Research

I am Marina, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan. My research focuses on hardware security. Hardware is the lowest layer of abstraction in modern computer systems – it allows higher abstraction levels to function, from assembly code to complex applications. The security of each layer relies on the security of lower levels, and all rely on the correct behavior of the hardware. Unfortunately, as my research has demonstrated, there are critical vulnerabilities in hardware. These vulnerabilities can have the broadest impact on a system since they can compromise even bug-free software. To make matters worse, the long deployment cycle of new hardware forces CPU vendors to continuously try to mitigate vulnerabilities as they are discovered. In my research, I investigate the security implications of hardware vulnerabilities and their correlation with software. I also work on ways to build safer computer systems. My website can be found at: https://web.eecs.umich.edu/~minkin/