2 :0 0 p m - 6 :0 0 p m
TUTORIAL V
Title: Principles, Practices and Challenges in Network Defense
Srinivas Mukkamala & Andrew H. Sung
New Mexico Tech.

Audience: Attendees of HiPC with general interest in information and system security, and high performance computing researchers and practitioners interested in potential applications of high performance computing in information security.

Course Description: The fast growing use of computers by individuals and organizations has resulted in the dramatic growth of subversive activities; there is an increasing need for governments, organizations, educational institutions and individuals to employ enhanced security measures and security devices to protect their computer systems and information assets.

Many network security teams are still focused on building walls, but the hordes are at the gate and such defenses are doomed to fail because the perimeter has expanded. The network is not confined to the building that houses your network or computers. Remote dial-in users, VPN users, wireless LANs with rogue access points and service providers all extend the virtual perimeter of your network.

Security, therefore, must extend to all your network's assets. Comprehensive network security requires layers of protective hardware and software. A desktop firewall won't protect you from malware. A firewall can't replace the functionality of a virus scanner, and an antivirus program doesn't negate the need for firewalls. Ultimately, you need desktop firewalls, antivirus software, host intrusion detection and VPN tools as part of your arsenal. Network protection requires the right tools. For example, according to leading firewall experts, over 50% of the installed firewalls are implemented incorrectly due to lack of expertise, the subtleties of the configuration, and the vulnerabilities in the underlying operating system.

This tutorial begins with an introduction to the basic concepts and issues of information assurance. An assortment of important current topics will be discussed; including vulnerability analysis, computer attacks, firewalls, vulnerability scanners, intrusion detection systems, risk analysis, data protection mechanisms, digital forensics and challenges in information assurance and security.

Lecturer(s): Srinivas Mukkamala is a Ph.D. candidate and researcher with New Mexico Tech's Institute for Complex Additive Systems Analysis. He is a frequent speaker on information assurance in conferences and tutorials. He is currently working in the areas of information assurance and security and has over 50 publications in the areas of information security.

Srinivas Mukkamala received his B.E. in Computer Science and Engineering from University of Madras in 1999, M.S. in Computer Science form New Mexico Tech. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at New Mexico Tech’s Computer Science Department and a student lead of the information assurance research group at New Mexico Tech.

Andrew H. Sung is currently Professor and Chairman of the Computer Science Department of New Mexico Tech, and a founding coordinator of the school’s new Information Technology Program. He is also the Associate Director for Education and Training of ICASA (Institute for Complex Additive Systems Analysis, a statutory research division of New Mexico Tech performing work on information technology, information assurance, and analysis and protection of critical infrastructures as complex interdependent systems).

Andrew Sung received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan University in 1976, M.S. in Mathematical Sciences from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1980, and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1984. He joined New Mexico Tech in 1987, and served as the Computer Science department chair from 1988 to 1993, and again since January 2000. From 1984 to 1987, he was Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas.