UMBC CSEE Seminar

IoT Device Security Research at Morgan State University

Dr. Kevin T. Kornegay

Professor and IoT Security Endowed Chair,
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Morgan State University

12:00-1:00pm Friday, 15 April 2016, ITE 239, UMBC

The Internet of Things (IoT) and its myriad of components are proliferating as they increasingly permeate all areas of life and work, with unprecedented economic effect. The IoT is the network of dedicated physical objects (things) whose embedded system technology senses or interacts with their internal state or external environment. Embedded systems use a combination of computer hardware and software to perform dedicated functions within a larger mechanical or electrical system. Examples of embedded systems include cell phones, personal digital assistants, gaming consoles, global positioning systems, etc. Over 98 percent of all microprocessors being manufactured are used in embedded system applications. In private industry and the public sector, IoT growth and possible uses are evolving rapidly. Critical infrastructures in transportation, smart grid, manufacturing and health care are highly dependent on embedded systems for distributed control, tracking, and electronic data collection. While it is paramount to protect these systems from hacking, intrusion or physical tampering, our current solutions are often based on a patchwork of legacy systems, and this is unsustainable as a long-term solution. Transformative solutions are required to protect these systems by engineering secure embedded systems. Secure embedded systems use cryptography and countermeasures to protect electronic data and commands to systematically achieve resiliency, stability, safety, integrity, and privacy. Engineering secure embedded implementations that are resistant to attacks is vital. Essential to achieving this goal is obtaining fundamental knowledge and understanding of the various types of vulnerabilities embedded systems present. Hence, in this talk, we will present our embedded systems security research activities including the IoT testbed, side-channel and fault injection analysis, and associated research projects.

Kevin T. Kornegay received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, in 1985 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1990 and 1992, respectively. He is presently Professor and IoT Security Endowed Chair in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. His research interests include hardware assurance, reverse engineering, secure embedded system design, side-channel analysis, differential fault analysis, radio frequency and millimeter wave integrated circuit design, high-speed circuits, and broadband wired and wireless system design. Dr. Kornegay serves or has served on the technical program committees of several international conferences including the IEEE Symposium on Hardware Oriented Security and Trust (HOST), EEE International Solid State Circuits Conference, the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, and the Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium. He has also served a two-year term on the IEEE Solid-State Circuits AdCom committee, as well as, on the editorial board of the IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II and as Editor of IEEE Electron Device Letters and Guest Editor of the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits Special Issue on the 2004 Compound Semiconductor IC Symposium. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Society of Black Engineers’ Dr. Janice A. Lumpkin Educator of the Year in 2005, the 2002 Black Engineer of the Year Award in Higher Education from U.S. Black Engineer and Information Technology magazine, the NSF CAREER Award, an IBM Faculty Partnership Award, the National Semiconductor Faculty Development Award, and the General Motors Faculty Fellowship Award. He was also selected as a participant in the National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, and the German–American Frontiers of Engineering, where he later served on the organizing committee. He is a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Electron Devices Society and a senior member of the IEEE, as well as a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi.

Hosts: Professors Fow-Sen Choa (Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. ) and Alan T. Sherman (Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. )

About the CSEE Seminar Series: The UMBC Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering presents technical talks on current significant research projects of broad interest to the Department and the research community. Each talk is free and open to the public. We welcome your feedback and suggestions for future talks.

A reflection by Shira Devorah, Women’s Center Student Staff 

Going to the doctor is never fun; most people dread pesky checkups getting in the way of their day. While medical appointments can feel like a nuisance to some, for many people in the LGBTQ community, just seeing a doctor can be dangerous.

Saying that structural health inequity in the U.S. is a problem is an understatement, as many people face huge barriers when it comes to receiving adequate care. Women, people of color, people with lower socioeconomic statuses, fat people, elderly people — the list goes on and people continue to suffer. While I’m specifically highlighting a few of the issues surrounding queer care, it’s important for people to know that this is just one flawed aspect of a flawed system. To fight for justice, we must demand competent care for all people.

So before we all go kicking down the doors of the nearest hospital, let’s discuss what the issues actually are. Why is it so difficult for queer people to get the medical help that all people deserve?

Here are just a few reasons:

1) There’s a large element of risk that queer people must face when it comes to taking care of our health.

