The Hot Topics in the Science of Security (HotSoS) Symposium is a research event centered on the Science of Security, which aims to address the fundamental problems of security in a principled manner. The eleventh annual event will be virtually held April 2-4, 2024. HotSoS brings together researchers from diverse disciplines to promote advancement of work related to the science of security. The Call for Papers will be available in October 2023. The program will include presentations of already published work in security and privacy, particularly that which examines scientific foundations of trustworthy systems. Additionally, work-in-progress manuscrupts will be accepted for presentation. The papers in this category will receive early feedback on a research direction, technology, or idea before it has been fully evaluated. We will again include student presentations and also have a poster session highlighted by a poster competition. The Science of Security (SoS) emphasizes the advancement of research methods as well as the development of new research results. This dual focus is intended to improve both the confidence we gain from scientific results and also the capacity and efficiency through which we address increasingly technical problems.

Call for Papers

Keynote Speakers
Stephen Smalley
Stephen Smalley
(NSA)
Aaron Weissenfluh
Aaron Weissenfluh
(Tenfold Security)
Talia Ringer
Talia Ringer
(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

General Chair

Adam Tagert
ADAM TAGERT is the technical director the National Security Agency Science of Security Initiative. He sets the technical direction for research projects at 18 Science of Security (SoS) funded universities, leads the NSA Best Cybersecurity Paper Competition, guides the SoS awards at the International Science and Engineering Fair, and builds community with the SoS Virtual Organization. He received his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in Engineering and Public Policy where he researched national cybersecurity strategies of small developing nations, particularly Rwanda. He obtained a Computer Science degree from Princeton University.

Program Chairs

ALEXANDER VELAZQUEZ
ALEXANDER VELAZQUEZ is a computer scientist and cybersecurity researcher at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's Center for High Assurance Computer Systems, where has over 10 years of experience in cybersecurity research and software development. He received a master’s degree in computer science from The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., in 2018. He has experience in a broad range of computer security and network security topics. Recently, his work has focused on applying artificial intelligence planning techniques to develop autonomous cyber defense technology. He also has considerable experience working with software-defined networks and virtualization technologies to build resilient and high assurance information systems.
Adam Petz
ADAM PETZ is an Assistant Research Professor in the EECS department at the University of Kansas. He joined I2S in this role at the start of January 2022. Dr. Petz’s research interests are at the intersection of software correctness, programming languages, and security. He aims to bolster trust in core system-level software components and their interaction with trusted hardware, thus enabling modular trust decisions that scale to larger systems. Dr. Petz has made significant contributions to multiple successful externally funded research projects including Armored Software (DoD), Science of Security (NSA), and C.A.S.E.: Cyber Assured Systems Engineering (DARPA).

Organization

Special Chairs

 

Senior Mentorship & Poster Chair:
JOHN SYMONS (KU)

Mentorship Chair:
JULIA SHAPIRO (Virgina Tech)

Poster Chair:
NICK POTTEIGER (VU)

Publicity Chair: 
DAVID TAMEZ (KU)
 

 

Program Committee

 

ANKUR CHOWDHARY (ASU)     
SATISH CHIKKAGOUDAR (NRL)     
BENJAMIN BLAKELY (ANL)
MARC GLASS (LAC)     
GRANT JURGENSEN (Kestrel)     
JIM LUO (NRL)       
STEPHEN SMALLEY (NSA)     
STEPHANIE POLCZYNSKI (NSA)     
MARIZA MARRERO (NSA)     
PATRICK GALLO (NSA)     
OWEN SUTTER (NSA)     
PALMER YOUNG (NSA)     
FRANK DAVIS (NSA)     
AHMAD RIDLEY (NSA)

Organizers

 

Communications and Organization: 
REGAN WILLIAMS 
(Vanderbilt University)

KATIE DEY 
(Vanderbilt University)

Graphic Design:  
AMY KARNS 
(Vanderbilt University)

 

WiP

HoTSoS features a unique session type, the Works in Progress (WiP). This session assists authors in writing high quality research papers by having a community discussion on the research early in the research process. This early feedback enables researchers to adjust on-going research to respond to concerns traditionally raised after the research and paper are completed and it is being peer-reviewed for conferences and journals. This early presentation promotes faster and easier publication.

See Full Details

Call for Papers

OVERVIEW

Hot Topics in the Science of Security (HoTSoS) is a forum for presenting and discussing the latest research and development advances in the scientific foundations of cyber security and privacy. In the pursuit of mentorship and advancement of knowledge, the forum brings together researchers, practitioners, and thought leaders from government, industry, and academia. The National Security Agency (NSA) sponsorship of HotSoS provides for a collaborative relationship with NSA researchers, practitioners, and leaders and results in a unique attendee audience. The HotSoS vision is to engage and grow a community that includes researchers and skilled practitioners from diverse disciplines focused on the advancement of scientific methods. The event provides networking and mentoring opportunities to advance the scientific research careers of students. HoTSoS`24 will continue to pioneer new methods to have impactful virtual events in April 2024. In addition to research paper discussions and presentations, the symposium program will also include invited talks, panels, and posters. We solicit submissions in the following three categories:

  1. Already published research papers will be accepted for presentation, provided their scope aligns with HotSoS.
  2. Works-in-Progress papers (WiP) will be evaluated for scope, potential for impact, and technical merit. Papers in this category will be discussed during the special WiP session and receive detailed feedback towards making the paper publishable at a top-tier venue. We are looking for bold, risky, and interdisciplinary ideas.
  3. Poster/Demo abstracts will be selected for brief presentations and highlighted by a poster/demo competition.

