[January 08, 2009]

UCLA: Keeping information safe from digital spies

(U-Wire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)
UWIRE-01/08/2009-UCLA: Keeping information safe from digital spies (C)
2008 Daily Bruin via UWIRE

By Sandy Bui, Daily Bruin (UCLA)

LOS ANGELES -- As a new year begins, people are increasingly dependent
on digital technology, and cyber security becomes increasingly
important as well.

Social security and personal privacy will be growing issues for the
next few decades, said Amit Sahai, associate director of the UCLA
Center for Information and Computation Security.

Hackers are becoming more sophisticated and educated about how security
systems function and are able to manipulate systems that rely on
people's trust, Sahai said.

The Center for Information and Computation Security is stepping up to
tackle threats to cyber security. UCLA and MIT are currently at the
forefront of cyber-security research, said Rafail Ostrovsky, the
center's director and professor of computer science and mathematics.

Jens Palsberg, professor of computer science at UCLA, predicted that
the new year will have "more big-headline cases of cyber terrorism,
both against countries and against multinational companies," Palsberg
said.

"More and more, people will wonder whether the increasing
computerization of health care will make their most personal data be
one cyber-attack away from falling into the wrong hands. Pundits will
call for the Obama administration to prepare the nation better for
cyber-attacks," he added.

Sahai said there has been considerable and revolutionary progress in
research that has occurred in the past decade.

"There's still a lot to be done, but there have been some really nice
breakthroughs," he said.

Cyber-security research is focused on cryptography, the basic science
of hiding information. The underlying mathematics concepts are
essential for security programs to function.

Cryptography helps protect important private information such as
passwords, social security numbers, credit card numbers, and records of
patient health, driving and employment data.

The center is developing new protective technologies which include
functional encryption, biomedic-based encryptions, reliable routing of
the Internet and protection of medical records.

"We're developing new technology where you can manipulate patients'
data without invading patients' privacy, which is a big concern in the
medical community," Ostrovsky said.

Sahai said functional encryption involves a sophisticated system in
which multiple keys give access to certain data, allowing different

levels of access to different people.

However, Sahai said, before major problems can be fixed, there needs to
be more collaboration.

"There are just delays that are taking place in adopting the right
technologies (but) when everyone gets together and agrees to do it, you
can have a really major impact on the day-to-day security people have,"
Sahai said.

Artificial intelligence research will also influence cyber security.

While artificial intelligence is a broad field, its most useful aspect
for cyber security involves "machine learning," when a program can
"automatically recognize objects or patterns" Sahai said.

"In A.I., traditionally these programs are usually trying to understand
handwriting, or speech, or seen objects like people or facial
expressions. But in cyber security, some of the same ideas and
algorithms can be used to identify viruses or spyware."

Ostrovsky said UCLA will continue to defend against sophisticated
attacks by taking stronger security measures.

"What the (public) can do is just use common sense. Don't reply to
phishing attacks; don't give freely your password," Ostrovsky said.

Phishing is a process in which hackers disguise themselves as
businesses in online communication to acquire victims' private
information.

Despite ongoing concerns in the cyber world, cyber-security research
keeps advancing as the new year unfolds. Ostrovsky expressed excitement
for the center and its accomplishments.

"It's very exciting that UCLA is building a very strong security
standard," Ostrovsky added.

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