Cyber threats to take center stage at Purdue University event

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Cybercrime and artificial intelligence accidents deserving of global vigilance will get concerted attention at Purdue University on March 29-30.

CERIAS, Purdue’s Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security, is gathering some of the best cyber minds for its 23rd annual CERIAS Symposium at the West Lafayette, Indiana, campus.

Examples of potential cyber scenarios run an unsettling gamut from medical hacks jeopardizing implantable and wearable medical devices to artificial intelligence unintentionally eliminating bank-loan candidates of a specific demographic. Ever-evolving risks to commerce, infrastructure and national security are limited only by the imaginations of bad actors with computers and know-how.

Good actors, however, have been organized and active for 30 years at CERIAS. As the first center of its kind in the world, CERIAS has set the bar for interdisciplinary research to identify threats, create defenses, and help industry and government erect effective cybercrime barricades.

Its annual symposium will focus on the latest cyber concerns and critical threats for both the public and private sectors, said Joel Rasmus, CERIAS’ managing director.

 “This is the only event I’m aware of that is this inclusive. We gather subject matter experts from academia, government and commercial industry,” he said. “The agenda is targeted to address current issues and emerging threats that affect, or could affect, every sector.” 

The symposium will feature panel discussions on these topics:

• Trusted and Fair Artificial Intelligence.
• Secure Digital Health Care.
• Secure Software Supply-chain and Bill of Materials.

These topics also will be addressed in keynote speeches by these authorities in the field:

• Richard A. Clarke, author, former national coordinator for security, infrastructure protection and counterterrorism, and former National Security Council member. His memoir about his government service, “Against All Enemies,” brought him national media attention for his criticism of the Bush administration’s attitude toward counterterrorism before the 9/11 attacks. Since leaving U.S. government, he has helped the United Arab Emirates set up a cybersecurity unit. His most recent book is titled “The Fifth Domain: Defending Our Country, Our Companies, and Ourselves in the Age of Cyber Threats.”

• David McGrew, Cisco Fellow. McGrew is an expert in cryptography and network security who was instrumental in developing several standards, including the Galois/Counter Mode of operation high-speed authenticated encryption algorithm. He also contributed to the Secure RTP, the industry standard protocol for encrypted voice and video. He holds 17 patents and is chair of the Crypto Forum Research Group of the Internet Research Task Force.

• Brandon Wales, executive director of CISA, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the Department of Homeland Security. Wales oversees efforts to defend civilian networks, manage systemic risk to national critical functions, and raise the security baseline of the nation’s cyber and physical infrastructure. He previously directed HITRAC, an all-hazards analytic resource covering public- and private-sector infrastructure risks.

This year’s CERIAS Symposium closes out a week of cybersecurity-related events. This includes the annual TracerFIRE cyberforensic student event, co-hosted by Sandia National Laboratories, and an industry advisory board meeting that helps determine Purdue’s cybersecurity research agenda and workforce development programs.

Purdue invests in cybersecurity and secure microelectronics through its Next Moves initiatives, strategic focus areas that are advancing the university’s position among the world’s top research and teaching institutions.

The CERIAS Security Symposium is open to cybersecurity-interested leaders, researchers, administrators, practitioners and trainees across commercial industry, academia and government. Continuing education credits are available for most cybersecurity and IT-related certifications. Find the agenda and register for the virtual CERIAS 23rd Annual Security Symposium.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last four years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://stories.purdue.edu.

Source: Joel Rasmus, managing director, CERIAS, jrasmus@purdue.edu

Writer: Amy H. Raley

Media Contact: Brian Huchel, bhuchel@purdue.edu