News: Event News

Innovation Forum on Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection (NET-SCIP)
Auditório da Universidade de Coimbra (map), Coimbra, February 22, 2010
PDF (in English ; in Portuguese)

Objectives of the Forum

The Innovation Network on Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection (NET-SCIP) shall gather the scientific community, the private sector and the main government agencies with the goal of developing comparative advantages for Portugal in new security technologies and services for the protection of critical infrastructures.

The convergence of telecommunication networks, information systems and control technologies has become a reality. The internet is more and more the platform of choice for the many information flows that support critical infrastructures such as energy and fuel networks, supply chains for materials, water and food, transportation networks and healthcare systems, as well as many small, medium and large enterprises. At the same time sophisticated technologies based on sensor networks allow for the aggregation of physical data in real time with respect to spaces, equipment and people. Given the growing inter-dependence of all these systems, the impact of so call cyber-attacks is no longer secluded to information systems and is now a real threat both to the infrastructures and basic services on which we all depend in our everyday life.

Centered on scientific and technological advancement, NET-SCIP shall promote an inter-disciplinary approach by which experts from engineering, basic sciences, economy, design and psychology come together to create new knowledge and develop security solutions for all kinds of users and companies.

As part of this initiative, we shall present a roadmap for the creation of CyLab Portugal, a consortium among universities and research units aimed at security innovation.

The activities of NET-SCIP are based on the ongoing research projects and graduate education courses supported since 2006 by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia under the Carnegie Mellon | Portugal Program. More than 100 researchers and about 150 graduate students are currently involved in the activities sponsored by this public-private partnership. It is our goal to continue attracting talented students and researchers from all over the world, thus gathering the necessary critical mass and ensuring high-impact contributions towards a more secure world with reliable critical infrastructures.
PRELIMINARY PROGRAM
09:00-09:30 Check-in, Morning Coffee and Networking

09:30-09:40 Opening Session

João Gabriel Silva, Dean, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra

José M. F. Moura, Director of ICTI@Carnegie Mellon

09:40-10:00 Guest Presentation

Pradeep Khosla, Carnegie Mellon University

10:00-10:10 A Roadmap for CyLab Portugal

João Barros, National Director, Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program

10:10-11:00 Roundtable Discussion I – Information and Communication Security

Speakers:

Manuel Garcia (moderator), Portugal Telecom

Paulo Mateus, IT, IST/UTL

Tiago Carvalho, GMV SkySoft

Frank Pfenning, Carnegie Mellon University

André Zúquete, IEETA, Universidade de Aveiro

11:00-11:40 Coffee Break with Poster and Demo Session

Collaborative Research Projects of the Carnegie Mellon | Portugal program and Portuguese participation in the 7th Framework Program of the European Commission

11:40-12:40 Roundtable Discussion II – Critical Infrastructure Protection

Speakers:

Eduardo Tovar (moderator), CISTER, ISEP

Nuno Ferreira Neves, LASIGE, FCUL

António Sousa, EDISOFT

Maria Manuel Farinha, ISQ

João Paulo Costeira, ISR, IST/UTL

Edmundo Monteiro, CISUC, FCTUC

Jorge Rodrigues, Critical Software

12:40-13:00 Closing Remarks

João Barros, National Director, Carnegie Mellon | Portugal Program

Pradeep Khosla, Carnegie Mellon University

To register for the event please fill out the form.

New Innovation Networks in Key Focused Areas of ICT
Innovation Forum on Future Internet Services and Technologies (NET- FIT)
Lisbon, on the morning of February 23 more

Innovation Forum on Services and Technologies for Interactive Media (NET-STIM)
Lisbon, on the morning of February 24 more

The Carnegie Mellon | Portugal Diploma Ceremony will be held on February 22nd 2010 at Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal. This ceremony will celebrate the achievements of the 2008 and 2009 graduates and foster a closer relationship with the Industrial affiliates.

During the 2010 Diploma Ceremony, the combined achievements of the Professional Masters graduates of December 2008 and December, 2009, will be celebrated in a joint ceremony in which dual degrees will be bes-towed upon the graduates of the following collaborative programs:
– Professional Master of Human-Computer Interaction (MHCI) , Universidade da Madeira and Carnegie Mellon University;
– Professional Master of Information Networking (MSIN), Universidade de Aveiro and Carnegie Mellon University;
– Professional Master of Information Technology and Information Security (MSIT-IS) , Universidade de Lisboa and Carnegie Mellon University;
– Professional Master of Software Engineering (MSE) , Universidade de Coimbra and Carnegie Mellon University.

