Tag: Engineering

Prof. Dan Peer Appointed as Member of the Prestigious American National Academy of Engineering

Written by AUFTAU on 19 February 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

First Satellite Observatory for Quantum Optical Communication in Israel

Written by AUFTAU on 16 February 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

Tel Aviv University establishes the first satellite observatory for quantum optical communication

“It is impossible to launch a cyber-attack and copy the information, because in quantum mechanics there is a principle that prevents copying (…) That’s how it works in theory. In practice, there are quite a few research questions that need to be answered.” Prof. Yaron Oz

Tracking Satellites on the Move

The station includes a satellite observatory dome with a diameter of 4.25 meters, a tracking system, a primary high-speed camera and secondary tracking cameras, laser equipment, single-photon detectors, and a tracking robot that can carry two telescopes simultaneously. At this stage, the robot arm holds a 24-inch telescope, and in the next stage, the observatory will be equipped with another telescope designed for photography in the infrared range, as well as thermal and hyperspectral cameras.

“The ground station is designed for observing satellites, which are small bodies 400-500 kilometers high that move at about 30,000 kilometers an hour,” says Prof. Yaron Oz, head of the Center for Quantum Science and Technology at Tel Aviv University. “The ability to track satellites is a very precise skill. The satellite passes by very quickly, and during this time you must photograph it in the center of the image and in several different ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum to learn details about it. This is the first and only satellite observatory in Israel, and it is among the most advanced in the entire world.”

In addition to regular optical communication, which uses lasers or LEDs of different wavelengths, the new ground station will also enable the conduction of experiments in quantum optical communication. Advanced communications use the quantum properties of individual photons to transmit encrypted information.

“Theoretically speaking, quantum communication is completely encrypted,” explains Prof. Oz. “It is impossible to launch a cyber-attack and copy the information, because in quantum mechanics there is a principle that prevents copying. As soon as a third party tries to intercept a message, they destroy the original signal – for example, by changing the polarization of the photons – and both communicating parties will know that someone tried to listen in on them.”

“That’s how it works in theory. In practice, there are quite a few research questions that need to be answered.”

“For example, what do we do with interference in a signal that is not created because of attempted eavesdropping, but rather, for example, from the weather? Should we use qubits or qudits, photons that have more than two states? And more generally, how much information can be transmitted this way within the limited transmission time in which the satellite passes over the ground station? The list of unanswered questions is long. It must be understood that quantum communication is a completely experimental field. There are protocols from experiments conducted in laboratories, but the only country that has successfully demonstrated such communication is China, which did so already in 2016. The Americans also apparently succeeded in this, but they published nothing about it in scientific journals. Apart from these two superpowers, a few countries like Germany, Singapore, and now Israel are preparing to demonstrate this capability.”

Prof. Yaron Oz

“Ultimately, we would also like to launch our own satellite, which will try to establish quantum communication with the ground station and with a similar satellite in Singapore.” Prof. Yaron Oz

The Goal: A Dedicated “Blue and White” Quantum Satellite

In the first phase of the project, the Tel Aviv University researchers will try to establish optical communication followed by quantum communication between ground stations, between ground stations and drones, and then between ground stations and a satellite of one of their international partners. Within two to three years, the researchers hope to raise the funds to build a dedicated “blue and white” quantum satellite.

“We are employing the ‘tower and stockade’ method,” says Prof. Oz. “In the beginning, we will place a transmitter on the roof of the second building of the School of Physics, in an attempt to produce an immune quantum key with a rate of hundreds to thousands of bits per second, with the aim of learning and improving the positioning, switching and synchronization capabilities of the light sources and the single-photon detectors. Later, we would like to reduce the size of the transmission system and integrate it into an airborne system, initially with drones, and establish a network of quantum communications. Ultimately, we would also like to launch our own satellite, which will try to establish quantum communication with the ground station and with a similar satellite in Singapore.”

Prof. Ady Arie of The Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Haim Suchowski and Prof. Erez Etzion of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics & Astronomy, director of the optical ground station Michael Tzukran, and research students Dr. Georgi Gary Rozenman, Yuval Reches and Tomer Nahum are also participating in the groundbreaking project. The project is being funded by the University’s Center for Quantum Science and Technology, led by Prof. Yaron Oz and under the administrative management of Ms. Ronit Ackerman, and by the Israel Space Agency under the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.

Prof. Ehud Gazit Elected Fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors

Written by AUFTAU on 25 January 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

Prof. Ehud Gazit of Tel Aviv University was recently elected as a Fellow of the United States National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The appointment to the rank of NAI Fellow is the highest recognition given by the Academy, awarded to innovators whose inventions have had a decisive impact on quality of life, economic development, and social welfare.

The National Academy of Inventors counts over 4,000 members in about 250 different institutions around the world, who as of today hold over 58,000 registered patents. The National Academy of Inventors was established in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventions that are covered by US patents.

