Friday, Oct. 3 2025
10:20 – 11:00 a.m. in ETB 1020
Marcus Botacin
Computer Science Assistant Professor
Texas A&M University
Title: “Hardware is the New Software: The Next-Gen Anti-Viruses and How Your Hardware Will Self-Secure Your System!”
Abstract:
New threats require new defenses. In the same way that LLMs are reshaping malware creation, hardware support for security should be reshaping defenses. In this talk, Dr. Botacin presents the proposal for the migration of AV engines to hardware to implement continuous monitoring systems (Zero-Trust) with low performance impact. The presentation incrementally complexifies hardware design, from external FPGA AVs to the redesign of the memory controller. The talk discusses ideas like adding new Memory Management Unit (MMU) flags to create a new type of page fault – the security fault – to create security-aware OSes that invoke AntiViruses (AVs) on demand to scan processes in more suitable states. Dr. Botacin’s research talk will highlight how AVs can be significantly enhanced by relying on additional hardware support and will call for action to advance their development.
Biography:
Dr. Botacin is a Computer Science Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University (TAMU, USA) since 2022. Ph.D. in Computer Science (UFPR, Brazil), master’s in computer science and computer engineering (UNICAMP, Brazil). Malware Analyst since 2012. Specialist in AV engines and Sandbox Development. Dr. Botacin published research papers at major academic conferences and journals. Dr. Botacin also presented his work at major industry and hacking conferences, such as HackInTheBox and Hou.Sec.Con.
Marcus Botacin’s homepage: https://marcusbotacin.github.io/