Visit http://diplomaceremony.cmuportugal.org

SEMINAR SERIES on ICTs POLICY RESEARCH: Can Vertical Separation Reduce Non-Price Discrimination and Increase Welfare?
Professor João Vareda (Autoridade da Concorrência)

Tuesday, February 9 th 2010 16:30pm
Room 5.09, 5 th floor, North Tower, Instituto Superior Técnico
Refreshments provided

Abstract:
We investigate if vertical separation can reduces non-price-discrimination, and increases welfare. The industry is a differentiated products duopoly, where an incumbent and an entrant sell horizontally and vertically differentiated products. The incumbent owns a wholesale unit and a retail unit. The entrant only owns a retail unit. Either retail unit needs access to the input produced by the wholesale unit to operate. The wholesale unit can degrade the quality of input it supplies to either of the retail units. The sectoral regulator sets the access price to the wholesale unit’s services. Vertical separation reduces the set of parameter values for which discrimination occurs, however, it does not guarantee no discrimination. In fact, under vertical separation, the wholesale unit may increase its level of discrimination against the entrant. Furthermore, under vertical separation, the wholesale unit may discriminate against the incumbent’s retail unit when there was no discrimination under vertical integration. Vertical separation impacts social welfare through two effects. First, through the double-marginalization effect, which is negative. Second, through the discrimination effect, which can be positive of negative depending on whether separation decreases or increases discrimination, and both cases may occur. If vertical separation increases or does not change the level of discrimination, the net impact on welfare is negative. If vertical separation reduces discrimination, the net impact is potentially ambiguous.

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For those who won’t be able to be in the conference room at IST, you can attend the seminar online through WebEx (link and instructions below).

Please follow the instructions in that email some minutes before 4:30am (GMT) and join the online meeting room.

Topic: Professor João Vareda – Can Vertical Separation Reduce Non-Price Discrimination and Increase Welfare?
Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Time: 4:30 pm, GMT Time (London, GMT)
Meeting Number: 849 502 282
Meeting Password: epp2010
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MSE Seminar Tour provides critical link between university and industry

Every year, Paulo Marques, coordinator of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal / Universidade de Coimbra Master in Software Engineering (MSE) Programs, and his team organizes a Seminar Tour about Software Development. Between October and December of 2009, the MSE Seminar Tour was attended by more than 200 professionals and touched cross-sectional issues such as: Risk Management for Software Projects, Agile Software Development with SCRUM, Dynamic Teams and Groups, Software Development Methodologies.

Q. The MSE Program organizes a Seminar Tour about Software Development. What is the importance of organizing this kind of event in Porto and Lisbon? What were the main goals?
A. Every year the Master of Software Engineering organizes a seminar tour about “hot and current topics on software engineering.” These [tours] are directed at software professionals in industry. The objectives are twofold: on one hand, it allows us to interact with industry and try to pass on the current best practices and state-of-the-art knowledge in the area. Thus, in a very direct way, we are trying to improve how software and innovation is done in our economic fabric. On the other hand, it allows us to promote the MSE program and show the relevance of having professionals enroll and do this Carnegie Mellon | Portugal [professional] master’s program.

Q. The Seminars touched very cross-sectional issues. Is there a reason for this?
A. When you develop software there are three main components that must be in place for a project to be successful: technology, people and processes. In fact, may times projects fail not due to technology but do to improper management of people (e.g., customer expectations and relationship, team dynamics, interactions with management, conflict mitigation) and processes (e.g., not systematically doing quality assurance, tracking project progress, risk management and mitigation, etc.). As the MSE programs train professionals for assuming key roles as team leaders, project managers, and software architects, it’s only natural that we put a great emphasis on people and process.

