Dr. David Umphress, Director of Auburn University’s Cyber Research Center

Why do you think there is such a need today for cyber research and security?

A side effect of the adoption of cyber technology has been those who are determined to exploit that technology’s vulnerabilities. Armed with a low-cost computer, network access and minimal training, an aspiring assailant can plant malware, initiate phishing schemes, employ social-engineering and launch denial-of-service attacks from virtually anywhere in the world to anywhere else in the world with minimal risk of being prosecuted. If successful, the result can serve to disrupt operations, gather intelligence, steal information for financial gain, make a political statement, or simply establish notoriety. Recognizing that the entry costs are negligible compared to the payout, organized crime has been quick to embrace cyber-crime. Evidence suggests that state sponsorship of cyber-attacks aimed at disruption and espionage is on the rise.

Does cyber-crime happen more often than we may think? What are some examples?

Examples of the reality of this threat abound. Since 2005, security breaches of U.S. networks have compromised an estimated 543 million data records containing information useful to criminals. The U.S. Navy reported more than 100,000 attempts at cyber penetrations per hour in 2012. A cyber-attack is thought to be the primary cause of a 90-minute outage of The New York Times Co. corporate and media sites in August 2013.

In the past, cyber security was considered of interest only to governments and large corporations. Today, 40 percent of attacks are aimed at companies with 500 or less employees. Smartphones have seen a dramatic rise in malware attacks in which personal information is stolen. The message is clear: no one is immune.

What recognition has Auburn University received for its cyber security initiatives and what impact does that have on the research being conducted here?

Auburn University has three cyber security designations. The Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency jointly designated us as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education and a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research. Most recently, the National Security Agency named us a Center of Excellence in Cyber Operations. Only eight universities in the country have qualified for this designation.

The impact this designation has had on us is that we have greater visibility in the community, resulting in more research opportunities in the areas of network security, network forensics, malware analysis, software reverse engineering and threat modeling.

What is the goal of the Auburn Cyber Research Center?

My goal for the Auburn Cyber Research Center (ACRC) is for it to be an inviting and inclusive nexus of preeminent research, education and outreach in cyber security. The success of our center depends on how well we can demonstrate that our research is applicable to real world problems, and we can accomplish this by working as a team, engaging our students and incorporating ideas from across disciplines.

I believe we've had a number of successful projects. One that comes to mind was a collaborative effort between researchers in software engineering and industrial engineering. The project was funded by the Department of Defense as a model for building the workforce of systems engineers. We taught a year-long course, "Systems Engineering with Secure Open Source Components," in which students used open source hardware and software components to build lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles that could be launched by a soldier to patrol a hostile environment. The research element of the course was to determine techniques for assessing open source software for security vulnerabilities. Students worked in cross-disciplinary teams to come up with designs, then got a chance to build the designs. We held a competition at the conclusion of the course to give students a chance to demonstrate their prototype vehicles.

What can students gain from participating in the Auburn Cyber Research Center?

Quite simply, students who participate with the ACRC get a chance to do cool things that lead to cool jobs. Our students – undergraduate as well as graduate students – are working on cutting-edge, real-world issues in cyber security. Many of the students who work with the center receive some form of scholarship, as well as opportunities to put their cyber security skills to work during the summer through internships with government agencies.