Welcome to the Systems and Internet Infrastructure Security (SIIS) Laboratory in the department of Computer Science and Engineering at Penn State, and member lab of the Network and Security Research Center (NSRC). The SIIS Laboratory develops advanced security technologies for critical components of the modern computing infrastructure. Our researchers consider security problems at all levels of systems design, from theoretical cryptography to physical hardware. Our research has been published in top academic venues in security, networking, operating systems, software engineering, and cryptography, as well as featured in many outlets in popular press.

News

April 17, 2009:

Professor Patrick McDaniel received the Outstanding Research Award from the Penn State Engineering Society (PSES).The Penn State Engineering Society Outstanding Research Award recognizes individuals who, by their contributions to knowledge, have brought recognition to themselves, the College, and Penn State. Congratulations to Professor McDaniel. Official Announcement

March 9, 2009:

The paper "Analysis of Virtual Machine System Policies" written by Sandra Rueda, Hayawardh Vijayakumar, and Trent Jaeger, has been accepted at the 14th ACM Symposium on Access Control Models (SACMAT) to be held June 3-5 in Italy.

February 26, 2009:

Lockheed Martin has announced a partership with Penn State to develop innovative solutions for the energy sector by funding research and development projects. The research will include advisory and control methods, predictive and diagnostic modeling and simulation, cybersecurity, and the development of a test bed for exploration, experimentation and validations of Advanced Meter Infrastructure and Smart Grid technologies. The SIIS Lab will work on ensuring that Smart Grid implementations are secure, protecting energy users' privacy and guaranteeing billing accuracy for utilities. Lockheed Announcement.

February 25, 2009:

Congratulations to Kevin Butler, who won a Symantec Research Labs Graduate Fellowship. This award recognizes students performing innovative research with real-world value in areas of information security, availability, and integrity. More information is available in Symantec's press release.

February 1, 2009:

Professor Patrick McDaniel is now Area Editor of Secure Systems for the IEEE Magazine in Security and Privacy. "The primary objective of IEEE Security and Privacy is to stimulate and track advances in information assurance and security and present these advances in a form that can be useful to a broad cross-section of the professional community". Congratulations to Professor McDaniel on his selection.

January 5, 2009:

Graduate student William Enck presented an invited talk/tutorial entitled "Understanding Android's Security Framework" at Georgia Tech University.

December 19, 2008:

The paper "Configuration Management at Massive Scale: System Design and Experience" written by William Enck, Thomas Moyer, Patrick McDaniel, Subhabrata Sen, Panagiotis Sebos, Sylke Spoerel, Albert Greenberg, Yu-Wei Eric Sung, Sanjay Rao, and William Aiello, has been accepted for publication in the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications (JSAC).

October 29, 2008:

SIIS graduate student William Enck and Professor Patrick McDaniel gave a tutorial entitled "Understanding Android's Security Framework" at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS). The slides and example programs are publically available.

September 18, 2008:

The research report "Characterizing the Limitations of Third-Party EAS Over Cellular Text Messaging Services" written by Patrick Traynor, Penn State and SIIS Lab alumnus and current Assistant Professor in the school of Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has been published by 3G Americas. Press release.

September 10, 2008:

The book "Operating System Security" written by Trent Jaeger is available. The goal of the book is to help system designers and implementors to understand the requirements for operating systems that effectively enforce security and how to balance functionality and security.

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    Mission

    The following mission statement best sums up the activities of the SIIS Laboratory:

    The SIIS Laboratory promotes student and scientific advancement through the investigation of emerging technologies upon which computer, network, and information security is based.

    Credo

    I cannot think of a better statement of how I feel about scientific discovery than the following poem by Bill Watterson. I think it truly reflects the dual promise of both fun and discovery, which I feel should be the real objectives of any scientific endeavor. Put another way, life is simply too short to do work that is not both simultaneously engaging and enjoyable. To wit:

    Explorers are we, intrepid and bold,
    Out in the wild, amongst wonders untold.
    Equipped with our wits, a map, and a snack,
    We're searching for fun we're on the right track!

    - Bill Watterson, Author of Calvin and Hobbes

    Sponsors

    The laboratory is actively seeking sponsorship for its activities. We are receiving or have received support from the following agencies and organizations:


       
       

    Contact Information

    This webpage details the laboratory objectives and past and current research. If you are interested in learning more about the laboratory, current research, or possibilities for sponsorship, please contact the lab directly. All electronic communications should be directed to the laboratory administration at siis@cse.psu.edu. All physical correspondence should be directed to:

    Systems and Internet Infrastructure Laboratory
    Department of Computer Science and Engineering
    The Pennsylvania State University
    344 IST Building
    University Park, PA 16802

    Other laboratory contact information:

    Phone: +1 (814) 863-3599
    Fax: +1 (814) 865-3176
    Web: http://siis.cse.psu.edu/

    Note: Given the large number of applicants, the laboratory must defer all admissions issues to the department of Computer Science and Engineering. Hence, if you are a student looking to be admitted to Penn State University, contact the department directly. If you are already a student at Penn State and wish to participate in SIIS research, please contact one of the faculty members in the lab.