| NSF Org: |
CNS Division Of Computer and Network Systems |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 31, 2014 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 18, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1414023 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Nina Amla
namla@nsf.gov (703)292-7991 CNS Division Of Computer and Network Systems CSE Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2014 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $800,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $800,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2016 = $160,976.00 FY 2017 = $163,171.00 FY 2018 = $166,849.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
3400 N CHARLES ST BALTIMORE MD US 21218-2608 (443)997-1898 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
3505 Clearview Drive Austin TX US 78703-2640 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Secure &Trustworthy Cyberspace |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001617DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001718DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001819DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.070 |
ABSTRACT
The Center for Encrypted Functionalities (CORE) tackles the deep and far-reaching problem of general-purpose "program obfuscation," which aims to enhance cybersecurity by making an arbitrary computer program unintelligible while preserving its functionality. This can in turn enable a host of applications, such as hiding from potential adversaries the existence of vulnerabilities that may have been introduced through human error in the design/development process, thereby preventing tampering or deterring reverse engineering, or hiding cryptographic keys within software, thereby strengthening encryption and information transfer.
At the heart of the Center's research activities is the development of new and rigorous mathematical techniques to build faster and more secure general-purpose mechanisms enabling such software. In pursuit of this goal, the CORE team tackles many technical questions: Can secure general-purpose mechanisms avoid the inefficiency overhead that arises from Barrington's Theorem? Can the security of these mechanisms be proven to hold against idealized adversaries, or be based on natural non-interactive hardness assumptions? Can these approaches be securely leveraged to protect data from rogue insiders, who must be able to access some data in the clear? Finally, can these mechanisms be used to reduce the level of interaction required to accomplish secure communication and computation tasks? In addition to its direct research program, the Center organizes retreats and workshops to bring together researchers to carry out the Center's mission. The Center also engages in high-impact outreach efforts, such as the development of free Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The Center for Encrypted Functionalities (CEF) was a collaborative research effort involving UCLA, Stanford, Columbia, the University of Texas at Austin and Johns Hopkins University. It built upon breakthrough results in software obfuscation to design more secure and efficient ways to protect a software program's internal secrets, which is critical for protecting digital content and preventing reverse engineering. The goal was to realize a general-purpose tool for practically useful and provably strong obfuscation, as well as to explore novel applications of this powerful new tool in cybersecurity. As a collaborative effort, CEF made progress on all fronts, including the proposal of novel and deep mathematical tools for obfuscation, proof-of-concept implementations and novel applications of this technology. In particular, at Johns Hopkins, we focused on the first and third goals with key results in the aggregation of digital signatures, computing on authenticated data, and realizing secure encryption techniques. One result answered a long-standing open problem in how to realize strong encryption and received a Best Paper Award at CRYPTO 2020.
The project also had a strong focus on broader impacts. As a collaborative effort, CEF provided support for mentoring numerous graduate, undergraduate and high school students in cryptography research. It produced online videos and courses to expose a global audience to the emerging new tools in cryptography. Outreach talks tailored for students at many age levels from kindergarten to middle school to high school were given to excite students about the world of computer science. The CEF team worked to encourage women to consider a career in computer science by partnering with the She++ organization, which targets high school girls, and tracked the participation of women in cryptographic research from the early 1980s until now with an aim to better understand diversity in this field.
Last Modified: 12/30/2020
Modified by: Susan Hohenberger
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