2023 News

2023

2022 2024

Dec 21

Unplugging doubt

Smart speakers and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices often have always-on microphones to enable voice-based interaction. In a recent paper, CyLab faculty member Sauvik Das and a team of researchers propose a new concept of "intentionally powered" microphones that can only be powered using the energy harvested from intentional user interactions.

Dec 08

Conrad Tucker named new director of CMU-Africa Opens in new window

Conrad Tucker has been named the next director of Carnegie Mellon University Africa. In his new role, Tucker will also serve as the College of Engineering’s Associate Dean for International Programs in Africa.

Nov 27

CyLab UBRI honorees make a splash in research-driven blockchain innovation

Ripple launched the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) in 2018 to foster collaborative partnerships with leading universities globally to support academic research, technical development, and innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital payments. In the five years since, Carnegie Mellon University faculty members, students, and alumni have made a big impact on UBRI’s diverse portfolio of blockchain research, technical development, and innovation.

Nov 22

CyLab faculty, students to present at ACM CCS 2023

Carnegie Mellon faculty and students will present on a wide range of topics at the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Security, Audit and Control’s (SIGSAC’s) Conference on Computer and Communications Security (ACM CCS). Held at the Tivoli Congress Center in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 26-30, the event brings together information security researchers, practitioners, developers, and users from all over the world to explore cutting-edge ideas and results.

Nov 21

Understanding the security of mobile apps in Africa Opens in new window

Researchers from CyLab-Africa and the Upanzi Network recently partnered with the mobile security provider Approov to explore the security of common financial services apps used across Africa.

Nov 20

Niraj Tolia receives 2023 Parallel Data Lab Distinguished Alumni Award

Carnegie Mellon University’s Parallel Data Lab (PDL) has recognized Niraj Tolia (BS '02, MS '03, Ph.D. '07), CEO and Co-Founder of Alcion, as the recipient of its 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Nov 09

CyLab receives a $250,000 gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to support research on IoT security and privacy labels

Craig Newmark Philanthropies has announced a $250,000 gift to support the Carnegie Mellon University CyLab Security and Privacy Institute’s research on privacy and security labels for IoT devices.

Nov 08

FLOTUS Touts Pittsburgh as Workforce Hub at CMU’s Mill 19 Opens in new window

First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su recently visited Mill 19, the discovery workspace where Carnegie Mellon engineers and scientists conduct advanced manufacturing research. Biden and Su highlighted workforce investments in Pittsburgh, which is one of five newly created Workforce Hubs in the U.S.

Oct 30

Second round of Future Enterprise Security Initiative funded projects announced

CyLab’s Future Enterprise Security Initiative has announced its second round of funded proposals.

Oct 12

CyLab celebrates 20 years of cybersecurity leadership at its 2023 Partners Conference

CyLab celebrated 20 years of collaborating on cutting-edge research and educating the next generation of security and privacy professionals at its annual Partners Conference.

Oct 10

CMU’s Synergy Lab presents multiple papers on ubiquitous sensing at UbiComp

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon's Systems, Networking, and Energy Efficiency (Synergy) Lab will present several multi-year studies on their work around ubiquitous sensing at this week's ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp).

Oct 05

New tool helps mobile app developers create more accurate iOS privacy labels

Created by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, Privacy Label Wiz is an easy-to-use, step-by-step resource to help developers create accurate mobile app privacy labels

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Sep 26

Newly discovered side-channel attack side steps current defense mechanisms

In a recent study, co-authored by Carnegie Mellon Software and Societal Systems Assistant Professor Riccardo Paccagnella, he and fellow researchers have uncovered a new type of side-channel attack, dubbed GPU.zip, which exploits software-transparent uses of compression.

Sep 19

Sriraman and Sharif receive Intel’s 2023 Rising Star Faculty Award

ECE Assistant Professor Akshitha Sriraman and CMU Alumnus and Senior Lecturer at Tel Aviv University Mahmood Sharif have received Intel's 2023 Rising Star Faculty Award for their novel work in electrical and computer engineering.

Sep 13

Researchers develop adversarial training methods to improve machine learning-based malware detection software

Professor Lujo Bauer and a team of researchers investigate the effectiveness of using adversarial training methods to create malware detection models that are more robust to some of the state-of-the-art attacks.

Aug 24

Aaron Roth receives 2023 CyLab Distinguished Alumni Award

Aaron Roth, the Henry Salvatori Professor of Computer Science and Cognitive Science at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named CyLab’s 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.

Aug 23

Five unique cybersecurity challenges in Africa Opens in new window

CMU-Africa’s Assane Gueye has identified five cybersecurity challenges that Africa faces on the path to a digital future.

