School of Electrical Engineering, Tel Aviv University
Speech Title:
"Do we still need to teach computer and network security until 2025?"
Abstract:
Computer and network security research has been an ongoing activity for
several decades, and most computer systems have fairly sophisticated
security components embedded in them. One may think that security has
become a "commodity". Therefore, as we look into the future, it is worth
asking how much focus should be devoted to teaching security to EE and
CS undergraduate students.
In this talk I would like to point out two trends that indicate that the
place for computer and network security should actually grow in the
EE/CS curriculum over the next decade. The first is the expansion of the
attack surface: many systems that were never perceived as "computers"
actually are computers, and becoming more and more accessible over a
variety of communication networks. Systems such as industrial control
systems, home appliances, surveillance cameras and cars all include
networked computerized components, that are subject to attack. The
second trend is that there is a huge and growing interest in all aspects
of computer (in)security. "Hacking" is considered "cool" by young people
- as can be observed by the amazingly high attendance of conferences
like DefCon. Moreover, attackers are becoming professional - with
worldwide criminal organizations operating large financially-driven
attacks, and nation-states using computer networks to cyber-attack their
adversaries. From these observations my conclusion is that EE/CS
faculties need to focus more on this field, to meet the growing demand
for "white hat" professionals.