Keynotes
Ran Canetti
Professor of Computer Science, Boston University, USA
Bio:
Professor Ran Canetti is a renowned computer scientist and cryptographer whose groundbreaking work has significantly influenced the fields of computer security and privacy. As a distinguished figure in academia, he has made substantial contributions to the development of cryptographic protocols and the understanding of secure communication in the digital age.
Known for his innovative thinking and rigorous approach to problem-solving, Professor Canetti has played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of modern cryptography. His work not only advances the theoretical foundations of the field but also contributes to the practical implementation of secure systems in an increasingly interconnected world.
Abstract:
Algorithms have become immensely useful, providing us with a wide range of ways to make our individual lives easier and more productive, as well as to make our society more equitable and open. However, with the increasingly intricate dependence on algorithms comes also confounding complexity, which often makes it hard, even for technical experts, to understand the consequences and potential harms of algorithms to people’s lives. Communicating such potential dangers (or lack thereof) to non-experts is even harder. Indeed, there is a wide gap between the language used in societal discourse (among vendors, operators, consumers, regulators) to describe features of algorithms, and concrete, meaningfully assessessable properties of algorithms. This gap makes it hard for traditional social, economic and regulatory mechanisms to guide the development of algorithms and prevent harms.
Ran Canetti will describe some of the existing practice around adjudicating contested algorithms and will then advocate for the need to develop a set of criteria for algorithms that on the one hand are concrete and verifiable, and on the other hand are readily interpretable to non-expert users and regulators. Such criteria are key to creating a common ground for consumers, operators, vendors and regulators to meaningfully communicate properties of algorithms. Such common ground is in turn essential for a future with sophisticated algorithms (in particular, AI algorithms) that are both trusted and trustworthy.
June Andronick
CEO of Proofcraft and the seL4 Foundation
Bio:
June Andronick is CEO and co-founder of Proofcraft, a company providing commercial support for software verification in general and the seL4 microkernel verification in particular. She is also CEO of the seL4 Foundation, and Adjunct Professor at UNSW Sydney. June has extensive leadership experience towards making the vision of verified software a reality in mainstream critical software. She was previously leader of the Trustworthy Systems group, and contributed to the original seL4 verification.
Abstract:
The seL4 microkernel is the world's most highly assured operating system kernel. It provides strong isolation between untrusted and trusted components running in software systems, preventing any cyber attacks from endangering critical functionality and from propagating further. It does so in a demonstrable way in the strongest sense: backed up by machine-checked mathematical proofs. In 2017, seL4 was embedded in an unmanned helicopter and attacked in-flight by a red team of hackers. The kernel successfully foiled all cyber attacks and prevented them from taking control of the vehicle. It is now being adopted in a number of sectors, from automotive to IoT, Defense, and more. The open-source seL4 Foundation provides the underlying support for its growing ecosystem of developers, contributors and adopters, and Proofcraft keeps pushing the roadmap of seL4’s verification to make its formal proofs apply to more platforms, more features, and more properties. The talk will give an overview of seL4’s journey and roadmap ahead.
Read more about June Andronick here
Ivan Damgård
Professor of Computer Science, Aarhus University
Bio:
Ivan Damgård is a professor of Computer Science at Aarhus University. He has published more than 150 peer reviewed scientific papers and is a leading researcher in cryptography and cryptographic protocols. He is a fellow of the International Association for Cryptologic Research, and a member of the Royal Danish Society for Sciences and Letters. He has received the RSA Conference Award for Excellence in Mathematics, an ERC Advanced Grant, the Villum Kann Rasmussen annual Award, and test of time awards from the STOC, TCC and PKC conferences. He is a co-founder of the companies Cryptomathic, Partisia and Sepior.
Abstract:
Ivan Damgård's keynote will focus on Multiparty Computation (MPC). It is a technology that allows several parties to collaborate in executing some agreed computation task, such as computing aggregated statistics based on several databases. The parties supply private input to the computation and the system guarantees that the inputs remain private: only the intended output will be released. This remains true, even if some of the parties have their machines taken over by a hacker, or do they not run the correct software. MPC promises to revolutionize the way we handle private data in the future. For instance, private citizens can consent to usage of their data for a certain purpose, without having to give it away to anyone. In the talk I give an elementary introduction to MPC, explaining how it works and what it can be used for.