Explore research from CyLab-Africa and the Upanzi Network Opens in new window

Get involved by partnering with CyLab-Africa Opens in new window

Aug 21

CyLab names 2023 Presidential Fellows

Each year, CyLab recognizes high-achieving Ph.D. students pursuing security and/or privacy-related research, with a CyLab Presidential Fellowship, covering an entire year of tuition.

Aug 13

Carnegie Mellon’s hacking team wins 7th DEF CON Capture-the-Flag title

The winningest team in DEF CON’s Capture-the-Flag (CTF) competition history, Carnegie Mellon University’s Plaid Parliament of Pwning (PPP), was back at it again, as the team defended its title, earning its seventh victory in the past eleven years.

Aug 09

CyLab faculty, students to present at the 32nd USENIX Security Symposium

Carnegie Mellon faculty and students will present on a wide range of topics at the 32nd USENIX Security Symposium. Held in Anaheim, CA, on August 9-11, the event brings together experts from around the world, who will highlight the latest advances in the security and privacy of computer systems and networks.

Aug 07

CyLab researchers present their work at 2023 SOUPS

Carnegie Mellon faculty and students shared their research at the 2023 Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS).

Jul 27

Researchers discover new vulnerability in large language models

Researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science, the CyLab Security and Privacy Institute, and the Center for AI Safety in San Francisco have developed an attack that can bypass security measures of large language models. Their method enables chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Bard, to generate objectionable content at high success rates.

Jul 18

CyLab presents at White House's launch of new Cyber Trust mark

Carnegie Mellon's CyLab Security and Privacy Institute met with government officials and technology industry leaders, as the White House launched its new Cyber Trust mark. Associate Professor Yuvraj Agarwal represented CMU at the event, sharing key findings from CyLab’s five plus years of IoT security and privacy label research.

Jul 11

picoCTF-Africa sees significant growth in competition’s second year Opens in new window

In just its second year, the cybersecurity hacking competition saw over 1250 students, as the number of female participants doubled, and the number of high school participants increased by more than 365 percent. Additionally, four teams finished in the top 50 on picoCTF’s global leaderboard, demonstrating the initiative’s immediate impact.

Jul 06

picoCTF empowers teachers to bring cybersecurity education into their classrooms

For over ten years, Carnegie Mellon University’s picoCTF has been working to close the cybersecurity talent gap, introducing the field to students of all ages through its annual Capture-the-Flag competition and year-round educational platform. Last week, picoCTF furthered its outreach efforts, bringing together high school teachers from around the U.S. for its first-ever NSA GenCyber Teachers’ Program.

Jun 22

CyLab announces first round of Secure Blockchain Initiative funded projects

Carnegie Mellon University's Secure Blockchain Initiative (SBI) is off and running, as six projects have been selected for its first round of seed funding. Through research, the initiative aims to revolutionize blockchain technology within enterprise ecosystems by tackling various challenges.

Jun 16

New website highlights thousands of Android apps’ data collection practices

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have launched a new website, offering Android users an easy and convenient way to see how their data is collected and shared.

Jun 12

CMU brings together experts from academia and industry during inaugural Secure Blockchain Summit

On May 8-9, the Carnegie Mellon CyLab Security and Privacy Institute hosted the University's first-ever Secure Blockchain Summit, bringing together experts from around the world to share their research and discuss the future of the technology and its applications.

May 23

CyLab faculty earn two ‘Test of Time’ awards at IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) awarded two ‘Test of Time’ awards during its 44th Symposium on Security and Privacy, both going to papers co-authored by CyLab faculty members.

May 17

Less is not more; Mapping a better route to user ad settings

For users looking to change their privacy settings on websites like Facebook, it often feels like a scavenger hunt. Now, researchers from Carnegie Mellon and the University of Michigan are exploring design options to make settings related to advertising preferences more findable.

May 05

Cookie consent banners need improvement, may not be the answer

Over the past several years, websites have begun implementing cookie consent banners to meet regulatory requirements, allowing users to make choices about how their personal information is collected and shared. However, CyLab researchers say many of these banners miss the mark and may not be the best way to offer users privacy options.

May 02

Wambui Njogu’s path to a career in cybersecurity Opens in new window

On a journey that’s taken her from Kenya to Rwanda to Pittsburgh, MSIT student Wambui Njogu looks back on the experiences that instilled her passion for cybersecurity and how she developed her skills at CMU-Africa.

Apr 28

CMU hacking team defends title at MITRE cybersecurity competition

For the second year in a row, Carnegie Mellon’s competitive hacking team, the Plaid Parliament of Pwning, has taken home the top prize at the MITRE Embedded Capture-the-Flag (eCTF) cybersecurity competition.