Q. Some seminars occurred at companies, like PT Inovação or Novabase, . What was this experience like?
A. It’s true. We did specific seminars for PT (both PT-SI and PT-Inovação) and Novabase employees. It is always thrilling to see companies recognizing and investing so heavily in advanced training. Only by having the best professionals and the best knowledge are companies able to succeed in today’s competitive world. PT and Novabase, not to mention the other industrial affiliates, are exemplary in that regard. We are thrilled to collaborate with them.

Q. Do you intend to do something similar next year?
A. Sure. If anything, this initiative is only going to grow. It provides us with a critical link to interact with industry and act as agents of change in our economic fabric. The University of Coimbra, in partnership with Carnegie Mellon, feels a particular obligation in contributing to the society at large and to advance the stage of knowledge and practice in industry. These seminars are a way to do so.

January, 2010

Carnegie Mellon | Portugal Program: Security and Dependability Academy
On December 14 th and 15 th , 2009, will take place the Carnegie Mellon | Portugal Program: Security and Dependability Academy, an opportunity for professionals of computer science and engineering or related areas, interested in improving their skills, to get in touch with the experts involved in the Dual Carnegie Mellon University – University of Lisboa Master of Science in Information Technology–Information Security (MSIT-IS).

The Academy will provide a sample of topics taught during the MSIT-IS program through a set of exciting technical lectures and hands-on experiments in the program’s lab, where the attendees will get the chance to try live cyber-attack and defense technologies.

Although inspired by the MSIT-IS, the academy will be interesting on its own as a forum for discussion of the latest concepts in Security and Dependability. After the lectures and laboratory experiments, the academy will close with the Pen Testing Trophy, where a victim machine will be subject to penetration testing by willing participants competing for a mysterious trophy.

This event is organized by Large-Scale Informatics Systems Laboratory, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, and sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon | Portugal Program.

The Academy will be taught in English and will take place at the same facilities as the MSIT-IS program (FCUL), giving a taste of what the students of the master experience. The lectures will be in the videoconference room and Hi-fi audio-video connection will be established with Carnegie Mellon University at Pittsburgh. The hands-on sessions will be in the students’ labs.

December 14th, 2009 Evolution of Security: from Ad-hoc Prevention to Automatic Protection
Prof. Paulo Veríssimo
Six Billion Crash Test Dummies or Why Software Security Matters
Prof. Miguel Correia
MSIT-IS – A Carnegie Mellon U. and U. of Lisbon Master
Profs. M. Correia e Rajeev Ghandi
Hands-on 1 – Securing Installations is Harder than it Looks
Hands-on 2 – Attack Injection: Assess your Software Before Hackers do it December 15th, 2009
Are They Out There? How Many and How Smart?
Prof. Nuno Ferreira Neves
The Delicate Balance between Distributing and Losing Control
Prof. António Casimiro
Surviving Non-Detectable Intrusions While Fighting Them Back
Prof. Paulo Sousa
Can Cost-Benefit Analysis Help Investment in Security?
Prof. Pedro Ferreira
Building Robustness, Safety and Security for the Next Generation of Aerospace Systems
Prof. José Rufino
Hands-on 3 – Honeypots: Watching Hackers at Work
Pen Testing Trophy
Organizing committee:
– Prof. Miguel Correia
– Prof. Marcelo Pasin
– Prof. Fabrício Silva
– Dr. Diogo Abrantes

Venue: Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, building C6, floor 2, room 6.2.51.

For additional information feel free to contact:
Dr. Diogo Abrantes
Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa
Edifício C8 – Piso 2, Sala 29, Campo Grande
1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
E-mail: dabrantes(@)lasige.di.fc.ul.pt
Telf: +351 21 750 03 88
Fax: +351 21 750 05 33

Deadline for Applications: December 7, 2009
For more information visit: http://msi.di.fc.ul.pt/?Carnegie_Mellon_%7CPortugal_Security_and_Dependability_Academy

Article and photos at: https://cmuportugal.org/tiercontent.aspx?id=2324

 

Between December 14th and 15th, 2009, more than 20 Portuguese professionals from several companies attended the first Carnegie Mellon | Portugal Program Academy on Security and Dependability. The event was organized by Large-Scale Informatics Systems Laboratory, at Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa.

The academy provided computer science and engineering professionals with the opportunity to interface with the experts involved in the Carnegie Mellon University | Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa dual Professional Master of Science in Information Technology–Information Security (MSIT-IS).