Prof. Ehud Gazit is a Full Professor at The Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research in The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and The Department of Materials Science and Engineering in The Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering at Tel Aviv University. In addition, he is incumbent of the Chair of the Biotechnology of Degenerative Diseases, a member of the University’s Executive Committee, and the Founding Director of the Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery.

As one of the most prolific inventors in the Israeli academy, he has been granted over a hundred patents, and has managed the transfer of technologies to companies in Israel and around the world. Two drugs he developed are currently in human trials, many others are in model-based drug development, and a food supplement that he co-developed is currently sold in the US.

Professor Gazit thanked the members of the NAI: “I would like to express my gratitude to the members of the Academy for selecting me for this honor. My research focuses on the interconnectedness of discovery, invention, and application, and I strongly believe that basic and groundbreaking science can and should be applied for the benefit of society. I am grateful for the recognition of our efforts in this regard. I would also like to thank my current and former students and colleagues for their innovative research, as well as the staff at ’Ramot‘ for translating our work into practical applications in industry.”

He previously served as Tel Aviv University’s Vice President for Research and Development, as Chairman of Ramot, Tel Aviv University’s technology transfer company, and as the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology.

Over the years, Prof. Gazit has won a series of prestigious awards in Israel and around the world, including the Kadar Family Award for Outstanding Research, the Landau Award for Arts and Sciences, and the Rappaport Prize for excellence in biomedical research. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK, a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences in India, and a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization. He was recently appointed to the International Solvay Chair in Chemistry for 2023, the first Israeli to be appointed to this position previously held by 15 of the world’s top scientists, including three Nobel Prize winners in chemistry.

Robot, Can You Smell This?

Written by AUFTAU on 23 January 2023. Posted in Newsroom.

In a scientific first, a robot can “smell” using a biological sensor.

After having developed a robot that hears through the ear of a locust, researchers from Tel Aviv University have succeeded in equipping a robot with the sense of smell, using a biological sensor. The sensor sends electrical signals as a response to the presence of a nearby odor, which the robot can detect and interpret. The researchers successfully connected the biological sensor to an electronic system and using a machine learning algorithm, were able to identify odors with a level of sensitivity 10,000 times higher than that of a commonly used electronic device. The researchers say “The sky’s the limit,” and believe that this technology may also be used in the future to identify explosives, drugs, diseases, and more.

WATCH: The first robot with a biological nose. Only at Tel Aviv University.

“Man-made technologies still can’t compete with millions of years of evolution. One area in which we particularly lag behind the animal world is that of smell perception (…) When they want to check if a passenger is smuggling drugs [at the airport], they bring in a dog to sniff him.” Dr. Ben Maoz and Prof. Amir Ayali

Technology Lags Behind Evolution

The biological and technological breakthrough was led by doctoral student Neta Shvil of Tel Aviv University’s Sagol School of Neuroscience, Dr. Ben Maoz of the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and the Sagol School of Neuroscience, and Prof. Yossi Yovel and Prof. Amir Ayali of the School of Zoology and the Sagol School of Neuroscience. The results of the study were published in the prestigious journal Biosensor and Bioelectronics.

Dr. Maoz and Prof. Ayali explain: “Man-made technologies still can’t compete with millions of years of evolution. One area in which we particularly lag behind the animal world is that of smell perception (…) When they want to check if a passenger is smuggling drugs [at the airport], they bring in a dog to sniff him.”

“In the animal world, insects excel at receiving and processing sensory signals. A mosquito, for example, can detect a 0.01 percent difference in the level of carbon dioxide in the air. Today, we are far from producing sensors whose capabilities come close to those of insects.”

The researchers point out that, in general, our sensory organs, such as the eye, ear and nose – as well as those of all other animals – use receptors that identify and distinguish between different signals. Then, the sensory organ translates these findings into electrical signals, which the brain decodes as information. The challenge of biosensors is in the connection of a sensory organ, like the nose, to an electronic system that knows how to decode the electrical signals received from the receptors.

Dr. Ben Maoz and doctoral student Neta Shvil

“Nature is much more advanced than we are, so we should take advantage of that.” Dr. Ben Maoz.

10,000 Times More Sensitive to Smell

“We connected the biological sensor [to the electronic system] and let it smell different odors while we measured the electrical activity that each odor induced,” explains Prof. Yovel. “The system allowed us to detect each odor at the level of the insect’s primary sensory organ.”

“Then, in the second step, we used machine learning to create a ‘library’ of smells. In the study, we were able to characterize 8 odors, such as geranium, lemon and marzipan, in a way that allowed us to know when the smell of lemon or marzipan was presented. In fact, after the experiment was over, we continued to identify additional different and unusual smells, such as various types of Scotch whiskey. A comparison with standard measuring devices showed that the sensitivity of the insect’s nose in our system is about 10,000 times higher than the devices that are in use today.”

“Nature is much more advanced than we are, so we should take advantage of that,” says Dr. Maoz. “The principle we have demonstrated can be used and applied to other senses, such as sight and touch. For example, some animals have amazing abilities to detect explosives or drugs; the creation of a robot with a biological nose could help us preserve human life and identify criminals in a way that is not possible today. Some animals can detect diseases. Others sense earthquakes. The sky is the limit.”

