Vulnerability Analysis and Threat Assessment/Avoidance

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Existing vulnerabilities are a serious threat to computer systems and organizations. Research in security is needed to identify vulnerabilities in systems, evaluate the threat, and devise mechanisms that avoid them. Formalizing vulnerability, building quantitative models of threat, and experimental studies are needed to discover and evaluate solutions for dealing with threats to life and economy. This will result in algorithms, observations based on experiments, and infrastructure that can deal with expected and unexpected attacks in an adaptable and graceful manner. It will lead towards guidelines for building secure systems and databases. The research will build upon results in failure identification, fault-tolerance and reliability/safety. Vulnerabilities will be reduced by keeping an attacker uncertain and unaware about the latest version of databases/software and routing information that are in operation.This research will contribute to fundamental principles and policies for providing homeland security in information systems and applications in nuclear waste shipping, e-commerce, and disaster management. A better understanding of vulnerabilities in a variety of institutions such as schools, government agencies, air space and airports, and industrial plants will be explored. We will contribute to the outreach program of CERIAS security center at Purdue through preparation of education material and organizing workshops.