Abstract:

Numerous cryptographic protocols and mechanisms have been developed to solve computer security challenges, and these techniques vary considerably with respect to security assumptions, performance tradeoffs, and applicability to problems. Secure hardware primarily uses the mechanism of isolation to solve a broad class of computer security problems, ranging from private information retrieval to verifiable computation. In this talk, I will contrast the two approaches by focusing on the application of remote outsourced computation. I will describe a spectrum of approaches that vary in their use of cryptography and isolation to achieve secure remote computation. I will end with describing challenges that remain in the deployment of secure hardware.

Bio:

Srini Devadas is the Webster Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he has been on the faculty since 1988. Devadas's research interests span Computer-Aided Design (CAD), computer security and computer architecture. He has received the 2014 IEEE Computer Society Technical Achievement award, the 2015 ACM/IEEE Richard Newton technical impact award, and the 2017 IEEE Wallace McDowell award for his research. Devadas is a MacVicar Faculty Fellow and an Everett Moore Baker teaching award recipient, considered MIT's two highest undergraduate teaching honors.