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Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, the people and government of the United States have intensified their efforts to protect our critical infrastructure. Faculty and students in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University have contributed to that effort with their research in cyber defense, and in April the department will open the Cyber Defense Laboratory on NC State’s Centennial Campus. The opening ceremony will be held April 24 in Room 220 in the Venture III building.
The new laboratory will house all faculty and students performing cyber defense research, as well as all necessary equipment. Three computer science faculty members, Professor Douglas S. Reeves, Associate Professor S. Purushothama Iyer and Assistant Professor Peng Ning, and their graduate students will move to the new facility. Reeves and Iyer have several projects related to cyber defense, and Ning is a security specialist. Their job is to find ways of keeping computer systems safe from hackers.
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| Dr. Iyer analyzes software for computer bugs. (Photo: Kathi McBlief) | |
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Aside from the simple need for more space for students and equipment, there were several reasons for starting up the laboratory. Reeves explained, “Security is a huge priority right now, and there is a great deal of student interest in this type of research.” According to Ning, who led the laboratory initiative, housing students and faculty together in one space will promote collaboration and will provide centralized support for faculty who have technical questions regarding security issues.
The long-term goal of these researchers is to develop techniques to secure computer systems; their short-term goals are related to recent projects on intrusion alert and wireless security. Reeves and Ning currently are working on a series of projects to improve intrusion detection systems for computer networks. (See related story at http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/news/news_articles/ning.reeves.html.)
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| Protecting computer systems from hackers is a current focus of faculty and students at North Carolina State University. (Left to right, seated) Dr. Reeves and Dr. Ning and (left to right, standing) graduate students Kun Sun, Pai Peng, Dingbang Xu, Yan Zhai and Donggang Liu are developing techniques in the critical area of cyber defense. (Photo: Kathi McBlief) | |
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Ning’s research in wireless security has special challenges because the technology is relatively new. “We have a fairly good understanding about security issues in a wired network, but the technology of the wireless network creates new challenges,” he said. For example, Ning and his graduate student, Kun Sun, are studying possible attacks against mobile ad-hoc routing protocols. Mobile ad-hoc networks have no infrastructure at all. They are completely wireless networks that have possible applications for battlefields and disaster relief. Ning and Sun have identified vulnerabilities, including the manipulation of routing messages, and have simulated attacks to examine their impact.
Iyer, a self-professed “mathematician at heart,” approaches cyber defense by analyzing software for computer “bugs.” “Any computer system has software, and software has bugs. Hackers can take advantage of that,” he said. Typically, these loopholes are unintentional. The programmers did not foresee certain kinds of interactions between users or with other programs. Iyer models various kinds of software to find out what interactions can be anticipated, so he can seal off any possible openings for hackers.
These researchers recognize the difficulty of protecting computer systems from hackers. As Reeves put it, “Unlike most areas of computer science where it’s us versus the machine — this is person versus person. It’s a very challenging area of research.”
— mcblief —
Media Contacts:
Dr. S. Purushothama Iyer, 919-515-7291, purush@csc.ncsu.edu
Dr. Peng Ning, 919/513-4457, ning@csc.ncsu.edu
Dr. Douglas S. Reeves, 919/515-2044, reeves@csc.ncsu.edu
Kathi McBlief, 919/515-2283, mcblief@eos.ncsu.edu
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