By Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Imagine a large cyber-network with its own built-in “immune system,” one that can recognize and destroy foreign invaders, just like the human body.
“We no longer can afford to be reactive in our attitudes about cyber security,” says Shankar Sastry, dean of the college of engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. “Our current approach is bolt-on, rather than built-in patches, bolted on, like an afterthought. We need to be proactive.”
Sastry is principal investigator and director of the Team for Research in Ubiquitous Secure Technology (TRUST), a UC Berkeley led group focused on developing cyber security science and technology aimed at radically transforming the ability of organizations to design, build, and operate trustworthy information systems for the nation’s critical infrastructure....
Center researchers also are working on new technologies to combat phishing, spyware, botnets and other threats; and promoting legislation and policies to protect privacy.
For example, TRUST researcher and UC Berkeley [School of Information] professor Deirdre Mulligan worked on California legislation that requires companies to notify individuals whose private information might have been compromised as a result of company actions. The California security breach notification law is believed to be the first in the nation, and more than three dozen states have since passed similar laws, according to the center.
TRUST’s recent policy work also is focusing on such issues as paths to identity theft, privacy in social networking and social media, and the use of web browser tracking technologies for targeted advertising. The center is working on technical and policy solutions that address both business functionality and privacy, Sastry says....