 

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All papers and manuscripts should be submitted via EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=hotsos24

Already Published Research Papers

When submitting, specify the submission category to be “already published research papers”. Submissions may use the format of the published venue.

Works-in-Progress Papers

When submitting, specify the submission category to be “Works-in-Progress papers.” WiP papers should be at most 10 pages in the double-column ACM format including the bibliography or, alternatively, 9 pages not including the bibliography. Note that WiP papers are encouraged even if they are substantially shorter than the page limit. The paper may have optional appendices, but reviewers are not required to read them. Submissions must be in PDF format and the title should begin with “WiP: .” 

Each author must assert that the manuscript is unpublished and revisions can be incorporated into the manuscript prior to their next submission for publication. Prior publication includes the appearance in a proceeding, online or in print, of any version of the work that received peer review, including short papers. Posters and online, pre-submission non-archival versions of non-peer reviewed papers will not be considered prior publication. Pre-submission non-archives include arXive.org and CiteSeerX. A short paper version of a submission may not immediately disqualify the submission, however, and the committee will consider the differences in the versions prior to making final decisions. Thus, authors are encouraged to briefly disclose in a cover page to their submission any prior submissions and/or publications related to the submission.ACM Template: https://www.overleaf.com/gallery/tagged/acm-official#.WlayAktG3v0

Poster/Demo Abstract Submissions

When submitting, specify the submission category to be “poster or demo presentation.” Accepted posters/demos will be displayed on the symposium website. Each extended abstract should be at most 2 pages, including citations and references.

Government and Industry Talks

Nominations or proposals for government or industry talks can be sent directly to the program chairs via email at hotsos2024@sos-vo.org.

TOPICS OF INTEREST

  • Applications of AI in cybersecurity and autonomous systems
  • Application of Psychology to Enhance Cybersecurity
  • Design principles, tools, and architectures for provably secure systems
  • Ethical considerations of AI in security and privacy
  • Resiliency and operating in degraded/compromised environments
  • Scalable and composable frameworks for security
  • Security and Cybersecurity Applications of Large Language Models
  • Security of cyber-physical, service mesh networks and autonomous systems
  • Security metrics, measurements and attestation
  • Security policies, validation, reasoning and enforcement
  • Threat modeling and analysis techniques and tools
  • Trustworthy AI, theoretical limits, and explainability
  • Zero Trust Frameworks in support of 5G/FutureG

 

__________________________

IMPORTANT DATES

  • Submission Deadline: December 15, 2023 AOE
  • Acceptance Decisions: February 14, 2024
  • Virtual Symposium: April 2-4, 2024

__________________________

Please send any questions about topics or submission requirements to hotsos2024@sos-vo.org

 

ORGANIZATION

General Chair

  • Adam Tagert (National Security Agency)

 

Program Co-Chairs

  • Alexander Velazquez (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s Center for High Assurance Computer Systems)
  • Adam Petz (University of Kansas)

 

DOWNLOAD PDF

 

Past Events

   

2023 SYMPOSIUM & BOOTCAMP ON THE SCIENCE OF SECURITY 

The 2023 Symposium and Bootcamp on the Science of Security (HotSoS) was virtually hosted by the National Security Agency (NSA) from April 3-5, 2023. HotSoS '23 was conducted in a remote setting and featured three days of keynote presentations, invited talks, WIP sessions, and posters and demos. 

PROGRAM | CALL FOR PAPERS | PROGRAM COMMITTEE

   

2022 SYMPOSIUM & BOOTCAMP ON THE SCIENCE OF SECURITY 

The 2022 Symposium and Bootcamp on the Science of Security (HotSoS) was virtually hosted by University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign from April 5-7, 2022. HotSoS was once more conducted in a remote setting due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and featured three days of keynote presentations, invited talks, WIP sessions, and posters and demos. 

PROGRAM | CALL FOR PAPERS | PROGRAM COMMITTEE

 

2021 SYMPOSIUM & BOOTCAMP ON THE SCIENCE OF SECURITY 

The 2021 Symposium and Bootcamp on the Science of Security (HotSoS) was virtually hosted by the National Security Agency April 13-15, 2021. HotSoS'21 was conducted in a completely remote setting due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but still featured a mix of panels, invited talks, refereed papers, and tutorials to be published by ACM. 

