President's Lecture with Professor Stephen Checkoway

Thinking like and Adversary to Protect Computer Systems

In modern life, computer systems control everything from access to sensitive health and financial information to a car’s anti-lock braking system. It is critical that these systems operate safely and correctly, especially in the presence of an adversary with a strong (usually financial) motive to make the systems misbehave in some way.

In this talk, Professor Checkoway will describe one of the key tools computer security researchers and practitioners use to secure these critical computer systems: adversarial thinking. He will give examples of how thinking like an adversary can demonstrate the existence of vulnerabilities and suggest defenses against attacks in multiple domains, including examples from his work hacking computers used in cars and general aviation.