Last week, over 600 international researchers convened on an island south of the Korean Peninsula to discuss the latest advancements in cybersecurity. The three-day conference covered a range of topics, including artificial intelligence security and post-quantum computing (PQC).
Won Yoo-jae, the general chair of the World Conference on Information Security Applications (WISA) and the president of the Korea Institute of Information Security & Cryptology (KIISC), spoke to The Readable about the annual event. This year marks its 24th gathering, which took place on Jeju Island.
“This year, the WISA committees aimed to broaden participation beyond just academia, seeking to bolster information exchange with industry professionals and strengthen the bond between the two sectors,” explained Won. This year’s event, which took place both in-person and virtually, saw a turnout of 602 scholars and entrepreneurs, with 485 attendees present on-site.
Three renowned researchers from Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan took the stage for keynote addresses. Bhasin Shivam from Nanyang Technological University and Bo-Yin Yang from Academia Sinica presented their individual research on AI security concerns and PQC. Meanwhile, Shin Seong-han from Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology explored the cryptographic aspects of fifth-generation mobile networks, commonly known as 5G.
According to the General Chair, WISA received a total of 52 research papers from 12 different countries. Out of these submissions, 26 papers were selected for presentation. Each paper was evaluated by three or four reviewers using EasyChair, a web-based conference management software program. During the process of choosing the top four papers, the program committee specifically focused on the diversity of topics, encompassing hardware security, AI, and PQC. The final selection of papers is set to be published in the Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS).
“While submissions came from a total of twelve countries, the majority of first authors were predominantly from the United States and Japan,” Won told The Readable. “This year’s WISA conference may not have had as many global speakers as we saw before the pandemic, but we’re confident that participation will rebound to pre-pandemic levels over time,” he added.
Additionally, the General Chair extended special thanks to Sohn Kiwook and Kim Howon, who led the Organizing Committee and the Program Committee, respectively. “Along with these committee chairs, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the authors who submitted their research papers to WISA, as well as those who took the stage to present their findings,” Won said.
