Two research projects led by LSU cybersecurity experts have each been awarded $500,000 in defense funding to advance the field of memory forensics.
That funding comes from the Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis Center, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence at George Mason University that focuses on applying memory forensics in fighting online crime and terrorism.
Memory forensics, or the forensic analysis of a computer’s memory dump, is primarily used in the investigation of advanced cyberattacks that do not leave data on a computer’s hard drive. LSU’s cybersecurity team is one of the world’s leading developers of memory forensics technologies, and the university’s recent designation as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations by the NSA was contingent on its ability to educate students in the field.
The first research project, led by LSU professor Golden G. Richard III, will seek to make highly technical memory forensics tools more accessible to agencies who lack the expertise currently necessary for accurate and efficient cyber operations.
The second project, led by LSU associate professor Aisha Ali-Gombe, will aim to recover code and reconstruct processes on Android devices, which have a 70% global market share of mobile operating systems.
In recent years, LSU has sought to position itself as a leader in cybersecurity. Some of the university’s notable achievements on that front include its creation of a talent pipeline for cybersecurity companies, its NSA-backed Cybersecurity Clinic supporting small businesses and its partnership with Louisiana State Police to solve industrial cybersecurity problems.