PROGRAM | CALL FOR PAPERS | PROGRAM COMMITTEE

 

2020 SYMPOSIUM & BOOTCAMP ON THE SCIENCE OF SECURITY 

The 2020 Symposium and Bootcamp on the Science of Security (HotSoS) was held September 22 - 24, 2020 virtually, hosted by the University of Kansas. Unlike in previous years, HotSoS'20 was conducted in a completely remote setting due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but still featured a mix of panels, invited talks, refereed papers, and tutorials to be published by ACM. HoTSoS'20 also marked the 20th aniversary of the symposium, and featured a special aniversary panel.

PROGRAM | CALL FOR PAPERS | PROGRAM COMMITTEE | PROCEEDINGS

 

2019 SYMPOSIUM & BOOTCAMP ON THE SCIENCE OF SECURITY 

The 2019 Symposium and Bootcamp on the Science of Security (HotSoS) was held April 1-3, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. As in previous years, HotSoS'19 featured a mix of panels, invited talks, refereed papers, and tutorials published by ACM. Researchers from diverse disciplines were brought together to promote the advancement of work related to the science of security.

PROGRAM | CALL FOR PAPERS | PROGRAM COMMITTEE | PROCEEDINGS

 

2018 SYMPOSIUM & BOOTCAMP ON THE SCIENCE OF SECURITY 

The 2018 Symposium and Bootcamp on the Science of Security (HotSoS) was held April 10-11, 2018 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The symposium brought together researchers from diverse disciplines to promote advancement of work related to the science of security. As in previous years, the conference featured a mix of invited talks, panels, tutorials, and refereed papers to be published by ACM.           
 

PROGRAM | CALL FOR PAPERS | PROGRAM COMMITTEE | PROCEEDINGS

 

2017 SYMPOSIUM & BOOTCAMP ON THE SCIENCE OF SECURITY 

The 2017 Symposium and Bootcamp on the Science of Security (HotSoS) was held April 4-5 in Hanover, Maryland at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve. As in previous years, HoTSoS 2017 created a forum for dialogue centered upon the development and advancement of research, specifically focusing on the Science of Security Hard Problems. For the 2017 event, HoTSoS also solicitated papers having specific applications to privacy, broadly construed, and the security of cyber-physical systems.

PROGRAM | CALL FOR PAPERS | PROGRAM COMMITTEE | PROCEEDINGS

 

2016 SYMPOSIUM & BOOTCAMP ON THE SCIENCE OF SECURITY 

The 2016 Symposium and Bootcamp on the Science of Security (HotSoS) was held April 19-21 in Pittsburgh, PA at Carnegie Mellon University. Researchers from multiple academic fields came together for presentations demonstrating methodical, rigorous, scientific approaches to identify, prevent, and remove cyber threats. A major focus of the conferences was on the advancement of scientific methods, including data gathering and analysis, experimental methods, and mathematical models for modeling and reasoning.

PROGRAM | CALL FOR PAPERS | PROGRAM COMMITTEE | PROCEEDINGS      

 

2015 SYMPOSIUM & BOOTCAMP ON THE SCIENCE OF SECURITY 

The 2015 Symposium and Bootcamp on the Science of Security (HoTSoS) was held April 21-22 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign National Center for Supercomputing Applications. This third annual conference brought together researchers from numerous disciplines seeking a methodical, rigorous scientific approach to identifying and removing cyber threats. As part of the Science of Security program, the HotSoS goal is to understand how computing systems are designed, built, used, and maintained with an understanding of their security issues and challenges. It seeks not only to put scientific rigor into research, but also to identify the scientific value and underpinnings of cybersecurity.

PROGRAM | CALL FOR PAPERS | ORGANIZERS | PROCEEDINGS

 

2014 SYMPOSIUM & BOOTCAMP ON THE SCIENCE OF SECURITY 

The 2014 Symposium and Bootcamp on the Science of Security (HoTSoS) was held April 8-9, 2014 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Over 130 leaders from government, industry, and the academic community met to discuss new and ongoing programs in security science. The presentations emphasized a broad range of topics including computing architectures, networks, software engineering practices, models of human interaction and behavior, organizational models, and evaluation methodologies.

PROGRAM | CALL FOR PAPERS | PROCEEDINGS          

INAUGURAL SCIENCE OF SECURITY COMMUNITY MEETING (2012)

The National Security Agency held the first Science of Security (SoS) Community Meeting on November 29-30, 2012 at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

Over 150 leaders from government, industry, and the academic community met to discuss new and ongoing programs in security science being pursued by U.S. government research sponsors, and an exciting new Cybersecurity Research Institute recently established in the U.K. The presentations included work in a broad range of disciplines including mathematics, computer science, behavioral science, economics, physics, and biology. The meeting introduced a new Science of Security Virtual Organization website designed to promote research collaboration and community development. NSA's Director of Research concluded the meeting with the announcement of a Cybersecurity Science Paper Competition.

PROGRAM