Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Hardware-software interface: How it contributes to better computer security
Modern computer security relies heavily on software-based defences, including analysis tools that look for bugs and patches that fix reported vulnerabilities. Although safer programming languages and improved system designs have significantly reduced many risks, memory safety problems still remain as a major security concern, accounting for over 70% of serious vulnerabilities in Microsoft and Chromium codebases. In this talk, we explore how rethinking the boundary between hardware and software opens up exciting new opportunities for stronger security guarantees. We show how this interface represents a design space full of trade-offs, and how the design approach requires piecing together multiple layers of the computer to build a secure and practical system.
This event was part of the Women in Computer Seminar series and took place as a live Zoom webinar on Tuesday 24 February 2026.
Hardware-software interface: How it contributes to better computer security
Modern computer security relies heavily on software-based defences, including analysis tools that look for bugs and patches that fix reported vulnerabilities. Although safer programming languages and improved system designs have significantly reduced many risks, memory safety problems still remain as a major security concern, accounting for over 70% of serious vulnerabilities in Microsoft and Chromium codebases. In this talk, we explore how rethinking the boundary between hardware and software opens up exciting new opportunities for stronger security guarantees. We show how this interface represents a design space full of trade-offs, and how the design approach requires piecing together multiple layers of the computer to build a secure and practical system.
This event was part of the Women in Computer Seminar series and took place as a live Zoom webinar on Tuesday 24 February 2026.
