Full-Stack Privacy: Cryptography to People and Back Again

Talk
Gabriel Kaptchuk
Boston University
Talk Series: 
Time: 
03.07.2023 14:00 to 15:00

Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) facilitate fine-grained control over how data can be accessed and used. While some PETs have found widespread adoption, most have yet to realize their potential social impact. Further developing these PETs requires carefully marrying real-world design constraints with deliberately cultivated theory.In this talk I will present my 'full stack' approach to PETs research, spanning multiple traditional security and privacy research areas. This broad approach simultaneously centers concrete impact while uncovering new theoretical directions inspired by real-world challenges. First, I will illustrate this dynamic using my work on secure multiparty computation (MPC), which includes dynamic participation models for MPC and ongoing MPC deployments. Second, I will discuss constructing cryptographic applications that allow sensitive communication to avoid censorship using realistic steganography. I will conclude by highlighting future directors for full stack privacy research, including specific PETs and social contexts.