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CRA
Computing Research Association
CRA Contact: Peter Harsha (202) 234-2111

acm
The Association for Computing Machinery
ACM Contact: Jeff Grove (202) 659-9711

Immediate

Washington, DC, Friday, November 21, 2003 -- Preeminent computing leaders from industry and academia presented four grand research challenges in cyber security that fall outside the current research portfolio during a panel discussion on Capitol Hill sponsored by the Computing Research Association (CRA) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

The challenges stem from the Computing Research Association's Grand Research Challenges in Information Security and Assurance Conference, a three-day conference featuring many leaders in trustworthy computing research from across industry, academia and government labs. The four grand challenges identified are to:

1) Eliminate epidemic-style attacks (viruses, worms, email spam) within 10 years;
2) Develop tools and principles that allow construction of large-scale systems for important societal applications -- such as medical records systems -- that are highly trustworthy despite being attractive targets;
3) Develop quantitative information-systems risk management to be at least as good as quantitative financial risk management within the next decade;
4) Give end-users security controls they can understand and privacy they can control for the dynamic, pervasive computing environments of the future.
 

Dr. Spafford, a member of CRA's Board of Directors and Chair of ACM's Public Policy Committee, concluded: 'Continuing advances in information technology, coupled with increasingly pervasive deployment, provide great promise for significant changes in our quality of life and ability to learn, work, and play. As involved professionals, we are concerned that those changes be for the positive, and we believe that current approaches to building trustworthy computing may not provide the necessary capabilities. It is for this reason that our conference participants identified four major challenges that may seem obvious, but that include complex underlying problems that will not be easy to achieve. By addressing these challenges, we expect to make advances in a variety of areas that will allow us to shape the future in a positive fashion. As such, these challenges are worth a sustained commitment of resources and effort.'

About the Computing Research Association (CRA)
CRA is an association of more than 200 North American academic departments of computer science, computer engineering, and related fields; laboratories and centers in industry, government, and academia engaging in basic computing research; and affiliated professional societies. CRA's mission is to strengthen research and education in the computing fields, expand opportunities for women and minorities, and improve public and policymaker understanding of the importance of computing and computing research in our society. Additional information at: archive.cra.org.

About the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
ACM is a major force in advancing the skills of information technology professionals and students through its publications, special interest groups, conferences, Portal to Computing Literature, Digital Library, and professional development resources. ACM serves its global membership by delivering cutting edge technical information and transferring ideas from theory to practice. The ACM Office of Public Policy serves the computing community by promoting the development of national and global policies and frameworks that advance the open interchange of information concerning computing and related disciplines. Additional information at: www.acm.org/usacm.