CAE Community of Practice Cyber Research
Special Topics Workshop
The Special Topics Workshop is an annual series of discussions on pertinent cybersecurity research topics headed by members of the CAE-R community, representing multiple disciplines, institution types, and geographic regions. Typically, the workshops are run in conjunction with the annual National Cybersecurity Education Colloquium and feature topics that have been nominated and voted on by CAE-R faculty and representatives from government agencies. The discussions cover a wide range of areas impacted by the topic at hand - from technical challenges to overarching policy and regulatory decisions - which work to identify priority research gaps and objectives that the cybersecurity research community at large can work on together to further understand the potential impacts and develop solutions.
Next Special Topics Workshop
The date and location for the next special topics workshop is to be determined.
Past Special Topics Workshops
Workshop Abstract
Software supply chain security is a critical aspect of modern cybersecurity, focusing on protecting all components and processes involved in software development and deployment. Ensuring the integrity, authenticity and security of software throughout its lifecycle, from development to distribution and implementation, is essential. This Special Topic Workshop aims to deepen the understanding of the challenges and to identify enhanced strategies for securing software supply chains against arising threats using emerging technologies such as, for example, Large Language Models (LLMs).
It is expected that the topics identified by the workshop discussions will allow the CAE-R community in particular and the cybersecurity research community at large to collaborate in advancing the current state of software supply chain security.
Workshop Organizers
Professor Kun Sun, George Mason University
Rebecca McWhite, National Institute of Standards and Technology
William Enck, North Carolina State University
Workshop Location
The workshop was held on October 9, 2024 (9am – 4pm CT) in conjunction with the 2024 National Cybersecurity Education Colloquium at the Marriot St. Louis Grand in St. Louis, Missouri.
Workshop Abstract
Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Bard, BingChat, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, and the mathematical models that power them have captured the attention of the public at large as well as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity experts. Their abilities to create convincingly written prose, poetry, song lyrics, software code, images, and even videos have many people considering them to be the biggest thing to impact education and the workplace since the handheld calculator. However, for policymakers and security professionals already struggling with the implications of mis- and disinformation, “deepfakes”, and controlling access and use of proprietary, confidential, or classified information, these tools create perhaps the biggest techno-social challenge since strong cryptography. Notable researchers and entrepreneurs, and even AI researchers have called for a pause on these lines of research until the risks are better understood. At the same time, the use of increasingly advanced artificial intelligence, from machine learning up to increasingly capable general-purpose agents that can be fine-tuned to specific purposes and collaborate in real-time, present new opportunities for automating or streamlining the management of cyber risks and responses to cyber-attacks. This workshop will identify priority research gaps and objectives that the cybersecurity research community at large can work on together to further understand the potential impacts and develop solutions. Results of the workshop will be briefed to the general audience immediately following the workshop.
Workshop Organizers
Dr. Benjamin Blakely, Argonne National Laboratory
Neil Fendley, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
Dr. Bradford Kline, National Security Agency
Workshop Location
The workshop was held on September 21, 2023 (10am – 3pm) in conjunction with the 2023 National Cybersecurity Education Colloquium at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, Illinois.
Updated: December 6, 2024