As a part of an ongoing effort to maintain you knowledgeable about our newest work, this weblog publish summarizes some latest publications from the SEI within the areas of massive language fashions for cybersecurity, software program engineering and acquisition with generative AI, zero belief, massive language fashions in nationwide safety, capability-based planning, provide chain danger administration, generative AI in software program engineering and acquisition, and quantum computing.
These publications spotlight the newest work of SEI technologists in these areas. This publish features a itemizing of every publication, writer(s), and hyperlinks the place they are often accessed on the SEI web site.
Concerns for Evaluating Giant Language Fashions for Cybersecurity Duties
by Jeff Gennari, Shing-hon Lau, Samuel J. Perl, Joel Parish (OpenAI), and Girish Sastry (OpenAI)
Generative synthetic intelligence (AI) and enormous language fashions (LLMs) have taken the world by storm. The flexibility of LLMs to carry out duties seemingly on par with people has led to speedy adoption in quite a lot of completely different domains, together with cybersecurity. Nonetheless, warning is required when utilizing LLMs in a cybersecurity context as a result of impactful penalties and detailed particularities. Present approaches to LLM analysis are inclined to give attention to factual data versus utilized, sensible duties. However cybersecurity duties usually require extra than simply factual recall to finish. Human efficiency on cybersecurity duties is usually assessed partially on their means to use ideas to sensible conditions and adapt to altering circumstances. This paper contends the identical strategy is critical to precisely consider the capabilities and dangers of utilizing LLMs for cybersecurity duties. To allow the creation of higher evaluations, we determine key standards to contemplate when designing LLM cybersecurity assessments. These standards are additional refined right into a set of suggestions for the way to assess LLM efficiency on cybersecurity duties. The suggestions embrace correctly scoping duties, designing duties based mostly on real-world cybersecurity phenomena, minimizing spurious outcomes, and making certain outcomes usually are not misinterpreted.
Learn the white paper.
The Way forward for Software program Engineering and Acquisition with Generative AI
by Douglas Schmidt (Vanderbilt College), Anita Carleton, James Ivers, Ipek Ozkaya, John E. Robert, and Shen Zhang
We stand at a pivotal second in software program engineering, with synthetic intelligence (AI) taking part in an important function in driving approaches poised to reinforce software program acquisition, evaluation, verification, and automation. Whereas generative AI instruments initially sparked pleasure for his or her potential to cut back errors, scale modifications effortlessly, and drive innovation, considerations have emerged. These considerations embody safety dangers, unexpected failures, and problems with belief. Empirical analysis on generative AI improvement assistants reveals that productiveness and high quality positive factors rely not solely on the sophistication of instruments but additionally on activity circulation redesign and skilled judgment.
On this webcast, SEI researchers discover the way forward for software program engineering and acquisition utilizing generative AI applied sciences. They study present purposes, envision future potentialities, determine analysis gaps, and focus on the crucial talent units that software program engineers and stakeholders have to successfully and responsibly harness generative AI’s potential. Fostering a deeper understanding of AI’s function in software program engineering and acquisition accentuates its potential and mitigates its dangers.
The webcast covers
- the way to determine appropriate use instances when beginning out with generative AI know-how
- the sensible purposes of generative AI in software program engineering and acquisition
- how builders and determination makers can harness generative AI know-how
Zero Belief Trade Days 2024 State of affairs: Secluded Semiconductors, Inc.
by Rhonda Brown
Every accepted presenter on the SEI Zero Belief Trade Days 2024 occasion develops and proposes an answer for this state of affairs: An organization is working a chip manufacturing facility on an island the place there could also be lack of connectivity and cloud companies for brief or prolonged intervals of time. There are various issues when addressing the challenges of a zero belief implementation, together with various views and philosophies. This occasion gives a deep examination of how resolution suppliers and different organizations interpret and handle the challenges of implementing zero belief. Utilizing a state of affairs locations boundaries on the zero belief area to yield richer discussions.
