11/15/17: Danny Weitzner and David Clark presenting at IPRI Hosted Track at ILP R&D Conference

2020-09-14 - 3 minutes read


MIT’s Internet Policy Research Initiative is hosting an IPRI Track at the Industry Liason Program’s (ILP) Research and Development Conference on Nov 15th.

For a detailed look at the event see this link. 

Track 2: Internet Policy Research Initiative – W20 Stratton Student Center (map)

2:00 – 2:45 PM – Daniel Weitzner Data Ownership Impact on Privacy and Security

2:45 – 3:30 PM – David Clark Cybersecurity Governance and Culture 

Hardly a week goes by without a report about another cyberattack. With almost every major organization having been victim, including most government organizations, such Target, Sony, NSA, US Office of Personnel Management, why would you expect your organization to be immune? By many projections, the worse is yet to come. Although much progress is being made in improving hardware and software, studies have reported that between 50-70% of all cyberattacks are aided or abetted by insiders (usually unintentionally), so understanding the cybersecurity governance and organizational culture is increasingly important. In this session, we will discuss the managerial, organizational, and strategic aspects of cybersecurity with an emphasis on the protection of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

3:30 – 4:00 PM –  Networking Break

4:00 – 4:45 PM – Vinod Vaikuntanathan Cryptography and Information Security

Despite the increased awareness of cybersecurity risk, firms are reluctant to share the data necessary to understand and measure the prevalence of such risks, their magnitude, and the economic impact, leaving them unable to address these risks effectively. In this project, we aim to develop a secure multiparty computation platform that will give firms the ability to pool encrypted data while preserving confidentiality, and allow us to map the linkages across firms and compute summary statistics. By providing the markets with better information, firms will be equipped to make better decisions and manage cybersecurity risks more effectively and efficiently.

4:45 – 5:30 PM – Simon Johnson Cybersecurity Impacts on International Trade

Governments have reportedly arranged to incorporate various forms of spyware and malware in Internet-connected products. In response, some countries have denied entry or imposed restrictions on imported products with such potential risks. But this raises many policy issues, including (1) what is a questionable country (and is it OK if an “ally” spies on us?), (2) what products are of most concern, (3) assuming such restrictions quickly become worldwide policies with retaliations, what might be the long-term impact on international trade and the global economy as Internet-connected products proliferate, and (4) what voluntary standards could be put in place to lower the risk of trade wars? These issues need to be rigorously studied in advance of policy makers making quick decisions – in some crisis condition – without understanding the impacts and consequences.