14th Central Area Networking and Security Workshop

It was our great pleasure to invite you to the 14th Central Area Networking and Security Workshop (CANSec 2021) on Nov. 13-14, 2021. The goal of the CANSec workshop is to provide a regular forum for presenting research and education activities in all areas related to computer security and networking, as well as promoting interactions and collaborations among scholars and students and between academia and industry.

Organizing Committee

  • Khaza Anuarul Hoque (Chair), University of Missouri-Columbia
  • Prasad Calyam (Co-Chair), University of Missouri-Columbia
  • Dan Lin, University of Missouri-Columbia
  • Rohit Chadha, University of Missouri-Columbia
  • Gergei Bana, University of Missouri-Columbia
  • Vijay Anand, University of Missouri-St. Louis

Steering Committee

Dr. Mohammed Al Faruque
Associate Professor, University of California, Irvine

Abstract: Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are engineered systems that are built from, and depend upon, the seamless integration of computation and physical components [NSF]. Embedded systems comprising of hardware and software systems are the major enabling technology for these cyber-physical systems. Today, CPSs can be found in security-sensitive areas such as aerospace, automotive, energy, healthcare, manufacturing transportation, entertainment, and consumer appliances. Compared to the traditional information processing systems, due to the tight interactions between cyber and physical components in CPSs and closed-loop control from sensing to actuation, new vulnerabilities are emerging from the boundaries between various layers and domains. In this keynote talk, Prof. Al Faruque will discuss how new vulnerabilities are emerging at the intersection of various components and subsystems and their various hardware, software, and physical layers. Several recent examples from various cyber-physical systems will be presented in this talk. To understand these new vulnerabilities a very different set of methodologies and tools are needed. Defenses against these vulnerabilities demand also new hardware/software co-design approaches. The talk will highlight recent developments in this regard. The major goal of this talk will be to highlight various research challenges and the need for novel scientific solutions from the larger research community.
Bio: Mohammad Al Faruque received his B.Sc. degree in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in 2002, and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from Aachen Technical University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany in 2004 and 2009, respectively. He is currently with the University of California Irvine (UCI) as an Associate Professor and Directing the Embedded and Cyber-Physical Systems Lab.

Industry Panel

Panel Theme

Cybersecurity Industry Trends of Today and Tomorrow

Panelists
  • Walid Rjaibi – IBM Distinguished Engineer and CTO for Data Security at IBM
  • Ramnath Venugopalan – Chief Architect / Senior Vice President, Product Architecture at CrowdStrike
  • Sven Krasser – Senior Vice President, Chief Scientist at CrowdStrike
  • Kathy Bellew – Cybersecurity Analyst at MOREnet

Cyber-Defense Competition

CANSec Invitational Cyber-Defense Competition
CANSec Final Rankings
  • 1st Place – Iowa State University
  • 2nd Place – Kansas State University
  • 3rd Place – University of Missouri – St. Louis

About the CANSec Workshop

The Central Area Networking and Security Workshop (CANSec), which was formerly known as the Greater Kansas Area Security Workshop (KanSec), aims to bring together researchers and practitioners in networking and security-related fields in the central area of the US.
Since spring of 2012, the workshop has attracted attendees from Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, etc. We have also invited speakers from Texas, Indiana, Colorado, South Carolina, Virginia, etc. The goal of the CANSec workshop is to provide a forum to present research in all areas related to computer networking and security, as well as to promote interactions and collaborations between academia and industry. The workshop was originally organized semi-annually in 2012-2016. Since 2016, the CANSec community decides to change it to an annual event to encourage high-quality work to be presented and demonstrated in the workshop.
Starting from 2014, the CANSec workshop added a Cyber-Defense Competition component to its Fall events. The goal of the competition is to provide students with a platform to apply theoretical knowledge into practice, and to obtain hands-on cyber security experiences. It is a one-day competition, in which student teams will be asked to oversee a small corporate network, to manage all critical services, and to defend against external attacks. Scoring will be primarily based on the availability of the services, and how the attacks and injects are handled.