Panel: A Preview of "Learning from Unanticipated Scientific Security Research Results" Workshop
Moderator: Jeremy Epstein
Enrico Fermi described the art of experimentation elegantly: "There are two possible outcomes (of a test). If the result confirms the hypothesis, then you have made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, you've made a discovery." Successful research gets published at conferences like ACSAC. Unsuccessful research - things we thought would work but didn't - and measurements (per Fermi) - are generally not considered publishable in computer science in general, or in the security field in particular. Failing to learn from our failures reduces progress. With sponsorship of the National Science Foundation and ACSA (the sponsoring organization for ACSAC), the panelists are organizing a new workshop to focus on these overlooked areas, both to discuss the issues and to provide a venue for publication. This panel will discuss the need for the workshop and how other fields (e.g., medicine) have addressed the problem.