Tools and frameworks for computer security alternatives

我们的社会严重依赖我们的计算机、设备和网络，但即使在数十年的计算机安全研究之后，使我们的计算机安全仍然存在许多问题。考虑到计算机安全领域的大量研究，相对较少的研究转化为新的、改进的防御措施，用于保护最终用户。可以说，计算机用户在防御方面出现了停滞，或者充其量是微乎其微的改进，而与此同时，威胁的数量却急剧增加。我的研究计划的长期目标是找到新的安全方法，从根本上打破这种现状，在某些情况下，找到用户体验的当前计算机安全状态的全新替代方案，并使用户更安全。实际上，我将通过构建软件工具和框架来实现这一长期目标，这意味着研究工作不仅可以在学术出版物上看到，还将导致其他人可以使用的软件。*在短期内，在这笔拨款的任期内，我将着眼于在三个领域推进我的长期目标：代码混淆(保护计算机代码)、程序执行监控和数据采样(观察计算机代码)和计算机系统(创建和表达计算机代码的新方法)。这些领域和其中的倡议不是随意选择的。我提出的安全替代方案的一个指导原则是如何利用我们目前拥有或在未来5-10年内将拥有的丰富资源(例如，计算能力、网络带宽、联网用户)。作为一种深思熟虑的风险缓解战略，正在采取许多举措；这是一个必要的考虑，因为我建议的是更高风险的工作，而不仅仅是增量研究。*这里的一个新颖性是在识别和挑战与安全相关的根深蒂固的假设方面，例如，反病毒软件必须以某种方式工作，解决方案必须在x86/ARM/Windows/Mac上工作，计算机编程必须以某种方式进行。提供自我相同的防御根本行不通，需要花费精力寻求革命性的安全方法，而不是逐步减少糟糕的方法。我们的计算机的安全性必须得到提高，引领新方法而不是追随其他方法对加拿大来说是一项很好的投资。

Our society is heavily reliant on our computers, devices, and networks, but there are still any number of problems making our computers secure, even- after decades of computer security research. Given the sheer volume of research in computer security, relatively little of it has translated into new, improved defenses that are deployed for the protection of end users. Arguably, computer users have seen stagnation or at best marginal improvements in their defenses, while at the same time the number of threats has increased dramatically. The long--term goal of my research program is to find novel methods for security that break from this status quo, radically in some cases, to find entirely new alternatives to the current state of computer security that users experience, and make users more secure. Practically speaking, I will be realizing this long--term goal through the construction of software tools and frameworks, meaning that the research work is not just seen in academic publications, but will result in software usable by others.***    In the shorter term, for the tenure of this grant, I will be looking at advancing my long--term goal in three areas: code obfuscation (protecting computer code), program execution monitoring and sampling (watching computer code), and computer systems (new ways to create and express computer code). These areas and the initiatives within them are not arbitrarily chosen. One guiding principle that underlies the security alternatives I'm proposing is how to employ the abundance of resources (e.g., computing power, network bandwidth, Internet--connected users) we either have presently, or will have in the next 5--10 years. A number of initiatives are being undertaken as a deliberate strategy of risk mitigation; this is a necessary consideration because what I am proposing is higher-risk work and not just incremental research.***    One novelty here is in identifying and challenging deeply- engrained assumptions related to security, e.g., anti--virus software must work a certain way, a solution must work on x86/ARM/Windows/Mac..., computer programming must be done a certain way. Proffering self-same defenses is simply not working, and effort needs to be expended on seeking revolutionary approaches to security rather than incrementally less-bad ones. The security of our computers must be improved, and leading the way with new approaches instead of following others is a good investment for Canada to make.********