"Ask the Expert: How New Research Can Help Protect Private Data"

As an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Michigan State University, Dr. Borzoo Bonakdarpour works to prevent the exposure of private information. Well-publicized instances of individuals being hacked due to phishing schemes or lax security practices likely come to mind when one hears "data breach." However, Bonakdarpour, a recipient of the 2023 Withrow Teaching Award, focuses on a more subtle aspect of data privacy with the same high stakes. Bonakdarpour emphasizes that programmers often make mistakes, which can result in accidental bugs. These bugs have the potential to result in massive security breaches. Bonakdarpour and his team were recently awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop what he refers to as "enforcers," or programs that can automatically detect and remedy digital mistakes before they cause damage. Enforcers watch what enters and exits a computing system, and if they detect something wrong, they take action. In addition to raising a red flag, it attempts to correct the issue. It does not fix the code, but it can take actions based on inputs and outputs. Bonakdarpour gave an analogy, where something goes wrong with the traffic light at an intersection. Accidents may occur if both directions have a green light. An enforcer would make one or both of the traffic signals red, so it does not address the underlying issue, but it prevents an accident until someone can. This article continues to discuss Bonakdarpour's insights on cybersecurity and his work to ensure bugs in computer programs do not lead to secret information being leaked. 

Michigan State University reports "Ask the Expert: How New Research Can Help Protect Private Data"