Cybersecurity Lecture Series - David Formby

Meet academic and industry leaders for intimate discussions about new cyber threats, trends and technologies.

The Cybersecurity Lecture Series is a free, open-to-the-public lecture from a thought leader who is advancing the field of information security and privacy. Invited speakers include executives and researchers from private companies, government agencies, start-up incubators as well as Georgia Tech faculty and students presenting their research.

Held weekly each Friday at Noon through Apr. 21, lectures are open to all -- students, faculty, industry, government, or simply the curious. Graduate students may register for credit under seminar course CS-8001-INF.

Complimentary lunch provided for registered guests. Please bring your own beverage.

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Featuring David Formby on Mar. 17, 2017

"Out of Control: Ransomware for Industrial Control Systems" 

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ABSTRACT   |   Ransomware has recently emerged as the trending new business model for cybercrime with high-profile attacks on hospitals, revealing how profitable the technique can be when used to hold operationally critical assets for ransom. Meanwhile, industrial control system (ICS) networks are still struggling to update their security practices due to the perceived absence of threats and rarity of real-world ICS attacks. Recent reports suggest that ICS networks may be the next domain that ransomware is targeting but, to date, all attacks have simply used standard ransomware against personal computers with limited effect. In this work, we develop the first known version of ransomware that targets programmable logic controllers, discuss the economic implications of such an attack, and lay out a generic framework for ICS ransomware to aid in future study and defenses.

BIO   |   David Formby is a Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, performing research in the area of network security for industrial control systems under Dr. Raheem Beyah. His past and current research projects include network characterizations of power distribution substations, techniques for device type fingerprinting for cyber-physical systems, and tools to detect and analyze changes to industrial controller programming.