Cryptographers Debate Role in 'Post-Security' Era EE Times (02/16/11) Dylan McGrath
as it appeared in the February 18, 2010 edition of ACM TechNews.
Network and computer security has undergone a paradigm shift from a concentration on keeping intruders out to an assumption that adversaries can and do compromise networks, said U.S. National Security Agency Information Assurance Directorate technical director Dickie George at the RSA Conference. He emphasized that contemporary network monitoring involves maintaining vigilance for uncharacteristic or inappropriate behavior. George and others on the conference's Cryptographers' Panel said that cryptography, despite its limitations, remains the best available tool for guaranteeing network security. Stanford University professor and panelist Martin Hellman cited Cryptography Research's work in identifying the threat of differential power analysis attacks as an example of clear, tangible benefits of ongoing cryptographic research. Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Ronald Rivest said "the problem [cryptographers] are facing is the rash of technology development. We keep building fences, but the universe keeps growing." Weizmann Institute of Science professor Adi Shamir noted, for instance, that cryptography could not have prevented the Stuxnet computer worm attack or the WikiLeaks disclosure.
