Carnegie Mellon's Franz Franchetti Receives Defense Department Funding To Develop Safer Software Technologies

His Work Aims To Protect Vehicle Computer Systems From Cyber Attack

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Feb 27, 2013, 03:21 ET

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnegie Mellon University's Franz Franchetti has received a 4.5-year, $6 million grant from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop software for protecting unmanned ground vehicles and high-end cars from cyber attack.

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"This is an extremely challenging project as we work to develop secure robotic systems that are resilient to cyber attacks," said Franchetti, an associate research professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The project is part of DARPA's High-Assurance Cyber Military System (HACMS) program launched last year to produce ultra secure systems that are resilient to growing cyber threats.

Franchetti is leading a team of researchers developing verification tools, including virtual high-assurance sensors and automatic software systems, to help computers figure out that they are under attack and to help them survive and continue operating.

The multidisciplinary research team includes Jose M.F. Moura, a University Professor in CMU's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Manuela M. Veloso, the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Computer Science at CMU; Andre Platzer, an assistant professor in computer science at CMU; Soummya Kar, an assistant research professor in CMU's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; David Padua, the Donald Biggar Willett Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Jeremy Johnson, a professor in the Department of Computer Science at Drexel University.

Cyber threats cost billions of dollars in lost revenues yearly and they are emerging as a major threat to the U.S. economy, according to a recent U.S. Commerce Department report. Experts fear a click of a simple computer mouse could ultimately explode a fuel refinery, blind air traffic controllers or jam an important power grid.

"Gauging an appropriate response to any of these cyber threats is daunting, but we have the innovative talent and research expertise to begin developing some long-range solutions," said Ed Schlesinger, the Edward Schramm Memorial Professor of Engineering and head of the top-ranked Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at CMU.

Franchetti reports that the research also will lay the groundwork for problem-solving involving the disruption of GPS service to critical consumer systems like other ground vehicles and high-end cars that feature a variety of computer systems to assist drivers.

About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 12,000 students in the university's seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A global university, Carnegie Mellon's main campus in the United States is in Pittsburgh, Pa. It has campuses in California's Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and Mexico. The university is in the midst of "Inspire Innovation: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University," which aims to build its endowment, support faculty, students and innovative research, and enhance the physical campus with equipment and facility improvements.