Stigma, discrimination, violence, and even denial of care are all real issues that can dissuade people from seeking help in the first place. According to Lambda Legal’s 2010 survey, over half of LGBTQ respondents felt discriminated against when receiving care. Getting to receive care at all, let alone good care, can be very difficult for queer individuals who have poor access to health care. There are huge health discrepancies in LGBTQ populations, especially for older people and transgender individuals. 

Credit: Maureen McNabb, wordpress

As a queer person who usually isn’t read as queer, I’m very lucky that I haven’t had to fear going to the doctor (besides a healthy fear of getting shots). Here’s why:

• I’m a lazy femme, so I don’t get the strange looks from doctors assessing every inch of me that gender nonconforming individuals might get.
• If the doctor asks about my sexual history, I may blush, but being a bisexual cis woman in a monogamous relationship with a cis man means that the kind of sex I would be discussing wouldn’t be considered outside the bounds of heterosexuality.
• I haven’t had reason to fear outing myself through discussing my experiences.
• If I have a problem with my genitals, I only have to worry about the coldness of the speculum, not that my gender identity is being questioned or invalidated.

These are just some reasons why going to the doctors is so difficult for many people who do not have this privilege.

Credit: Philadelphia Lesbian Virtual Magazine

2) There’s a huge gap in medical knowledge, especially for queer people and women.

No matter how nice or accepting a medical professional is, they may not always  know how to treat a queer person. Medical schools in the U.S. spend so little time on LGBTQ-related content. Often times, medical students are taught that sexual behaviors of LGBTQ people are risky, which perpetrates the narrative that gay people are ‘diseased’. Doctors aren’t free of biases and such misunderstanding can get in the way of someone getting adequate care.

Many doctors have very limited experiences with transgender issues. Insurance companies will refuse to sign off on HRT or surgeries that some trans people really need. On the flip side, the medicalization of transgender identities suggests that all trans people have to have surgery to be considered more “legitimate,” which is not possible nor desired for many trans people.

Credit: “When Healthcare Isn’t Caring” Lambda Legal 2010 Report

3) Gender and sexuality are areas in which medicine can be negligent.

A lack of medical knowledge surrounding certain populations is a problem, and not just for queer people. Did you know that there is a huge gender gap in medical research and clinical trials? Medical research is lacking valuable data on women’s issues.  We don’t even know for sure what a heart attack looks like for a woman because of countless misconceptions. This gap in knowledge, coupled with gender biases, seriously affects medication, care, and diagnoses that women receive.

credit: Transgender Law Center

When gender and sexuality collide (as they often do in most humans), things get complicated. Aspects of personal identity intersect, creating an even bigger gap in medical knowledge. Medicine has historically failed queer people, and a lot of effort is required to improve care for the future.

Okay. Deep breaths all around. This is some heavy stuff.

Luckily, there are also a lot of options where LGBTQ healthcare is pretty amazing. There is a substantial list of resources at the end of this post, so check them out! Good options do exist, even though access to these options may be limited for many.

Students here at UMBC have pretty accommodating facilities. University Health Services has a very dedicated and helpful staff of professionals who are trained to work with all kinds of student populations. Almost the entire medical staff is made up of women, and personally I’ve found the practitioners to be gentle and attentive. UHS is consistently making an effort to improve, and while it is by no means a perfectly accessible center, attempts are being made.

Our medical space on campus may be generally positive, but we also have to be aware doesn’t change the negative experiences that many people can face elsewhere. Some may be too scared of going to UHS because of past trauma or maltreatment. Even though UHS is a great resource, the training and education for all medical practitioners is still lacking, and it’s possible to come into a campus medical center without being fully prepared to treat all kinds of people.

In Peer Health Education, the  inclusiveness of LGBTQ issues is lacking, especially when it comes to discussions of sexual health. A big initiative that the sexual health committee is undertaking now is to revamp the current programs to be more inclusive to people of all sexualities and gender identities. Recently, I created a survey in order to assess how LGBTQ people feel about sexual health education on campus. I’m hoping that this will foster a productive discussion with other queer UMBC community members so that we can work together to make important changes to the  health education curriculum. While this is in no way a quick fix the huge problem of LGBTQ health disparities, it’s always good to think globally and act locally.

HAART poster, discussing how stigma against people with HIV can be incredibly damaging.

