MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY | DIVISION OF RESEARCH & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
SPRING 2024 | VOLUME 5
I N N O V A T I O N W O R K S
INNOVATIONWORKS OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER NEWSLETTER
ROOTED IN THE HARDWARE As the internet continues to grow and our dependence on devices such as our phones, computers, and tablets increases, so does the security risk and vulnerability. Information such as addresses, birthdays, social security numbers and more can be exposed instantly without the proper protections. While some may assume that those protections are embedded in the device software, a brief conversation with Kevin Kornegay, PhD of the School of Engineering will have you thinking differently.
Dr. Kevin Kornegay photographed with a colleague and a student.
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WHAT DRIVES INNOVATION?
Innovation Drivers are the factors that drive both “big I” (new and potentially disruptive innovation), and “little i” (incremental) innovation. Common drivers of organizational innovation include: consumer need, improved quality, creation of new markets, reduced labor and material costs, improved efficiency, reduced environmental damage and energy consumption, and conformance to regulations. Innovators themselves may be driven by a personal or emotional connection. Each issue of Innovation Works will provide the reader a window on what drives Morgan’s innovators.
Prior to joining Morgan in 2012, Dr. Kornegay was an electrical engineer by trade who built and designed electrical systems for industry and academia, including for IBM, Purdue University, Cornell University, and Georgia Tech. His natural progression from reverse engineering hardware to hardware security was seamless. In conversation with Dr. Kornegay about the foundations of cybersecurity, you will quickly learn that: “It’s all in the hardware. Trust is established in the hardware, the root of everything; Cyber is the trust business. Any and every vulnerability within systems and software is through exploitations of the hardware. Adversaries find the openings (vulnerabilities) in the software and the damage is done.” He emphasizes that communication to hardware can be intercepted, and control can be relinquished, further exposing data and other vulnerable information. He continues to seek innovative approaches that will improve quality, efficiency, and address the consumer need for secure devices and systems.