Day 1 : Manuel Costa
(Microsoft Research Cambridge)

Title

Azure Confidential Computing

Abstract

Confidential computing allows users to upload encrypted code and data
to the cloud and get encrypted results back with guaranteed privacy.
Confidential computing means cloud providers can’t see customers’
secrets even if cloud administrators are malicious or hackers have
exploited kernel bugs in hosts. This talk discusses research on
confidential computing, including secure hardware containers,
operating systems, compilers for secure code generation, cryptography,
and redesigning cloud services.

Day 2 : Alex Halderman
(University of Michigan)

Title

Cyberattacks on Election Infrastructure

Abstract

Strengthening election cybersecurity is essential for safeguarding
democracy.  Attacks against recent elections in the U.S. and Europe
demonstrate that cybercriminals and nation-state attackers are
becoming more aggressive, even as campaigning and voting become
increasingly reliant on computers. In this talk, I’ll explain how
cyberattacks on voting infrastructure threaten the integrity of
elections and stand to undermine confidence in democratic processes.
Computer voting raises serious security risks, from denial-of-service
attacks that could disrupt voting to malware that could alter election
outcomes.  Although researchers have developed practical safeguards,
they have yet to be widely deployed due to a lack of resources and
political will.

I will also discuss recent efforts to safeguard voting in the U.S.,
which suffered unprecedented politically motivated cyberattacks during
the 2016 presidential election. This spring, Congress provided $380M
in new funding to strengthen elections, but political obstacles and a
lack of uniform standards mean U.S. elections are likely to remain at
risk well into the future.

Bio

J. Alex Halderman is Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at
the University of Michigan. His research spans computer and network
security, applied cryptography, security measurement, censorship
resistance, and electronic voting, as well as the interaction of
technology with politics and international affairs. His recent
projects include ZMap, Let’s Encrypt, and the TLS Logjam and DROWN
vulnerabilities. Prof. Halderman has performed numerous security
evaluations of real-world voting systems, both in the U.S. and around
the world.  After the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Prof. Halderman
advised recount initiatives in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania
in an effort to help detect and deter cyberattacks, and in 2017 he
testified to the U.S. Senate about cybersecurity threats to election
infrastructure. He was named by Popular Science as one of the
“brightest young minds reshaping science, engineering, and the world.”