Keynote

Dr. Matthew Wilding (Program Manager, Information Innovation Office (I2O), DARPA)

Title: Intrinsic Cognitive Security

Abstract: Mixed reality (MR) merges real and virtual worlds in real time. The intimate connection between users and their MR equipment could be exploited through techniques targeting cognition. Examples include information flooding to induce motion sickness, planting real-world objects to clutter displays, injecting virtual data to distract personnel, or using real-world objects to overwhelm the user with confusing false alarms. DARPA’s Intrinsic Cognitive Security program is modeling MR user behavior to formalize how people behave when using immersive systems. These models will be used to reason mathematically about the usefulness of implemented MR user protections.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Matthew Wilding joined DARPA in March 2022 to develop, execute, and transition programs in software engineering and critical system assurance. Wilding came to DARPA from Collins Aerospace, where he managed the trusted methods group, working with Collins product groups and government research sponsors to pioneer rigorous development methods and apply them to computer-based products. He served as a company subject matter expert on formal verification, and he led the machine-checked verification of a separation kernel in the AAMP7 microprocessor’s firmware and the development of the Turnstile high-assurance network guard. Earlier in his career, Wilding founded and led a digital vision research group, researched how to use automated theorem provers to establish hardware and software correctness, and worked as a software engineer. Wilding holds a doctorate in computer sciences from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Virginia Tech.