What Can Biology Teach Us About Computer Security?
Dr. Anil Somayaji
ABSTRACT
By using terms such as "infections" and "viruses," computer security
professionals routinely invoke biological metaphors to describe
malicious software. Despite the gulf between proteins and
transistors, bits and DNA, such connections are much more than mere
poetic license. Fields such as epidemiology, ecology, immunology, and
even human physiology contain many useful lessons on why current
computer networks are so vulnerable; these same fields can also
provide a roadmap for how to make our networks more secure.
This talk will explain how to draw more meaningful connections between
biology and computer security, and how these connections can lead to
a more secure Internet.
BIOGRAPHY
Anil Somayaji is an assistant professor of Computer Science at
Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He has a B.S. in Mathematics
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1994) and a Ph.D. in
Computer Science from the University of New Mexico (2002).