Security, privacy, and cryptography research develops methods and protocols to protect data, ensure system integrity, and enable secure communication and computation. Topics include cryptographic primitives and protocols, formal verification, privacy-preserving techniques, threat analysis, and defenses against cyberattacks. Explore our latest research with impacts in healthcare, climate, and more. Use the filters to refine your search.

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18 result(s) found.

  • 2024 Red Hat Collaboratory Research Incubation Award Recipients

    December 14, 2023
    By Ken Rudolph, Hariri Institute The Red Hat Collaboratory at Boston University has announced the recipients of its 2024 Research Incubation Awards. Twelve new and renewed research projects received nearly $2 million in funding to support research in topics ranging from reconfigurable hardware to homomorphic encryption, energy efficiency, and training models for autonomous vehicles. This […]
  • BU-led Team Takes Second Place at IEEE HOST 2025 Hardware Hacking Competition

    BU-led Team Takes Second Place at IEEE HOST 2025 Hardware Hacking Competition

    May 28, 2025
    Expose Critical Cloud Hardware Vulnerability in Widely Used Technique By Maureen L. Stanton A team from Boston University, in collaboration with researchers at IBM and Red Hat, earned second place at the inaugural hardware hacking competition at the IEEE International Symposium on Hardware Oriented Security and Trust (HOST). In their demonstration, they exposed a critical […]
  • infant's ear

    Can an AI Model Learn the Changing Appearance of an Ear as a Baby Grows?

    November 12, 2023
    By Maureen L. Stanton Before vaccines, millions of children died or endured life-long disabilities from diseases such as polio, diphtheria, measles, and meningitis. Unfortunately, there are still 20.5 million children who are missing lifesaving vaccines globally, 2.1 million more than in 2019, according to the World Health Organization.  Childhood immunizations are carefully timed to be […]

  • Can WhatsApp Messages Be Secure and Encrypted—but Traceable at the Same Time?

    August 23, 2022
    A new program could strengthen the security and privacy of WhatsApp, Signal, and other end-to-end encrypted messaging apps and help them better moderate online abuse Cryptographers love an enigma, a problem to solve—and this one has it all. Indestructible codes, secret notes, encryption, and decryption. Here’s the puzzle: someone wants to send a secure message […]

  • Demystifying AI to Mitigate its Negative Consequences

    August 30, 2023
    Shlomi Hod (BU PhD candidate, CS) Leads Congressional Workshop on Legal, Ethical, and Societal Implications of Artificial Intelligence By Margaret Stanton, Hariri Institute for Computing The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has given pause due to rising concerns about privacy, bias, safety, and security. While many systems have been lauded for their positive impact, such […]

  • How does cryptographic research inform public policy?

    May 19, 2022
    BY GINA MANTICA Imagine there exists a digital dollar with all the privacy benefits of physical cash, but is recognized and regulated by the federal government unlike Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. This is one of many proposed policies that researchers in Boston University’s Center for Reliable Information Systems and Cyber Security (RISCS) are helping to […]

  • How is harmful content reported in end-to-end encrypted systems?

    June 8, 2022
    BY GINA MANTICA  Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal use encryption to allow people to chat privately, but as a result they lack an easy way for users to report harmful content securely. The use of end-to-end encryption in these and other messaging apps prevents third parties from accessing data transferred between individuals. A team […]

  • IRS Stares Technological Advancement Issues in the Face

    February 17, 2022
    BY ALEX JOHNSON Almost every American is used to sharing information with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but people were about to become eerily intimate with the agency after they announced the launch of a new website requirement:  live video identity verification. The agency partnered with the third-party company ID.me to prevent scammers from benefiting […]

  • Junior Faculty Fellow Uses Economics to Understand Digital Privacy

    August 22, 2022
    BY GINA MANTICA Tesary Lin uses economics to better understand social problems. Lin’s interdisciplinary research draws not only on theories from economics and marketing, but also on insights from other disciplines, such as computer science and law. After she completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics, Lin’s advisor suggested that she apply to business programs where […]

  • Maximizing Impact through the Data Privacy Collaborative

    May 27, 2021
    Analyzing sensitive data without revealing private information is crucial for extracting valuable insights on workplace inequalities, transportation policies,  health care outcomes, and more. Researchers are harnessing the power of big data while maintaining privacy through the new Data Privacy Collaborative at the Hariri Institute to maximize their societal impact. The Collaborative, led by Mayank Varia, aims to foster cooperation […]