Secure Context Detection in Smartphones

Md Shahrear Iqbal
School of Computing,
Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada

 

Secure Context Detection in Smartphones

Time & Date: 5:30 pm–6:30 pm, Thursday, February 16th, 2017
Location: EME 1151, UBC, Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, BC

Talk Abstract: The availability of powerful smartphones and the necessity of security in mobile devices have made researchers propose multiple security modes (e.g., home, office, outdoor, and financial) for such devices. In each mode, a user can install a different set of apps. However, in most of the cases, the user has to select the mode manually. If we can sense the smartphone’s security context accurately, then it is possible to switch between different security modes automatically. Also, smartphone operating systems are becoming ubiquitous. As a result, mobile apps need to behave differently based on the security context (e.g., not sending the data if the network is insecure). In this talk, we focus on sensing different security parameters (e.g., location, is-network-encrypted) and calculating the security context from the parameters. We also talk about a security context management framework that maintains a cache of security contexts and parameters to be used by the operating system and third-party applications. As detecting contexts requires the use of power-hungry smartphone sensors, a comprehensive framework for sharing security parameters among various applications can be beneficial in terms of energy and other resource expenses.

Speaker Biography: Md Shahrear Iqbal is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Computing, Queen’s University,Canada, where he is a member of the Queen’s Reliable Software Technology (QRST) research group. He also holds a faculty position in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) in Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh. He is currently doing research on the security of smart devices. He is also interested in future internet and cyber-security of smart cities. He obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in CSE from BUET. More information about his research and publications can be found at http://www.cs.queensu.ca/~iqbal.

For further information please contact: Dr. Md. Jahangir Hossain (jahangir.hossain@ubc.ca) and
Youry Khmelevsky (email: youry@ieee.org)
Registration is open now: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/43547
Refreshments will be provided