News by Faculty
Kevin Fu
Yan Long awarded Predoctoral Fellowship to support research impacting secure communications
Long aims to ensure that the information received from sensing devices is both trustworthy and confidential.Register: September 19, 2022
Can reflections in eyeglasses actually leak info from Zoom calls? Here’s a study into it
The Register features ECE PhD student Yan Long’s analog cybersecurity research, focusing on how bespectacled video conferencing participants are inadvertently revealing sensitive on-screen information via reflections in their eyeglasses.How worried should we be about the rise in hospital ransomware attacks? A Q&A with Kevin Fu
“We’ve reached an inflection point where the degree of connectivity between devices and services in all sectors has exploded.”Politico: December 16, 2021
Keeping hackers out of our medical devices
As the FDA’s resident expert in medical device security, Prof. Kevin Fu oversees efforts to fortify devices that can be compromised or exploited during a security breach. He spoke with Politico about his efforts.Science Friday: November 4, 2021
Could Ordinary Household Objects Be Used To Spy On You?
How the physics of sound helped test the possibilities of indirect surveillance. Prof. Kevin Fu explores the risks & opportunities of side-channel surveillance tech in Science Friday.Five ways to keep vaccine cold storage equipment safe from hackers
A medical security expert outlines the risks and how hospitals can protect themselves.MedTechDive: October 4, 2021
Ransomware attacks put availability of medical devices at risk: FDA cyber chief
Kevin Fu, acting director of cybersecurity at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, says that “You can’t have a safe and effective medical device if it’s unavailable” due to ransomware.MedTechDive: May 26, 2021
Ransomware, other cyber threats mount as medtech industry tries to adapt
Prof. Kevin Fu is interviewed on how cyber threats to the medical technology industry, including ransomware and other malware, are growing in sophistication and potentially putting patient safety at risk.Sensor takes guesswork out of N95 decontamination
A new wireless system can sense when N95 facemasks are properly decontaminated in moist-heat.
U-Michigan professor appointed to FDA medical device security post
A Q&A with Kevin Fu, who will help protect software that saves lives at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
Kevin Fu fills new leadership position at FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, overseeing medical device security
The longtime advocate and leading researcher in medical device security heads to Washington for a one-year term.
Hacking reality
Microphones that “hear” light; microprocessors that “tell” us secrets; self-driving cars that “see” fake objects; sensors that “feel” the wrong temperature. Our devices are under attack in new, increasingly sophisticated ways. Security researchers at CSE are exploring the limits of hardware and finding new, sobering vulnerabilities in our computers and homes.
New collaboration promises greater innovation in medical device security
The two organizations will connect their membership and partner networks to work on advancing security for life-saving devices.
Wireless sensors for N95 masks could enable easier, more accurate decontamination
“The technology can give users the confidence they deserve when reusing respirators or other PPE.”
IEEE security conference features six accepted papers from CSE researchers
The projects impact voting systems, physical sensors, integrated circuit fabrication, and multiple microarchitectural side-channel vulnerabilities.
Michigan Today: April 27, 2020
Probing tech’s soft underbelly
Prof. Kevin Fu’s lab has demonstrated weaknesses in the electronic devices and sensors that we rely upon to illustrate the need for improvements in cybersecurity. He is profiled in this article.Guidance on decontaminating face masks: U-M researchers contribute to national effort
Collaborative website launched while U-M researchers continue advanced testing.
SmarterEveryDay: January 6, 2020
Breaking Into a Smart Home With A Laser – Smarter Every Day 229
Graduate student Ben Cyr demonstrates how his lab was able to hack into smart speakers with a laser.
Michigan Daily: November 22, 2019
‘U’ researchers find way to hack into virtual assistants with lasers
Researchers including Profs. Kevin Fu and Daniel Genkin were able to take control of virtual assistants using only light.Ars Technica: November 5, 2019
Siri, Alexa, and Google Home can be controlled with lasers, new research shows
MEMS mics respond to light as if it were sound, discovered by a team including Profs. Kevin Fu and Dan GenkinResearchers take control of Siri, Alexa, and Google Home with lasers
The newly discovered microphone vulnerability allows attackers to remotely inject inaudible and invisible commands into voice assistants using light.
Remote attack on temperature sensors threatens safety in incubators and industry
The researchers demonstrated that an adversary could remotely manipulate the temperature sensor measurements without tampering with the targeted system or triggering automatic temperature alarms.
New attack on autonomous vehicle sensors creates fake obstacles
Up to this point, no attacks had been discovered targeting a car’s LiDAR system—but a major new finding from researchers at the University of Michigan has demonstrated what that might look like.
Research responsible for establishing field of medical device security recognized by IEEE
Defibrillator security paper receives Test of Time Award from IEEE Security & Privacy
Teaching science with sound waves
The classes got to learn about cybersecurity, the physics of sound waves, and how to beam music a long distance like a flashlight using ultrasound.
Can sound be used as a weapon? 4 questions answered
What happened to people inside the U.S. Embassy in Havana?
Cuba ‘sonic attacks’: A covert accident?
‘We’ve demonstrated a scenario in which the harm might have been unintentional.’
Kevin Fu Elected IEEE Fellow for Contributions to Embedded and Medical Device Security
Prof. Fu was named an IEEE Fellow, Class of 2018, “for contributions to embedded and medical device security.”
Kevin Fu recognized with Regents’ Award for Distinguished Public Service
Kevin Fu has been recognized for informing policy makers and Congress about issues in computer security.
Timothy Trippel selected for NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Trippel’s research interests lie in embedded systems and IoT security and privacy for the purpose of building safe and reliable autonomous systems.
Sonic cyber attacks show security holes in ubiquitous sensors
Michigan Engineering researchers discuss and demonstrate the sound-based attacks they leveled at the accelerometers found in everyday electronics.
Professor to Congress: ‘Internet of Things security is woefully inadequate’
Michigan Engineering professor Kevin Fu spoke in front of congress on Nov. 16, 2016.
Startup founded by U-M assoc. professor gets NSF grant
Healthcare security company Virta Laboratories, Inc. has received a $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
Kevin Fu named a top influencer in health information security
He is recognized for raising awareness regarding medical device cybersecurity issues by speaking out about critical concerns.
Prof. Kevin Fu Addresses Technical Debt of Medical Device Security at NAE Symposium
The symposium focused on Cybersecurity and Privacy, Engineering the Search for Earth-like Exoplanets, Optical and Mechanical Metamaterials, and Forecasting Natural Disasters.
Virta Labs Introduces PowerGuard™
Virta Laboratories was co-founded in part by Prof. Kevin Fu and former CSE postdoctoral researcher Denis Foo Kune.
Kevin Fu Named to CRA Computing Community Consortium Council
His three-year term will begin July 1.