Industry Talk: 29.02.2020, Saturday, 4:45 PM

Abstract: Our pursuit as humanity to make the world increasingly smarter is causing an unprecedented wave of creation of devices that can increasingly imitate humans. Just like humans, the smart devices of today are increasingly being able to sense its environment, think i.e. process vast amount of information, connect i.e. communicate with other devices, and eventually act i.e. take intelligent decisions. The smart device could be as simple as a classical IoT node or as complex as a modern automobile robot on wheels. The vast ocean of interconnected devices, sensing, thinking, intercommunicating and acting collectively to make the world smarter, comes along with its own unique challenges. One key challenge is that of security – any vulnerability to cyber-attacks or potential breach of trust can not only bring a smart system to a standstill but also make it act in a counterproductive and even dangerous way. Therefore modern day intelligent systems including automobiles that provide advanced ADAS features, smart in-vehicle experiences and cutting edge V2X connectivity, must be architected and designed with Security as a fundamental prerequisite and not an after-thought. This talk will touch upon the contours of security-by-construct architecture and design approach for modern day electronic systems and embedded devices, crucial for the sustainability of the mammoth matrix of intelligence spun by billions of smart devices.

Speaker Bio: Bedanta is a global leader in semiconductor design engineering and management with 18 plus years of proven expertise in VLSI & SoC design, steering global cross functional projects, innovation programs, and in building and nurturing global semiconductor teams. He served as the Organizing Chair of the 32nd International Conference on VLSI Design, New Delhi. He is currently working with NXP Semiconductors, as SoC RTL Front End Integration Manager and global Requirements Manager for NXP Automotive Microcontrollers, and leading CTO Innovation Boards and Strategy Task Forces on Tools, Flows & Methodology. Before joining NXP, he served in various roles at STMicroelectronics. He was responsible for Technology and Design Platform Marketing at ST with focus on FD-SOI, CMOS and derivative technology nodes, and associated design platforms (Foundation Libraries, Analog IPs, PDK, Design Flow). Earlier he served as a Technical expert on Full Custom Design Methodologies & Design for Manufacturing (DFM) at STMicroelectronics. He pioneered the DFM ecosystem in ST as a part of the Crolles2Alliance program among ST, NXP & Freescale. He authored several technical papers (winning multiple best paper awards) in global EDA/CAD conferences. Bedanta did his B.E (Hons.) Electrical & Electronics from BITS Pilani in 2001, and was the MBA Gold Medalist from IIFT New Delhi, in 2007. He was also the State Topper in the Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate Examination under Assam Higher Secondary Education Council in 1997.

Industry Talk: 29.02.2020, Saturday, 5:30 PM

Abstract: Organizations frequently have simple business goals that they want their security architecture to facilitate; for example, they may want only traders to access trading systems, or only doctors to access patient records. However, when these policies are implemented, they traditionally need to be translated into network security rules that define users and servers by their IP addresses, subnet, or site. The resulting rules are no longer simple to understand and may not clearly correlate with the original business goals. They also do not account for user, device, or server roles, leading to some complexity in how protected assets are classified, and are at risk of misconfiguration. Network security is a leading concern for every business owner, CIO and network administrator. Considering its importance, it’s surprising that most Enterprise security models still rely so heavily on manual intervention when things do go wrong. It is widely accepted that the weakest link in network security is the human user, usually through inadvertent bad practice. Attackers use social engineering techniques to take advantage of this, defeating even the most secure networks by tricking users into disclosing sensitive information. In 2017, the University of Illinois ran a “baiting” experiment where USB drives were left near building entrances. Forty-five percent of those USB drives were inserted into network-connected devices. Therein lies the proof—users can inadvertently attack at any time. In addition to user behavior, security can be compromised via the unmanaged devices connected to a network, such as IoT sensors, printers or machine-programmable controllers.

Network segmentation is essential for protecting critical business assets. But traditional segmentation approaches are operationally complex. You need to scale the network and still restrict access to critical applications in the data center while improve situational awareness on the network. As the number of roles and endpoints increase within an organization, the cost for managing virtual LANs (VLANs) can be significant. Balancing the demands for agility and security requires a new approach. Threat Response should leverage an integrated security architecture that automates integrations across security products. It can help you accelerate key security operations functions such as detection, investigation, and remediation. With Cisco TrustSec technology, organizations can control access to network segments and resources by context and user, device, and location, according to their security policy and have an effective threat response strategy.

Speaker Bio: Prabhu S is an Innovator, Coder, Networking & Platform Infrastructure Software Architect. He is a networking specialist with expert level knowledge on how networks are designed, built and operated. His areas of expertise include Security, Networking protocols, Linux and Network Analytics. He is currently the lead architect for Security & Manageability aspects of the Intent Based Networking Stack at Cisco.

Industry Talk: 29.02.2020, Saturday, 6:15 PM

Abstract: Mobile endpoints have drastically drifted the security landscape. In a world where every person owns a personal device, several privacy and security concerns have evolved. The talk brings forward the state of Android Threat Landscape from an industrial perspective. We will walk through the different threats that prevail and will dive deep into their platform-specific operational details. The talk will also focus on what kind of challenges are there when we try to defend Android platforms from such threats.

Speaker Bio: Aditi Bhatnagar is a security enthusiast, has been with Microsoft for last four years. She has previously worked as Data Scientist in Bing and presently working as a Software Engineer in End Point Security team at Microsoft. A graduate from DAIICT, she has previously interned with Electronic Frontier Foundation and has been active in conducting academic accelerator programs by Google and Microsoft. She is an advocate of digital privacy, security and digital wellbeing and has a keen interest in researching the several aspects of evolving relationship between humans and technology which she often​writes about in her blogs. She has conducted several talks and workshops and also started an initiative named Digitised to spread awareness regarding the same.