Inspiring Insights
State of the union talks
Bart Preneel
Director, CyberSecurity Research Flanders
Bio:
Prof. Bart Preneel, a full professor at KU Leuven, leads the renowed COSIC research group. His expertise lies in applied cryptography, cybersecurity, and privacy. Prof. Preneel has delivered over 150 invited talks across 50 countries and received prestigious awards such as the RSA Award for Excellence in Mathematics (2014) and the ESORICS Outstanding Research Award (2017). He served as president of IACR (International Association for Cryptologic Research) and is also a fellow of the IACR. Prof. Preneel consults for industry and government on cybersecurity and privacy, he founded the mobile authentication startup nextAuth and holds roles in Approach Belgium, Tioga Capital Partners, and Nym Technologies. Actively engaged in cybersecurity policy, he contributes to ENISA as an Advisory Group member for the EU.
Abstract:
At the conference, Bart Preneel will focus on how the digital society's evolution profoundly impacts human interactions and societal power dynamics. While cryptography has traditionally safeguarded data, it also introduces complexities in data access, leading to significant digital protection shortcomings and law enforcement concerns. This underscores the critical nexus of cybersecurity research, public policy, and trust. Discussing shifting crypto policy debates, we address topics such as end-to-end encryption, metadata protection, and emerging trends in digital wallets and identity management. Research challenges include metadata the protection of metadata, the detection of abuse, and privacy-friendly proximity detection. Successfully addressing these challenges demands the adoption of novel technologies such as computing on encrypted data as well as a strong engagement with stakeholders. Strengthening governance in the digital realm through technical, legal, and policy integration is imperative, fostering resilience and trust for all stakeholders.
Morten Duus
Senior Vice President and CISO, Vestas
Bio:
Morten Duus is a senior Digital executive with 20+ years of experience within digital and business development. Morten Duus has been with Vestas for 15 years and played a central role in the incident response and crisis management during the cyberattack that Vestas was hit by in November 2021. In 2022, Morten took over the role as Group CISO and holds the overall responsibility for Information and Cyber Security at Vestas.
Abstract:
Morten Duus will share stories from Vestas' war room during the attack and in the recovery phase the following weeks and months. Morten will also share tech and crisis management findings, his personal leadership reflections, and explain which changes have been implemented internally in terms of organization and governance in response to the incident.
Christiane Kirketerp de Viron
Head of Unit, Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy Policy, European Commission
Bio:
Christiane Kirketerp de Viron has been the Head of Unit for Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy policies in the European Commission´s DG CONNECT since July 2022. Prior to this she was Member of Cabinet for the European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn, where parts of her responsibilities concerned the digital transformation of the European Commission as well as the cybersecurity of EU Institutions, Bodies and Agencies. During the Juncker Commission, Christiane served as Member of Cabinet for the European Commissioner for Research Innovation and Science, Carlos Moedas.
Abstract:
In this presentation Christiane Kirketerp De Viron will give us a state of the European union when it comes to cybersecurity. She will touch upon both the policy and the threat landscape, fill us in on the cyber solidarity act and talk about the implementation tasks ahead. Cybersecurity is not just important, it is essential – and we need to think, choose and not least invest in it to make ourselves less vulnerable.
Thomas Flarup
Head of Centre for Cybersecurity, Danish Defence Intelligence Service
Bio:
Thomas is head of the Danish Center for Cyber Security (CFCS). CFCS is the national IT security authority, Network Security Service and National Centre of Excellence within cyber security in Denmark. The Centre’s mission is to advise Danish public authorities and private companies that support functions vital to society on how to prevent, counter and protect against cyberattacks.
Previously Thomas held management positions in the Danish private sector including VP and EVP roles in software development, project- and service delivery primarily at KMD - the largest Danish based IT company developing and delivering software- and service solutions to public and private customers in the Nordics. A total of 20+ years of work experience also including careers in Management consulting at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Telecommunications and Systems integration at the Danish incumbent telecommunication provider TDC, the Danish Ministry of Defence and the Danish armed forces.