| December 13, 2001 Vol. 23, No. 16 |
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 CURRENT ISSUEBACK ISSUES
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| The research work of Jessica Fridrich is expected to play an integral part in an effort to detect secret communications. | ||||
By SUSAN E. BARKER
Binghamton University will be a key partner in an expected $8 million University-government-industry consortium designed to help defend the security of military and digital communications and uncover secret terrorist communications.
“Binghamton is at the absolute lead in this area and can expect to receive the major share of the university portion of any funding for this project,” said Richard Simard, a technical advisor with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome.
Last week, the House of Representatives approved funding for the Rome lab to work with the University and Eastman Kodak. The allocation was part of a larger defense spending bill, and while the Senate must approve the measure, prospects seem favorable in the wake of September 11, said Simard.
Simard, Scott Adams, a computer engineer, and Mark Robertson, a research scientist, all from the Rome facility, were on campus last week to talk with Jessica Fridrich, research professor at the Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, about her on-going research in this field as well as future directions, Simard said.
Fridrich is a recognized expert in steganography, the study of secret communication, and of steganalysis, the detection of hidden communications. Her work has been instrumental in advancing digital watermarking and other steganographic techniques. Prior to September 11, a technical advisor to the Rome lab had credited Fridrich with helping to protect against and intercept communications from terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden.
Adams described Fridrich’s work for the lab as unique because it provided not only theoretical and technical background, but the theories were also demonstrated with her cutting-edge software applications.
Simard agreed.“Jessica Fridrich’s work is at the forefront of breaking technology. It’s very innovative and has a wide range of applications for the military, law enforcement and the banking industry,” he said.
He added that especially in the digital age when communication can be easily changed, corrupted or disguised, developing ways to secure it are important.
“Just like CSI (referring to the CBS tv show: CSI:Crime Scene Investigation,) you’ve got to have a wrapper to protect the evidence,” he said. “Jessica Fridrich’s technology provides a wrapper.”