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 giant language fashions for cybersecurity, software program engineering and acquisition with generative AI, zero belief, giant 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 Massive 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 power of LLMs to carry out duties seemingly on par with people has led to fast adoption in quite a lot of totally different domains, together with cybersecurity. Nevertheless, warning is required when utilizing LLMs in a cybersecurity context because of the impactful penalties and detailed particularities. Present approaches to LLM analysis are inclined to give attention to factual information versus utilized, sensible duties. However cybersecurity duties typically require extra than simply factual recall to finish. Human efficiency on cybersecurity duties is usually assessed partially on their potential to use ideas to reasonable 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 how you can assess LLM efficiency on cybersecurity duties. The suggestions embody correctly scoping duties, designing duties primarily based on real-world cybersecurity phenomena, minimizing spurious outcomes, and guaranteeing outcomes should 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 a vital 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 scale back errors, scale adjustments effortlessly, and drive innovation, considerations have emerged. These considerations embody safety dangers, unexpected failures, and problems with belief. Empirical analysis on generative AI growth assistants reveals that productiveness and high quality positive aspects rely not solely on the sophistication of instruments but additionally on activity stream redesign and knowledgeable 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 prospects, determine analysis gaps, and focus on the crucial talent units that software program engineers and stakeholders must 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
- how you can 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 choice makers can harness generative AI know-how
Zero Belief Business Days 2024 Situation: Secluded Semiconductors, Inc.
by Rhonda Brown
Every accepted presenter on the SEI Zero Belief Business 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 providers for brief or prolonged durations of time. There are lots of concerns 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 tackle the challenges of implementing zero belief. Utilizing a state of affairs locations boundaries on the zero belief house to yield richer discussions.
This 12 months’s occasion focuses on the Industrial Web of Issues (IIoT), legacy programs, sensible cities, and cloud-hosted providers in a producing setting.
Learn the white paper.
Utilizing Massive 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) throughout the Intelligence Neighborhood (IC). As a part of this effort, ODNI sponsored the Mayflower Undertaking at Carnegie Mellon College’s Software program Engineering Institute from Might 2023 by means of September 2023. The Mayflower Undertaking tried to reply the next questions:
- How may the IC arrange a baseline, stand-alone LLM?
- How may the IC customise LLMs for particular intelligence use instances?
- How may the IC consider the trustworthiness of LLMs throughout use instances?
On this SEI Podcast, Shannon Gallagher, AI engineering crew 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 Undertaking and supply further background details about LLMs and the way they are often engineered for nationwide safety use instances.
Hear/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 talents and future wants for strategically deciding what is required and how you can 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 differ throughout these domains. This paper endeavors to consolidate these definitions to offer a complete view of CBP, its potential, and sensible implementation of its ideas.
Learn the white paper.
Ask Us Something: Provide Chain Threat Administration
By Brett Tucker and Matthew J. Butkovic
Based on the Verizon Knowledge Breach Report, Log4j-related exploits have occurred much less continuously over the previous 12 months. Nevertheless, 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 how you can 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 matters to be lined 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 probably helpful metrics and underscore the necessity for information assortment and evaluation to validate the metrics. They assert that defining metrics, accumulating and analyzing information as an instance 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 growth of quantum computer systems continues to develop at a fast tempo. The U.S. authorities alone spent greater than $800 million on quantum data science analysis in 2022. Thomas Scanlon, who leads the info science group within the SEI CERT Division, was 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 Expertise Coverage, to look at the rising area of cybersecurity for quantum computing. On this SEI podcast, Scanlon discusses how you can create the self-discipline of cyber safety of quantum computing and descriptions six areas of future analysis in quantum cybersecurity.