University to Create New Cybersecurity Approach Inspired by the Human Body

Researchers at the University of Arizona are developing a fresh approach to cybersecurity modeled on the human central nervous system. The new method, which is being created as part of the Partnership for Proactive Cybersecurity Training project, will aim to detect and neutralize cyber-threats in their earliest stages before they have a chance to do any serious damage. Inspiration for the project came from human biological responses; for example, how the body's immune system fights a virus and how a person will instinctively pull their fingers away from a burning hot surface before their brain has even received the message that the body is at risk of harm."I felt we could learn about how the body protects us by reacting to threats and maybe apply it to cyber by building a 'cyber immune system,'" said Salim Hariri, UA electrical and computer engineering professor and the project's principal investigator.