Syracuse University professor's Air Force research aims to detect cyberattacks

Leanne Hirshfield (left), a professor at the Newhouse School and Mark Costa, a doctoral candidate at the iSchool demonstrate how a functional near infrared spectroscope operates as it measures blood flow in Mark's brain (as seen on the computer screen at right). He's wearing a harness containing light emiting and light detecting optodes. This research on computer users and their response to cyber-attacks is taking place at a lab in the AXA Tower 1 under a grant from the Air Force. David Lassman | (David Lassman)
Dave Tobin | By Dave Tobin | The Post-Standard
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on February 28, 2014 at 10:30 AM, updated February 28, 2014 at 2:16 PM
One part of your brain notices something is wrong, and another part overrides it. This happens all the time.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- With a $357,000 Air Force grant, Syracuse University communications professor Leanne Hirshfield will study the effects of cyberattacks on computer users, including those who operate drones.

Hirshfield, 33, a native of Clinton, is one of 40 researchers across the United States recently awarded a grant through the Air Force's Young Investigator Research Program. She's a Newhouse School communications professor who conducts research at SU's Media Interface Network Design (MIND) Lab, in the AXA Equitable Tower in downtown Syracuse. For her Air Force study, her research subjects will be SU staff, students and faculty. She won't work directly with Air Force personnel, who are protected by security guidelines.

Using previous Air Force grants, Hirshfield has assembled a $500,000 suite of brain, body and behavior monitoring equipment. There's an eye tracking monitor, an EEG, a galvanic skin response sensor, mouse and keyboard movement software and more.

Spend a little time with Hirshfield and her suite of equipment and she can tell you what you don't know you're thinking.

2014-02-11-dl-mind3.JPGView full sizeThe computer screen on a functional near infrared spectroscope shows the measurement of blood flow in a subject's brain. This research by Professor Leanne Hirshfield is taking place under a grant from the Air Force. David Lassman | 

Here's a summary of her Air Force project:

Why this research? The Air Force is concerned that its computer users - including drone operators - are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Hirshfield's research asks: Can computer users sharpen their awareness when they are being hacked?

What will experiments be like? Subjects will perform tasks on computers. One such task is monitoring the flights of several unmanned aircraft at the same time - using a version of this MIT software. Perhaps an unmanned aircraft veers off target a bit. How does the computer operator respond?

"We will change things subtly and see if subjects notice," said Hirshfield. "We can see in their brain activity when they notice something is going wrong. A lot of times people will notice that something is off, but they'll go ahead anyway because they're pretty complacent. They're working along and want to get their job done and get home at the end of the day. One part of your brain notices something is wrong, and another part overrides it. This happens all the time - not just in the military."

Primary Research Tool: A $370,000 brain-scanning machine called a Functional Near Infrared Spectroscope (fNIRS). It works like a magnetic resonance imaging machine (MRI) but does not penetrate the brain as deeply and is less invasive. It works with a skull cap of light sensors that send out a form of infrared light and receive the light that bounces back.

How it works: The machine pulses infrared light into the skull. Blood absorbs the light. In layman's terms, when a particular part of the brain is working, say the pre-frontal cortex as we work on a computer, that part of the brain will appear more red on the fNIRS display. A meditative state would appear more blue.

Data collected by light sensors in the skullcap feeds into computer machine-learning algorithms that identify various mental states, as when someone is stressed by conflicting work demands, or visually overloaded, or feeling emotional states such as frustration, surprise, happiness or love.

Who besides the Air Force is interested in the potential of fNIRS technology?
"We're working with some advertising groups," said Hirshfield. "They're really interested in gauging people's reactions when they see an advertisement. You may see a commercial that activates a compassionate side of your brain, or one that makes you want to buy a car, while another commercial falls flat."

Does the computer power to access people's brains concern Hirshfield?
"I've done this for so long, it doesn't," she said. "But I think there's a lot of power in new technologies and in social media and it is important to appreciate that power. I think we need policies to help us harness that power."

On that score, Hirshfield is setting her own policies - at home.

"My daughter is not going to be allowed on Facebook until she's old enough to drive a car," Hirshfield said. "She's four now. We'll see if we can stick to that."