Miguel Correia, from Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa (FCUL), and Rajeev Gandhi from Information Networking Institute (INI), Carnegie Mellon University, gave a presentation about the MSIT-IS program and its achievements. Since the program’s inception, the number of participating students has increased every year.

Miguel Correia gave another presentation titled “Six Billion Crash Test Dummies or Why Software Security Matters,” and the main conclusions are that “software security is very interesting, but difficult because new vulnerabilities appear every day, and we need to be prepared to find new solutions every day.”

Paulo Sousa, from FCUL, spoke about “Surviving Non-Detectable Intrusions While Fighting Them Back.” For him “intrusion tolerance added to Proactive Resilience is an effective way to survive on detectable and non-detectable intrusions.”

“Can Cost-Benefit Analysis Help Investment in Security?” Asked Pedro Ferreira

Pedro Ferreira, from Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), gave the presentation “Can Cost-Benefit Analysis Help Investment in Security?” He encouraged listeners to view security as an investment and approach security with the underlying thought: “You are ok with some intrusions/attacks in your system” and the goal is to achieve the strategic point, the balance between cost and benefit.

José Rufino, from FCUL, in his presentation about “Building Robustness, Safety and Security for the Next Generation of Aerospace Systems,” gave some examples to address current trends in the design of the future generation of aerospace systems, discussed the paradigms, the models and the tools that currently are being developed to ensure the provisioning of high levels of safety, security and timeliness guarantees.

Paulo Veríssimo, from FCUL, added that “it is possible to estimate the hacker attack cost, and based on this value elevate the cost level to dissuade the hacker attack.” For Veríssimo, the academy “model and setting was to make it a teaser of what happens in the MSIT-IS program and a discussion forum on Security and Dependability.” The academy participants gave “wonderful feedback and got out of there with their minds set on applying,” he said.

At the end of the academy, the participants were invited to participate in the “Penetration Testing Trophy,” where they received an IP (Internet Protocol) address and their goal was to imagine a gold bar inside the computer, so they had to go and get it. This challenge was won by two participants from Portugal Telecom, “who already trained several other people in our program,” explained Veríssimo.

During two days the participants attended lectures and workshops such as:

– Evolution of Security: from Ad-hoc Prevention to Automatic Protection;

– Six Billion Crash Test Dummies or Why Software Security Matters;

– MSIT-IS – A Carnegie Mellon University and University of Lisbon Masters;

– Hands-on 1 – Securing Installation is harder than it looks;

– Hands-on 2 – Attack Injection: Assess your Software Before Hackers do it;

– Are They Out There? How Many and How Smart?;

– The Delicate Balance between Distributing and Losing Control;

– Surviving Non-Detectable Intrusions While Fighting Them Back;

– Can Cost-Benefit Analysis Help Investment in Security?;

– Building Robustness, Safety and Security for the Next Generation of Aerospace Systems;

– Hands-on 3 – Honey pots: Watching Hackers at Work.

Participants in the event: PORTUGAL TELECOM; UNISYS; LOGICA; BLUE PHOENIX; EFACEC; INST. DEFESA NACIONAL; INST. POLITÉCNICO BEJA; ESPÍRITO SANTO INFORMÁTICA; KPMG; STREAMLINE; CRITICAL SOFTWARE.

SEMINAR SERIES on ICTs POLICY RESEARCH
Professor Joan Calzada, University of Barcelona
Public Service Obligations in the Airline Market: Lessons from the Spanish Case
Tuesday, January 26th 2010 16:30pm

Room 5.09, 5th floor, North Tower, Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal

Abstract:
We study the impact of the public service obligations applied in the Spanish airline market during the period 2001-09. Our analysis shows that routes benefiting of price discounts given to island residents exhibit higher prices but similar frequencies than the rest of routes. This can be explained by the effect of discounts on the demand elasticity, the airlines difficulties in acquiring new slots, and the high costs of increasing frequencies. Moreover, we show that price and frequency caps established in interisland flights lead to lower prices and higher frequencies than in unregulated routes with similar characteristics.

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For those who won’t be able to be in the conference room at IST, you can attend the seminar online through WebEx (link and instructions below).

Please follow the instructions in that email some minutes before 4:30am (GMT) and join the online meeting room.

