Computer Security and Privacy Research: The Past, the Present, and the Future

The computer security and privacy research field — like all research fields — is continuously evolving. Many factors contribute to this evolution, including: (1) the continued evolution and expansion of the computing field as a whole, (2) a greater awareness of the full spectrum of stakeholders impacted by computer security-related decisions, (3) greater connections between computing systems and the physical world, and (4) the rapid growth of the field through both internal (trained within the security field) and external (moving into the security field) routes.

In this talk, I offer my view of the computer security field’s evolution over the past 20 years, reflect upon its current state, and make some predictions for the future. I emphasize “my” in “my view” because the picture I will paint captures just a slice — just one perspective — on the computer security field as a whole. I will draw upon my past work as examples, e.g., I will touch on automotive security, online advertising, mixed reality, DNA synthesis and sequencing, and more. Along the way, I will leverage a central tool from within the computer security community — threat modeling — that may be useful to those wishing to add a computer security research element to an existing project or explore computer security research as a discipline.