Apr 27

CMU-Africa Week showcases research and culture

The CyLab Security and Privacy Institute recently hosted CMU-Africa Week on CMU’s Pittsburgh campus. In its first year, the event aimed to build collaboration around research problems in Africa.

Apr 26

CyLab faculty earn Amazon Research Awards

CyLab’s Limin Jia, Bryan Parno and Corina Pasareanu recently received Amazon Research Awards in the category of automated reasoning.

Apr 20

CyLab researchers to present at ACM CHI 2023

CyLab Security and Privacy Institute researchers are set to present seven papers at the upcoming ACM CHI 2023 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems).

Apr 17

CyLab awards 2023 seed funding

This year, CyLab has awarded $450K in seed funding to 20 faculty, staff, and students in five departments across three colleges at CMU.

Apr 10

CyLab icon connects users with online privacy choices

Have you noticed the new icon popping up on websites across the Internet? Thanks to researchers at Carnegie Mellon’s CyLab Security and Privacy Institute, the University of Michigan, and Fordham University, users can now easily make choices about how websites use their personal information, all in one convenient spot.

Apr 07

Carnegie Mellon hosts 10th annual picoCTF Hacking Competition

On March 14th, hackers from around the globe flocked to picoCTF.org as Carnegie Mellon University’s 2023 Capture-the-Flag competition kicked off. In its 10th year, picoCTF saw more than 18,000 middle, high school, and undergraduate students who worked through 45 progressively difficult challenges.

Apr 03

CyLab to host CMU-Africa Week in Pittsburgh Opens in new window

The CyLab Security and Privacy Institute will host CMU-Africa Week April 10-14 on Carnegie Mellon University’s Pittsburgh campus.

Mar 27

CyLab researchers earn NSF CAREER awards

Three CyLab Security and Privacy Institute researchers recently earned Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The awards are the foundation's most prestigious for young faculty researchers.

Mar 23

CyLab to host inaugural CMU Secure Blockchain Summit

On May 8-9, the CyLab Security and Privacy Institute will host Carnegie Mellon University’s inaugural Secure Blockchain Summit, bringing together experts from academia and industry to discuss the future of blockchain research, technology and applications.

Mar 09

U.S. Chamber AI Commission releases final report Opens in new window

Conrad Tucker served as a commissioner on the US Chamber AI Commission aimed to position the US as a leader in responsible AI development and deployment. The commission’s final report has been released.

Mar 06

Zero Trust in 'Zero Trust'

In a new tech report, Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Virgil Gligor explains why the U.S. Government’s plan to implement zero-trust architectures leaves much to be desired.

Mar 01

CISA director delivers major address at Carnegie Mellon

CISA Director Jen Easterly delivered a national address from Carnegie Mellon University entitled "Unsafe at Any CPU Speed: The Designed-in Dangers of Technology and What We Can Do About It."

Feb 20

picoCTF aims to close the cybersecurity talent gap

CyLab's picoCTF is working to close the cybersecurity talent gap by introducing the future workforce to the field through its free annual hacking competition and robust learning platform.

Jan 30

CyLab and S3D host International Data Privacy Day event

The CyLab Security and Privacy Institute and Software and Societal Systems Department hosted Carnegie Mellon's annual International Data Privacy Day event, bringing students, faculty, and staff together to discuss various aspects of online privacy.

Jan 19

Protecting your online data

Sauvik Das, assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute and member of CMU’s CyLab Security and Privacy Institute, shares tips on how to protect your online data.

Jan 12

Improving system verification

Researchers’ award-winning paper provides a faster, more efficient way to perform system verification.

Media Mentions

Associated Press

Carley discusses how misinformation can spread

CyLab’s Kathleen Carley was quoted by the Associated Press about the dangers of misinformation, particularly pertaining to false claims of election fraud and how that may impact overseas voters. “Laying the groundwork for a conspiracy theory means that you need to weave many claims together,” Carley explained.

Time

Brumley discusses social security number breach and cybersecurity

ECE’s David Brumley spoke with Time about the hack in April that resulted in SSN data from the NPD being leaked. “We are not talking about a startup here,” Brumley said. “Looking forward, we have to have higher standards for the custodians of our data.”

Atlantic Council

Fanti and Sowon suggest improving the way governments regulate technology

Giulia Fanti and Karen Sowon were among the co-authors of an article in Atlantic Council suggesting ways in which governments could more effectively regulate new technologies while avoiding setbacks.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Carley discusses new tools designed to curb the spread of disinformation online

CyLab/EPP’s Kathleen Carley spoke with Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the need to improve detection of inaccurate or misleading content online.

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