A third-year graduate student in the University's computer science department, Joy Kamunyori, recently won first place in the graduate division of the fourth annual Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference for her work on computer systems that could help detect viruses.
"It's very good work," said Dan Williams, computer science graduate student and member of Kamunyori's research group. "We were very pleased that she was able to win the poster competition."
Kamunyori presented her project, entitled "Handling Self-Modifying Code Using Software Dynamic Translation," Oct. 16 at the conference in Orlando, Fla..
"Software dynamic translation is a way of changing a program while it's running." Williams said. "The goal of it is to make the program run more efficiently or more securely, or to gather information about how the program is running. Self-modifying codes actually change while the program is running: the program actually writes out new instructions and then executes them."
When computers are given an application, they immediately and automatically execute the user's instructions. According to Kamunyori, her research essentially creates an additional layer between the application instruction and user instruction that is able to detect self-modification systems, which can be encoded with viruses.
"My research group works on dynamic translation, adding an extra layer between program execution on a machine, instead of automatic execution," Kamunyori said. "In some ways this can optimize the program, to get it to use less memory or run faster."
According to Kamunyori, the purpose of this research is to detect self-modifying types of computer viruses that software currently cannot detect.
"When I first started working with this group we wanted to see if we could use this program to detect metamorphic viruses," Kamunyori said. "Most viruses have a specific code that they run over and over, but metamorphic viruses change themselves every generation. If you have these viruses, signature detection isn't going to work. Viruses are a big deal in the computing word. Hopefully with systems like this, we'll be able to make the computing environment more secure."
Although the award was given to Kamunyori, she credited her success to her entire group and advisor, Computer Science Prof. Jack Davidson, who could not be reached for comment.
"It was an honor," Kamunyori said. "I didn't enter the competition to win. I felt like I shouldn't take credit because we all worked together -- it's a research group, and we all help each other out."
Because Kamunyori won first place at the conference she is automatically entered in the Association for Computing Machinery's Student Research Competition Grand Finals, which are most likely to be held in February, she said.
"I'm a little scared, but also I'm pretty excited," Kamunyori said, adding that from what she has learned so far, project submissions are made virtually, and no physical meeting of contestants takes place.
She said she will submit and present a paper describing the group's research, and if she is selected as one of the top three teams, she will go onto to the ACM Conference.
Read More
U.Va. loses over $60 million in federal research cuts
By Bertie Azqueta | 3 hours agoThe impacted grants include three from the NIH, seven from the NEH, one from the United States Agency for International Development and four from the State Department.
Department of Education reverses course, awards Federal Executive Institute to U.Va.
By Ford McCracken | 3 days agoThe ED had previously awarded the institute to Charlottesville City Schools.
Students reflect on the life and legacy of Pope Francis
By Bertie Azqueta | 3 days agoAt the University, students shared a range of perspectives on his legacy of reform, inclusivity and his impact on the global Catholic community.
