Contact: Phil Hearn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A speaker next week at Mississippi State will discuss potential computer security vulnerabilities the United States and other countries might face by sharing simulation software during a joint military operation.
John A. "Drew" Hamilton Jr., an associate professor of computer science and software engineering at Auburn University, will kick off the 2006 lecture series Monday [Feb. 20] sponsored by the university's department of computer science and engineering.
The presentation is set for 1 p.m. in 100 Butler Hall, which houses the MSU department. Though open to all, seating in the room is limited.
The lecture series is sponsored by the Bagley College of Engineering through funding from the Jackson-based Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation, according to department head Julia Hodges.
Hamilton, who also serves as director of Auburn's Information Assurance Laboratory, will describe a process developed by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and Auburn to evaluate potential vulnerabilities in shared simulation software.
He will discuss three major trends driving the need for simulation software vulnerability assessment: increased use of modeling and simulation for training and operational planning; increased emphasis on coalition warfare and interoperability; and increased awareness of the potential security risks inherent in sharing operationally useful software.
"Coalition warfare and interoperability refers to our military working with the military of other countries that come together to address a particular crisis," explained Ray Vaughn, director of MSU's Center for Computer Security Research. "There is a need to communicate electronically between coalition members.
"We need to share software with coalition members," added Vaughn, MSU's Billie J. Ball Professor of Computer Science and Engineering. "But we need to do so in a way that does not allow those coalition members to see how the software is put together."
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information on the program, contact Dr. Hodges at (662) 325-2756 or hodges@cse.msstate.edu or Dr. Vaughn at 325-7450 or vaughn@cse.msstate.edu.