Everyone has the right to be treated respectfully and competently when accessing health care. Even though my experiences with doctors have been generally positive, I can’t say the same for many other queer people. What I can do is speak up about the problems that I know exist, and do my best to contribute to change. As a peer, as a queer, and as a person devoted to justice, I want to use my privilege and opportunities to work towards a better system. I just hope that one day the only thing people have to fear when walking into a doctor’s office is as simple as a shot.

**************

Check out these great resources!

• Chase Brexton Health Care has locations all around Maryland, with a main branch in Baltimore. This clinic has a health center that specializes in the specific medical needs of LGBTQ people.
•  GLMA has a provider directory that can  help guide people to LGBTQ competent doctors and services, including psychologists and counselors who specialize in LGBTQ mental health.
• The National LGBT Health Education Center at Fenway Institute has a continuing education program designed to educate medical professionals on how to address the needs of LGBTQ individuals. The American medical association has this comprehensive
• LGBTQ resource list  full of helpful information- from patient resources to statistics and studies done on disparities in LGBTQ care.
• Do you identify as LGBTQIA? Come to a roundtable discussion about LGBTQIA+ issues in health education on April 20th from 4:30-5:30pm at the Women’s Center, and help Peer Health Educators make more inclusive changes to health education on campus.

IBM Security  will be on campus this Wednesday, 4/13 at the Spring Career Fair (12pm - 4pm, University Center Ballroom) recruiting both undergraduate and graduate students for the intern and full-time positions below. 

Please be sure to apply and stop by their table to introduce yourself.

Relocation costs/summer housing provided.

Apply to the positions below via the ReqID here http://www-03.ibm.com/employment/security/

Full-Time Positions:
- Software Developers for Network Protection & Fiberlink - "Atlanta, GA, Austin, TX,  Blue Bell, PA (ReqID: 6710BR)
- IBM Security Guardium Advanced Support Engineer, Littleton, MA (ReqID: 29331BR)
- Security Services - Consultant (C&SI), Consultant with 1 year experience, 75% travel (ReqID:25708BR)

Intern Positions:

- Internship - Security Services Specialist (MSS), (ReqID: 34668BR)

- Security Services Consultant (non-SIOC) Internship,
(ReqID: 20356BR)

Distinguished Lecture Series, UMBC Department of Information Systems

Statistical Methods for Integration and Analysis of Opinionated Text Data

Dr. ChengXiang Zhai
Professor and Willett Faculty Scholar
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

10:00am Thursday 21 April 2016, ITE 459, UMBC

Opinionated text data such as blogs, forum posts, product reviews and online comments are increasingly available on the Web. They are very useful sources for public opinions about virtually any topics. However, because the opinions are scattered and abundant, it is a significant challenge for users to collect all the opinions about a topic and digest them efficiently. In this talk, I will present a suite of general statistical text mining methods that can help users integrate, summarize and analyze scattered online opinions to obtain actionable knowledge for decision making. Specifically, I will first present approaches to integration of scattered opinions by aligning them to a well- structured article or relevant ontology. Second, I will discuss several techniques for generating a concise opinion summary that can reveal the major sentiments and opinion points buried in large amounts of opinionated text data. Finally, I will present probabilistic generative models for analyzing review data in depth to discover latent aspect ratings and relative weights placed by reviewers on different aspects. These methods are general and can thus potentially help users integrate and analyze large amounts of online opinionated text data on any topic in any natural language

ChengXiang Zhai is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he also holds a joint appointment at the Institute for Genomic Biology, Statistics, and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. His research interests include information retrieval, text mining, natural language processing, machine learning, and bioinformatics, and has published over 200 papers in these areas with an H-index of 58 in Google Scholar. He is an Associate Editor of ACM Transactions on Information Systems, and Information Processing and Management, and the Americas Editor of Springer’s Information Retrieval Book Series. He is a conference program co-chair of ACM CIKM 2004, NAACL HLT 2007, ACM SIGIR 2009, ECIR 2014, ICTIR 2015, and WWW 2015, and conference general co-chair for ACM CIKM 2016. He is an ACM Distinguished Scientist and a recipient of multiple best paper awards, Rose Award for Teaching Excellence at UIUC, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, IBM Faculty Award, HP Innovation Research Program Award, and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).