion and anomalous behavior, however specific vulnerabilities vary depending on the area. Furthermore, the requirements (performance, cost, reliability, life-time, etc.) for each area are significantly different, thus leading to different challenges, and warranting different approaches to security and privacy.” (p. 11).
To learn more about the research recommendations that emerged at the workshop, read the full report here.
