CyberSEED is the annual security conference organized by the Comcast Center of Excellence for Security Innovation at the University of Connecticut. CyberSEED brings together industry leaders, academic researchers and government officials to discuss emerging cybersecurity trends and formulate best strategies for tackling current and future threats.

In the same academic setting, dozens of universities and colleges compete in unique cybersecurity challenges for prizes. In 2016, CyberSEED brought together more than 400 participants, 40 speakers, and 50 student teams.

For 2017, CyberSEED is soliciting presentations (25 minutes and 50 minutes) and panel proposals (50 minutes) from both academic and industry researchers on a range of security issues. We will select approximately 12 talks and four panels. We welcome submissions in a number of areas, with a special focus on:

• IoT
  • Security
  • Privacy (by-design)
  • Consumer Drones

• Block-chain
  • Security
  • Privacy
  • Smart Contracts

• Machine Learning
  • Security Abstraction for Novice Users
  • Stylometry
  • Insider Threat

• Others
  • Crowdsourced Pen Testing
  • Collaborative Development of Standards & Best Practices
  • Biometric Authentication & It’s Limitations
  • Quantum Computing
  • Post-quantum cryptography

Submission Details

Presentation proposals must be limited to 300-500 words. They must contain a description of the problem, your approach to a solution, proposed or implemented methodology, and an overview of the results. The proposal must be accompanied by a biography of no more than 150 words.

Panel proposals must be limited to 300-500 words and no more than three panelists. They must contain a description of the topic and examples of the kinds of questions raised in the panel. Each proposal must also contain the names, affiliations, and biopics (~150 words) of all the panelists and the moderator.

Please send your submissions to cyberseed@uconn.edu

Important Dates and Information

Call for Papers Opens: May 1, 2017

Call for Papers Closes: June 15, 2017

Notification to Authors: August 15, 2017

Conference Dates: October 19-20, 2017

Location: University of Connecticut, Rome Commons Ballroom, 626 Gilbert Road Ext., Storrs, CT 06269

 Rules

• Researchers must submit the talk on their own behalf. Marketing firms or PR agents are not acceptable.
• No vendor pitches.
• The decision of the review board is final.
• Researchers may submit multiple proposals.
• Submissions accompanied by links to published work or presentations will be given preference.
• The conference does not provide legal consultation or support. Please ensure that your work complies with extant legal regimes. The conference organizers do not own legal responsibility for any disclosures in your presentation.

Review Board

The review board comprises of the faculty at University of Connecticut and employees at Comcast Cable.

By: Matt Tooley

As the global economy has moved into the digital age, every day we are reminded that the security of our vast digital networks and resources is of utmost importance. The cable industry takes this responsibility seriously and has been working closely with government agencies and other stakeholders to develop responsible protections.

One example is our role in the FCC’s Communications, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC). The goal of CSRIC is to provide recommendations to the FCC to ensure, among other things, that we ensure optimal security and reliability of communications systems, including the telecommunications, media, and public safety industries.

One CSRIC working group focuses on cybersecurity, with the goal to “develop voluntary mechanisms to provide macro-level assurance to the FCC and the public that communication providers are taking the necessary corporate and operational measures to manage cybersecurity risks across the enterprise.” This group will present its report on Cybersecurity Best Practices to the full CSRIC Council on March 18.

Prior to the CSRIC Council meeting and the pending report, last week the Comcast Center of Excellence for Security Innovation (CSI), in partnership with the University of Connecticut, sponsored a discussion on the evolving cyber threat landscape. The event featured a keynote address by Donna Dodson, chief of the Computer Security Division and the acting executive director of the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence for NIST, who discussed how top leaders in academia, business and government are working together to “collect, reflect and connect” on the best ideas for securing critical infrastructure.

Dodson said that NIST takes a risk-management approach for cybersecurity and applies that to a business environment, recognizing that cybersecurity risks are instrumental to the decisions that businesses make every day. She also said that the multi-communications sector of CSRIC has provided a model that financial, energy and other sectors could adopt.

You can watch the full event here

As someone who has spent a lot of time the last two years working with cable cybersecurity engineers on these important issues, it was great to hear that the work by the cable and communications sector is a model that can be adopted by the other sectors. As the largest broadband provider in the country, cable’s example on cybersecurity best practices not only works to protect millions of Internet users today, but will position the entire broadband economy for better security well into the future.

I look forward to the March 18 CSRIC Council meeting and delivering the comprehensive report that will be the culmination of a lot of hard work by the communications sector.

STORRS, Conn., Feb 19, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) — On February 24, Donna Dodson, chief cybersecurity advisor for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will join a distinguished group of cybersecurity experts to discuss the evolving cyber threat landscape and the role that industry is playing in safeguarding the nation’s critical infrastructure.The discussion is hosted by the Center of Excellence for Security Innovation, a collaboration between Comcast and the UConn School of Engineering. The event is open to the media and will be available nationwide via live stream http://www.csi.uconn.edu/cybersecurity-distinguished-speaker-series-live-stream.

