Errin Fulp
Associate Professor of Computer Science
More information
Expertise
- Cyber security
- Computer networks
- Computer configurations
- Bio-inspiration and biomimicry
- Moving target defense
- Multimedia systems
- Simulation
- Programming languages
Current Research
- Deploying “digital ants” on the power grid
- Genetically inspired computer configurations to fight cyber threats
- Determining network usage and intent based on interaction patterns
- Quality of Service (QoS) management and related security issues
- Dynamic resource allocation
- Peer-to-peer systems
- Failure prediction and management
- Network pricing and auctions
Teaching
- Computer Security (including an annual “hack event” during which students attack and defend computer systems from each other)
- Internet Protocols
Education
- B.S., M.S., Ph.D., N.C. State University
Selected Publications
- Michael B. Crouse and Errin W. Fulp. A Moving Target Environment for Computer Configurations Using Genetic Algorithms. (2011). In Proceedings of the 4th Symposium on Configuration Analytics and Automation (SafeConfig 2011).
- Jereme N. Haack, Glenn A. Fink, Wendy M. Maiden, David McKinnon, and Errin W. Fulp. (2011). Ant-Based Cyber Defense. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Information Technology New Generations.
- Turkett, Jr. W., Fulp, E., Lever, C., and Allan, E. (2011). Graph mining of motif profiles for computer network activity inference. Proceedings of the Ninth Workshop on Mining and Learning with Graphs.
- Robin W. Featherstun and Errin W. Fulp. (2010). Using Syslog Message Sequences for Predicting Disk Failures. In Proceedings of the USENIX Large Installation Systems Administration (LISA) Conference, 2010
- Allan, Jr., E., Turkett, Jr. W., and Fulp, E. (2009). Using network motifs to identify application protocols. Proceedings of the 2009 Global Communications Conference.
Patents
- “Method, systems, and computer program products for implementing function-parallel network firewall,” Errin W. Fulp and Ryan J. Farley. U.S. Patent No. 8,037,517 October 2011
- “Methods, Systems, and Computer Program Products for Network Firewall Policy Optimization,” Errin W. Fulp and Stephen J. Tarsa. U.S. Patent No. 8,042,167 October 2011
- “Computer Network with Microeconomic Flow Control,” Errin W. Fulp, Maximilian Ott, Daniel Reininger, Patent No. 6,055,571 April 25, 2000
Company
- GreatWall Systems, Winston-Salem, N.C. – A Wake Forest University spin-off company based on the research of Fulp’s research group
Errin Fulp is an expert in cyber security and computer networks. As cyber attacks become an increasing concern to national security and personal privacy, Fulp has focused his research on issues related to the next generation of high-speed and QoS-enabled networks and prediction methods for critical computer failures.
Recently, his research group developed a genetically inspired algorithm that leverages the concept of “survival of the fittest” to fighting the continual evolution of viruses, worms and malware. Fulp’s team aims to improve defense mechanisms of computing infrastructures with minimal human interaction by developing the first-ever automated computer configurations that adjust as quickly as the threats.
In an ongoing project with scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Fulp is training an army of “digital ants” to turn loose into the power grid to seek out computer viruses trying to wreak havoc on the system. The project has received national attention, leading one of the graduate students under Fulp’s mentorship to be named one “nation’s top new inventors” by Inventor’s Digest magazine.
And in a National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored research project, Fulp and William Turkett, an assistant professor of computer science, and are investigating how the usage and intent of Internet users can be discerned based on interaction patterns. The method is inspired by techniques initially developed for bioinformatics, and can be used to better manage network resources and enforce network security policies.
Fulp is also currently leading an interdisciplinary group of faculty in creating an academic center dedicated to the study and teaching of bio-inspiration and biomimicry, a discipline that applies nature’s design principles to develop innovative new ways of thinking.
In addition to NSF and PNNL, many prominent national agencies, foundations, and corporations – including AFOSR, DARPA, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, NEC C&CRL USA, Shively Family Fellowship, and U.S. Department of Energy – have sponsored his research.
Errin Fulp on:
Using genetically inspired algorithm to prevent cyber attacks …
“Just as one might try to prevent a home robbery, our goal is to create a ‘moving target defense’ that detects cyber threats when they first case the house. If we can automatically change the landscape by adding the technological equivalent of security cameras or additional lighting, the resulting uncertainty will lower the risk of attack.”
Using “digital ants” to protect the nation’s power grid …
“In nature, we know that ants defend against threats very successfully. They can ramp up their defense rapidly, and then resume routine behavior quickly after an intruder has been stopped. We’re trying to achieve that same framework in a computer system.”
Bio-inspiration and nature-inspired design …
“Increasingly, conventional solutions are unable to scale to the information or processing required by the massive influx of data. Furthermore, the complexity of many computer systems will necessitate solutions that are more scalable, robust, and flexible than traditional methods can offer. Designs found in nature can serve as a source of inspiration, providing robust and efficient methods that are better suited to address these complex problems.”
