Understanding the Economics of Cybercrime

Every day, millions of people use the internet for work, banking, communication, and entertainment. But with this convenience comes a hidden danger - cybercrime. You're invited to hear UCSD professor Stefan Savage discuss how to understand economics from a criminal stand point, how interventions against that threat have been developed along with the evolution of threats, and how you as a consumer can protect yourself. 

Cybersecurity is widely viewed as a technical discipline. While most of the academic world focuses on the technical aspect of cybersecurity, the economic motivations of attackers and their operation requirements are important. From e-mail spam to ransomware, fundamental advances in online threats arise from economic innovations. The talk will describe the business models and supply chains that underline modern cybercrime and how understanding these factors has provided new tools for addressing these problems.

Stefan Savage is a professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Washington and a B.S is Applied History from Carnegie Mellon University. He currently serves as the co-director for UCSD's Center for Network Systems (CNS).

He is known for his work on network security and reliability, on cybercrime economics and defense, and on the empirical measurement of cybersecurity and cyberinfrastructure. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a MacArthur Fellow, an ACM Fellow, and the recipient of ACM's Prize in Computing and AAA's Golden Goose Award. He currently holds the Irwin and Joan Jacobs Chair in Information and Computer Science. He lives in Solana Beach with his wife and son.

Lecture Details:

When: Tuesday, March 10, at 6:00 PM
Where: La Colonia Community Center, 715 Valley Avenue, Solana Beach
Who: This event is free and open to the public