RSA Security Conference Theme is Vedic Math

[Guest guest]

Every year, the RSA Conference is built around a different historical

theme which highlights a significant use, or misuse, of information

security. In 2006, the theme is centered on ancient Vedic

mathematics, and a mathematical Sage named Aryabhatta.

 

Modern Codes in Ancient Sutras

 

In 499 CE, in Kusumpura, capital of the Gupta Empire in classical

India, a young mathematician named Aryabhatta published an

astronomical treatise written in 118 Sanskrit verses. A student of

the Vedic mathematics tradition that had slowly emerged in India

between 1500 and 900 BC, Aryabhatta, only 23, intended merely to give

a summary of Vedic mathematics up to his time. But his slender

volume, the Aaryabhat.iiya, was to become one of the most brilliant

achievements in the history of mathematics, with far-ranging

implications in the East and West.

 

Aryabhatta correctly determined the axial rotation of the earth. He

inferred that planetary orbits were elliptical, and provided a valid

explanation of solar and lunar eclipses. His theory of the relativity

of motion predated Einstein's by 1400 years. And his studies in

algebra and trigonometry, which laid the foundations for calculus,

influenced European mathematicians 1,000 years later, when his texts

were translated into European languages from 8th century Arabic

translations of the Sanskrit originals.

 

Today, the work of information security professionals affects the

global business community in ways as profound and far-reaching as the

seminal calculations of Aryabhatta. Join us at the RSA Conference

2006 to celebrate the mathematical achievements of ancient India, and

discover unprecedented approaches to securing your business and

applications.

http://2006.rsaconference.com/us/conference/theme.aspx

 

Gates Outlines Microsoft's Security Vision

 

"The motif for 2006 is ancient Vedic mathematics, and Gates was

ushered onstage by a lively narrative and musical presentation that

looked more like something out of a Hollywood awards show."

 

By Luc Hatlestad, VARBusiness

VARBusiness, 12:35 PM EST Tue. Feb. 14, 2006

 

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates kicked off the 2006 RSA Conference on

Tuesday with the message that in a networked world that's becoming

more complex, keeping security simple is the key to keeping it

effective.

 

"If you look at the security systems that are out there today, we

don't achieve [simplicity]," he says. "The number of things people

have to keep track of is probably an order of magnitude more than it

needs to be for people to be able to manage their systems

effectively. If there's an area where we absolutely have to get

better, this is it."

 

The always-unique RSA event features historical math- and science-

related themes, and this year was no exception. The motif for 2006 is

ancient Vedic mathematics, and Gates was ushered onstage by a lively

narrative and musical presentation that looked more like something

out of a Hollywood awards show.

 

Gates' hour-long presentation featured several glitch-free demos of

how Microsoft is enabling stronger security across its platforms,

including the upcoming Vista, all highlighting the company's desire

to establish fundamentally secure platforms. "Older systems were

secure because they were isolated," Gates says. "You can't layer on

top of a system elements to make it secure; you get too much of a

mismatch between the components. This design approach is absolutely

critical--thinking these things through from the beginning and not

bringing security in at the end is very important. This has been a

big shift for Microsoft."

 

The company is moving aggressively forward with its vision for smart

cards that will eventually reduce or eliminate the need for multiple

passwords. The one news snippet coming out of the keynote speech was

the announcement that Certificate CLM, which enables the provisioning

of smart cards, began beta testing today. Gates also told the

audience that new anti-malware products are on the way without

disclosing specific release dates.

 

"Today we're using password systems, but they simply won't cut it,"

he says. "Very quickly they're becoming the weak link, so we need to

move to multi-factor authentication. A lot of that will be a smart

card-type approach that needs to be built into the system itself. I

don't pretend that we'll move away form passwords overnight, but this

change can and should take place over a three-to-four-year period."

 

Despite sharp increases in new security threats, Gates claims to be

confident about the direction the industry is heading. "Advances in

standards make me very optimistic that we'll be able to pull this

together, but the move toward digital approaches in everything we do

is accelerated," he says. "We're making progress, but it's a very big

challenge to make sure security is not the thing that's holding us

back."