This yr’s occasion focuses on the Industrial Web of Issues (IIoT), legacy programs, sensible cities, and cloud-hosted companies in a producing atmosphere.
Learn the white paper.
Utilizing Giant Language Fashions within the Nationwide Safety Realm
By Shannon Gallagher
On the request of the White Home, the Workplace of the Director of Nationwide Intelligence (ODNI) started exploring use instances for giant language fashions (LLMs) inside the Intelligence Neighborhood (IC). As a part of this effort, ODNI sponsored the Mayflower Mission at Carnegie Mellon College’s Software program Engineering Institute from Might 2023 by September 2023. The Mayflower Mission tried to reply the next questions:
- How would possibly the IC arrange a baseline, stand-alone LLM?
- How would possibly the IC customise LLMs for particular intelligence use instances?
- How would possibly the IC consider the trustworthiness of LLMs throughout use instances?
On this SEI Podcast, Shannon Gallagher, AI engineering workforce lead, and Rachel Dzombak, former particular advisor to the director of the SEI’s AI Division, focus on the findings and suggestions from the Mayflower Mission and supply further background details about LLMs and the way they are often engineered for nationwide safety use instances.
Pay attention/View the SEI Podcast.
Navigating Functionality-Based mostly Planning: The Advantages, Challenges, and Implementation Necessities
By Anandi Hira and William Nichols
Functionality-based planning (CBP) defines a framework that has an all-encompassing view of present skills and future wants for strategically deciding what is required and the way to successfully obtain it. Each enterprise and authorities acquisition domains use CBP for monetary success or to design a well-balanced protection system. The definitions understandably fluctuate throughout these domains. This paper endeavors to consolidate these definitions to supply a complete view of CBP, its potential, and sensible implementation of its rules.
Learn the white paper.
Ask Us Something: Provide Chain Threat Administration
By Brett Tucker and Matthew J. Butkovic
In response to the Verizon Information Breach Report, Log4j-related exploits have occurred much less often over the previous yr. Nonetheless, this Frequent Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) flaw was initially documented in 2021. The menace nonetheless exists regardless of elevated consciousness. Over the previous few years, the Software program Engineering Institute has developed steerage and practices to assist organizations cut back threats to U.S. provide chains. On this webcast, Brett Tucker and Matthew Butkovic, reply enterprise danger administration questions to assist organizations obtain operational resilience within the cyber provide chain. The webcast covers
- enterprise danger governance and the way to assess group’s danger urge for food and coverage because it pertains to and integrates cyber dangers into a world danger portfolio
- regulatory directives on third-party danger
- the agenda and subjects to be coated within the upcoming CERT Cyber Provide Chain Threat Administration Symposium in February
The Measurement Challenges in Software program Assurance and Provide Chain Threat Administration
by Nancy R. Mead, Carol Woody, and Scott Hissam
On this paper, the authors focus on the metrics wanted to foretell cybersecurity in open supply software program and the way requirements are wanted to make it simpler to use these metrics within the provide chain. The authors present examples of doubtless helpful metrics and underscore the necessity for knowledge assortment and evaluation to validate the metrics. They assert that defining metrics, amassing and analyzing knowledge as an example their utility, and utilizing commonplace strategies requires unbiased collaborative work to realize the specified outcomes.
Learn the white paper.
The Cybersecurity of Quantum Computing: 6 Areas of Analysis
By Tom Scanlon
Analysis and improvement of quantum computer systems continues to develop at a speedy tempo. The U.S. authorities alone spent greater than $800 million on quantum data science analysis in 2022. Thomas Scanlon, who leads the information science group within the SEI CERT Division, was just lately invited to be a participant within the Workshop on Cybersecurity of Quantum Computing, co-sponsored by the Nationwide Science Basis (NSF) and the White Home Workplace of Science and Know-how Coverage, to look at the rising area of cybersecurity for quantum computing. On this SEI podcast, Scanlon discusses the way to create the self-discipline of cyber safety of quantum computing and descriptions six areas of future analysis in quantum cybersecurity.
