NYU-Poly Contest Unearths Cyber Security Research

American universities are stepping up to the urgent work of educating the cyber security elites desperately needed to protect the increasingly digital world, judging by entries to Polytechnic Institute of New York University's Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW).

Forty-six students, representing all the top university cyber security research groups, competed for the AT&T Award for Best Applied Security Research Paper in NYU-Poly's Seventh Annual CSAW challenges. To enter, every one had been accepted by a scholarly conference or journal.

"Cyber security is a relatively new academic field, in which many of the top experts taught themselves," said Nasir Memon, who heads NYU-Poly's cyber security program. "This year's CSAW contestants illustrate the way the field has matured since our first challenge in 2004. Rigorous research is the only way to keep pace with the skyrocketing security needs of our digital society, and the quality and number of entries for the AT&T Award for Best Applied Security Research Paper demonstrate that university students are today among the leaders in the field of cyber security."

Experts estimate that America has only 1,000 cyber security elites but that it needs 20,000 to 30,000.

Judges chose 10 finalists, all of whom are doctoral candidates. They will compete Oct. 29 in the CSAW challenges at NYU-Poly's Brooklyn campus by presenting their papers to a panel of cyber security professionals.

The finalists were chosen from among teams representing 25 different schools:

  • Prithvi Bisht, University of Illinois at Chicago – "No Tamper: Automated Blackbox Detection of Parameter Tampering Opportunities in Web Applications;"
  • Xin Hu, University of Michigan – "Large-Scale Malware Indexing Using Function-Call Graphs;"
  • Lin-Shung Huang, Carnegie Mellon University – "Protecting Browsers from Cross-Origin CSS Attacks;"
  • Nathaniel Husted, Indiana University – "Mobile Location Tracking in Metropolitan Areas: Malnets and Others;"
  • Justin Sameul, University of California, Berkeley – "Survivable Key Compromise in Software Update Systems;"
  • Prateek Saxena, University of California, Berkeley – "A Symbolic Execution Framework for JavaScript;"
  • Abhinav Srivastava, Georgia Institute of Technology – "Automatic Discovery of Parasitic Malware;"
  • Adam Waksman, Columbia University – "Tamper Evident Microprocessors;"
  • Zhi Wang, North Carolina State University – "HyperSafe: A Lightweight Approach to Provide Lifetime Hypervisor Control-Flow Integrity," and
  • Chao Zhang, NYU-Poly – "I Know Where You Are: Tracking IP mobility on a Massive Scale."

Judges are Michael J. Geller, vice president of products and technology, LGS; Markus Jakobsson, security researcher; Shari Lawrence Pfleeger, director of research for the Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection, Dartmouth College; Gus de los Reyes, executive director, AT&T Security R&D Center, and Cristina Serban, lead member of Technical Staff, AT&T Security R&D Center.

Featured

  • 12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    Understanding crime statistics in your industry and area is crucial for making important decisions about your security budget. With so much information out there, how can you know which statistics to trust? Read Now

  • Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    In alignment with the state of Mississippi’s mission of “Empowering Mississippi citizens to stay connected and engaged with their government,” Salient's CompleteView VMS is being installed throughout more than 150 state boards, commissions and agencies in order to ensure safety for thousands of constituents who access state services daily. Read Now

  • Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    This year’s Live From GSX program was a rousing success! Again, we’d like to thank our partners, and IPVideo, for working with us and letting us broadcast their solutions to the industry. You can follow our Live From GSX 2023 page to keep up with post-show developments and announcements. And if you’re interested in working with us in 2024, please don’t hesitate to ask about our Live From programs for ISC West in March or next year’s GSX. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • People Say the Funniest Things

    People Say the Funniest Things

    By all accounts, GSX version 2023 was completely successful. Apparently, there were plenty of mix-ups with the airlines and getting aircraft from the East Coast into Big D. I am all ears when I am in a gathering of people. You never know when a nugget of information might flip out. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions. 3

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings. 3

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles. 3