Topic: SEMINAR SERIES on ICTs POLICY RESEARCH – Professor Joan Calzada, University of Barcelona, PUBLIC SERVICE OBLIGATIONS IN THE AIRL
Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Time: 4:30 pm, GMT Time (London, GMT)
Meeting Number: 840 130 923
Meeting Password: EPP2010PhD
Host Key: 158815

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Lective Year 2010/11 Launching Session at PT

Day: 14-01-2010 Local: Forum Picoas – Auditorium 2

AGENDA Main Session 16:00-16:10 Opening
• Francisco Nunes (PT)
• João Barros (FCT e UP)
16:10-16:20 Students Testemonies (movie) 16:20-17:00 Keynote Speech: “Crowdsourcing at the service of business innovation strategy”
• Andrei Villarroel (UC)
17:00-17:30 Discussion Panel : “The advanced qualification of human resources as a way of leveraging innovation in a company like PT”

• Andrei Villarroel (UC)
• Ana Dias (PT)
• Rogério Canhoto (PT)
• Manuel Garcia (PT)
17:30-17:45 Closing Remarks

• Manuel Heitor (State Secretary)
• Alfredo Baptista (PT)
Panel Sessions by Master Program

(webcast main session on http://directos.sapo.pt/pt – user: PT and pwd: pt2010)

UTEN Portugal Workshop: Knowledge Management Impels Economic Development

The University Technology Enterprise Network (UTEN) Workshop, organized by UTEN Portugal and the Carnegie Mellon|Portugal Program, was held at Instituto Pedro Nunes in Coimbra, Portugal, on November 8th -10th, 2009. The main topic of discussion was “Experiencing Technology Transfer with Carnegie Mellon.”

During two days, speakers from Carnegie Mellon University and workshop participants discussed what tech-nology transfer is. They brainstormed on the different ways to accomplish it, how to set up good practices, and how to establish a procedure that can protect the University and the researcher giving confidence and increasing value to both.
“Technology Transfer is the transfer of intellectual assets generated from research activities from inside the university to outside the university,” explained Tara Branstad, associate director, Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation (CTTEC). Branstad emphasized that this process should be simple, transparent, equal for everyone, and well known by the aca-demic community. Under this theme, Tim McNulty, associate vice-president for Government Relations at Carnegie Mellon University, accentuated “the role of the Carnegie Mellon | Portugal Program because it brings together research, education, and commercialization,” which are the main goals to establish an economic development mission. In his presentation, McNulty gave an overview of the University and its Economic Development Strategy, which addresses the University‟s overall approach to regional economic development. McNulty stated that the “future value is on regions working together.”

_________ “To create and disseminate knowledge and art through research and creative inquiry, teaching, learning, and to transfer intellectual and artistic products to enhance society in meaningful and sustainable ways.” Carnegie Mellon University Mission Statement _________

To present the point of view from the Portuguese company Portugal Telecom Inovação, Marcelino Pousa, director of Planning Control and Resources, and Isilda Braga da Costa, legal adviser at Portugal Telecom Inovação, elaborated on the importance of technology transfer to their company. They emphasized that “tech transfer is fundamental for the activity of the company,” because it impels the development of new products and services. “With the universities we make technology transfer mainly through and by people,” said Marcelino Pousa. To Braga da Costa “technology transfer is achieved if we can bring the researchers to the company.”

Branstad and Mary Beth Shaw, assistant general counsel, Carnegie Mellon Office of General Counsel, discussed the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) and the University‟s Legal Department. During their presentations, they provided a general overview of the structure, competencies, philosophy, performance, and the interface between the two offices and other departments within the University.
Branstad explained the innovative ecosystem of Carnegie Mellon, saying that “the role is to facilitate and accelerate the transfer of intellectual assets, negotiate and execute commercial agreements, encourage faculty entrepreneurship and the creation of star-up companies, and manage the intellectual assets of the university.” Shaw spoke about intellectual property (IP), and the basic principles of IP policy, which includes “academic freedom, traditional rights retained by faculty, student ownership of intellectual property, and faculty and student as creators of IP.

”In attendance at the UTEN Workshop “Experiencing Technology: Collaborating with Carnegie Mellon” were more than 40 profissionals who work in the Technology Transfer Area at Portuguese universities and companies.

December 2009