Neural networks in the brain are sparsely connected, composed of components with an over 50% failure rate, and still amazingly consistent in their high-level behavior over time. We are building models of biologically plausible neural networks to help explain how the brain can protect against a malicious adversary while keeping networks tiny, low power, and easily trained. Using parameters taken from the somatosensory cortex, we have built a simulator to show the relationships between connectivity and severity of possible attacks. Some prior knowledge of distributed system design is helpful, and we'll teach you all of the neuroscience you need to know.
Dr. Avani Wildani (neuron) is a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute, where she is applying her background in distributed systems to exploring the security profile of computational neurobiology. Her Ph.D. work included finding correlated disk activity by analyzing block I/O traces collected through tapping the SATA bus. She believes that the best way of understanding how a system is designed is to understand the attacks it can and cannot defend against. She is usually found with Toool, tinkering with something small and sharp.