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Tuesday, February 3, 2004 - 12:15pm

Matt Blaze

UPenn

Location

University of Pennsylvania

315 Levine

Computer and network security researchers usually focus on the security of computers and networks. Although it might seem as if there is more than enough insecurity here to keep all of us fully occupied for the foreseeable future, our narrow view of our jobs may actually be part of the problem. We miss important insights from, and opportunities to make contributions to, a larger world that has been grappling with security since long before the computer was invented. This informal talk will look at "human scale" security problems and protocols, with an eye toward discovering what they can teach us and how we might use the techniques of computer security to improve them. Once we look, we discover interesting problems across a wide spectrum of areas, ranging from the very serious (preventing terrorists from hijacking airplanes) to the personal (being sure you get the same wine you ordered).