Read the entire press release HERE

By: Patrick Skahill

(WNPR news, May 1, 2014)

April was all about cybersecurity: fixes for the so-called “Heartbleed” bug, alerts about exploits in Internet Explorer, and a now, a security initiative spearheaded by UConn.

You may have an antivirus program on your computer. You may even encrypt your web searches, and, if you’re really geeky, have two step-password verification on your email. But here’s something you probably haven’t thought about protecting from attack: the stuff inside your computer. The actual hardware.

“As someone who has designed chips, tested chips, fabricated chips, we’ve always looked at power, performance, and reliability as our primary parameters,” said Mark Tehranipoor, director of UConn’s Center for Hardware Assurance, Security and Engineering. “I think this is the first time that a group of researchers from UConn, Rice, and [the University of Maryland] will get together and for the next five years will discuss security at the same level.”

Those three schools just received a $7.5 million grant from the Department of Defense to study security for really small hardware, nanoscale devices, that are used in everything from your cell phone to air traffic control computers.

“These are hardware security problems,” Tehranipoor said. “[It’s] the type of hardware like integrated circuits that we normally assume are fine. This is the hardware underlying any information system we have today. If they are being compromised, then regardless of how well the software is doing, it would not make any difference. The security issue is going to be there.”

Tehranipoor said he hopes to use a lot of this grant money to fund security studies for the actual circuits in your computers, so-called CMOS technology, that is used to construct microprocessors and other digital circuits. He’ll also study security for future hardware that’s being developed, but not yet available to consumers.

Listen to Prof. Mark Tehranipoor’s interview.

More at: WNPR

By: Colin Poitras

(UConn Today)

UConn, home to the nation’s foremost center on hardware security, and Comcast today announced the establishment of a new Center of Excellence for Security Innovation (CSI) on the University’s main campus in Storrs.

The center unites the expertise of researchers within UConn’s existing Center for Hardware Assurance, Security, and Engineering (CHASE) and Comcast’s leadership in Internet systems security to develop robust detection systems and analytical tools to ensure that the computer chips and other hardware components vital to Internet broadband systems are shielded from malicious attacks, unauthorized access, and faulty or counterfeit products.

“This new Center of Excellence for Security Innovation further establishes UConn as a national leader in hardware security analysis and technology,” says Kazem Kazerounian, dean of UConn’s School of Engineering. “It is yet another example of how academic-industry partnerships can advance science, improve people’s lives, and create a new generation of highly-skilled workers prepared to resolve the technological challenges facing our nation and world today.”

“UConn’s leadership in hardware assurance research is well established and we envision the Center of Excellence will be supported by significant, multi-year funding for research initiatives, joint innovation, and the development of the next generation of technologists,” says John Schanz, executive vice president and chief network officer of Comcast. “While many of those research projects will be sponsored by Comcast, we also anticipate research funding and support from the federal government and other industry partners.”

Officials announced the new Center of Excellence in Security Innovation, to be located in the Information Technologies Engineering building, during a break in a two-day national conference at UConn on secure/trustworthy systems and supply chain assurance sponsored by CHASE. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen was among those attending the announcement.

“The Internet has transformed our lives and the way we do business,” Jepsen said. “At the same time, we’re experiencing widespread and more frequent cyber attacks and data breaches that have resulted in the loss of sensitive personal information or put it at risk.” Connecticut reported 427 cyber security breaches last year that threatened the personal information of 580,000 Connecticut residents, or more than 16 percent of the state’s population. “Those are serious numbers,” Jepsen said. “The cost to the individuals and businesses involved in these breaches is enormous.”

UConn Provost Mun Choi says the unique public-private partnership behind the new Center of Excellence for Security Innovation combines the strengths and resources of a major research university like UConn with those of a major industry leader to tackle real world problems.

“In this very interconnected world, we have to be worried about sabotage. We have to worry about errors,” says Choi. “Universities must work collectively with industry partners. This collaboration will enable our faculty to work on relevant problems, train our students, and make an impact in the marketplace. Today, two great organizations have come together and when it comes to hardware security, the University of Connecticut, Comcast, and all of our partners will make an important impact.”

As part of the new initiative, two UConn Ph.D. candidates will have internships with Comcast this summer, according to Myrna Soto, chief information and infrastructure security officer for Comcast. “They have already learned a great deal about our hardware, our assurances, and the security framework we’re working toward,” Soto said. “I have no doubt they will be significant contributors from day one.”

The Center of Excellence expands the longstanding relationship between Comcast and UConn’s School of Engineering. Comcast is one of the founding members of CHASE, which also lists the U.S. Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, and industry leaders such as Honeywell, Samsung, and CISCO as sponsors.

“UConn’s CHASE faculty is eager to work with Comcast and other industry leaders in developing robust, secure, and trustworthy hardware technologies and detection techniques that provide unprecedented assurance in today’s rapidly evolving hardware environment,” said Mark Tehranipoor, the director of CHASE, who will also serve as director of the CSI.

Comcast Cable is the nation’s largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. Comcast has invested in technology to build an advanced network that delivers among the fastest broadband speeds, and brings customers personalized video, communications, and home management offerings. Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company.