Experts Available to Address Security Issues In Wake of Terrorist Attacks
Yvo Desmedt, a Florida State University professor of computer science who is considered one of the world's top experts on the study of cryptography, and Mike Burmester, also a professor of computer science at FSU, are available to address media questions about security in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Desmedt may be reached at (850) 644-9298. Burmester may be reached at (850) 644-6410.
Desmedt and Burmester are working on models to understand security from a scientific point of view. At a recent seminar at Purdue University, they presented a model to protect systems so that they remain secure even if an enemy exploits the same security flaw multiple times.
"People have been wondering how it was possible that four airplanes were hijacked at approximately the same time," Desmedt says. "The problem with many security systems is that finding a weakness in one system allows you access to others. Last week's terrorist attacks sadly demonstrate that this general principle clearly extends beyond computer and network security. Airport security systems are exactly the same whether you are in Boston, Newark or New York. People think the idea of uniform security measures is better, but it's not true - whether you are talking about computer systems or airport security."
Desmedt and Burmester teach in the FSU computer science department's Security and Assurance in Information Technology Laboratory. In 2000, the National Security Agency (NSA) designated the program a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. In addition, the National Security Telecommunications and Information Systems Security Committee (NSTISSC), an intergovernmental agency that sets policy for the security of national security systems, certified that FSU's program meets NSTISSC training standards for information systems security professionals.
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