David Brumley, ForAllSecure and CMU
Great ideas shouldn't remain confined to papers; they should transform the world. What does it take for our research to make a real-world impact? Are there guiding principles, and do they influence how we conduct fundamental research?
In this keynote, I will share my journey of understanding the principles that bridge the gap between fundamental research and the practical implementation of safer software and systems. Through real-world examples and case studies, I will discuss how I learned to replace "it's more secure" with compelling, actionable arguments. I will delve into adoption challenges that unveiled research gems and share candid moments when my academic hubris was dismantled by industry realities.
This journey has led me to identify four key principles that, I believe, are crucial for ensuring that innovative ideas transition successfully to the broader community and not get stuck as just a great research paper. Join me to explore these principles and how I believe they can help us all build a world with computers we trust.
David Brumley is the CEO of ForAllSecure and a full professor at Carnegie Mellon University. His research focuses on novel program analysis and verification techniques that prove the presence of bugs and vulnerabilities. He has published numerous academic papers, won several test-of-time and achievement awards, competed and won the DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge, and holds a black badge.
author = {David Brumley},
title = {A World Where We Trust {Hard-Won} Lessons in Security Research, Technology, and People},
year = {2024},
address = {Philadelphia, PA},
publisher = {USENIX Association},
month = aug
}