What’s next? The researchers plan to give the robot a navigation ability to allow it to localize the odor source and later, its identity.

Will he be able to retire soon? A working dog searches for hazardous materials at the airport

Researchers use Smartwatches to Measure Safety of COVID Vaccine

Written by AUFTAU on 28 December 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at Tel Aviv University equipped close to 5,000 Israelis with smartwatches and monitored their physiological parameters over two years. Of those monitored, 2,038 received the booster dose of the coronavirus vaccine, allowing the researchers to objectively compare measures before and after the participants took the vaccine, and confirm its safety.

In addition, in collaboration with the Kahn Sagol Maccabi Research & Innovation Center (KSM – the research and innovation institute of the Israeli Maccabi Healthcare Services), the researchers examined the safety of the booster by analyzing the medical files of 250,000 members of Maccabi Health Services anonymously (without identifying details) and with the approval of the Helsinki Committee. From the analysis of this large amount of data, the researchers were able to evaluate the safety of the vaccines from three perspectives: subjectively – what the participant reports, objectively – what the watch detects, and clinically – what the doctor diagnoses.

“We saw clear and significant changes after administration of the vaccine (…) and then we saw a return to the participant’s baseline, i.e., the pulse levels after vaccination returned to their previous levels after six days. Hence, our study confirms the safety of the vaccine.” Prof. Dan Yamin

Confirming the Safety of the Vaccine

The research was carried out by PhD student Matan Yechezkel under the supervision of Prof. Dan Yamin, Head of the Laboratory for Epidemic Research and led in collaboration with Prof. Erez Shmueli, Head of the Big Data Laboratory, all from The Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering at Tel Aviv University. Other collaborators were Dr. Tal Patalon and Dr. Sivan Gazit, Director and Deputy Director, respectively, of KSM, as well as Dr. Amichai Painsky and Ms. Merav Mofaz from Tel Aviv University. The results of the research were published in the prestigious journal, Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

As Prof. Yamin explains: “We wanted to test the safety of booster vaccines against the coronavirus. We conducted a large-scale, two-year clinical study during which we equipped 4,698 Israelis with smartwatches. The smartwatches were used to monitor several parameters such as heart rate, variation in heart activity, quality of sleep, number of daily steps taken, and more. In addition, the participants were asked to fill out daily questionnaires about their health status in a customized application that we developed. Finally, we analyzed data on potential unusual events from the medical files of a quarter of a million randomly selected, anonymous, insured members of the Maccabi Health Services.”

Since the medical file contains the date the booster vaccine was administered, researchers were able to compare the condition of the vaccinated patient with his/her baseline condition from 42 days before receiving the vaccine to the condition of 42 days after receiving the vaccine. The data was obtained from the questionnaires, smartwatches, and records of the Maccabi Health Fund.

Prof. Dan Yamin

“We saw clear and significant changes after administration of the vaccine, such as an increase in heart rate compared to the pulse rate measured before vaccination,” says Prof. Yamin, “and then we saw a return to the participant’s baseline, i.e., the pulse levels after vaccination returned to their previous levels after six days. Hence, our study confirms the safety of the vaccine.”

“The research also allowed us to compare subjective and objective indicators and medical diagnosis of the same participant who received the first booster and a few months later the second booster,” explains Prof. Yamin and adds, “We found no difference in the physiological response recorded by the smartwatches and that reported by the participant in the app.”

“The smartwatch sensors ‘felt’ that the vaccine was safe, the vaccinee himself reported that the vaccine was safe, and finally, the doctors determined that the vaccine was safe. The results of the study have far-reaching implications regarding objective testing of vaccine safety in the future.” Prof. Dan Yamin

Far-reaching Implications

In the medical literature, twenty-five unusual side effects attributed to the Corona vaccine were reported, and the researchers paid special attention to look for rare cases of inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) and pericarditis. Prof. Yamin and his colleagues checked the frequency of these unusual side effects among a quarter of a million Maccabi members and found no increase in serious incidents of any kind associated with vaccination.

Prof. Yamin concludes: “If the watch reports any minor changes in the muscles, and the participant reports only significant changes he feels, the medical file tells us about unusual events diagnosed by the doctors as well as hospitalizations that may be related to vaccinations, with an emphasis on cardiac events. We did a comprehensive analysis of all those twenty-five unusual side effects, and we did not see an increase in their incidence among those receiving the booster. We found the vaccine to be safe to use. The smartwatch sensors ‘felt’ that the vaccine was safe, the vaccinee himself reported that the vaccine was safe, and finally, the doctors determined that the vaccine was safe. The results of the study have far-reaching implications regarding objective testing of vaccine safety in the future.”

Tel Aviv University Establishes Multidisciplinary Center for Research of Autoimmune Diseases

Written by AUFTAU on 18 December 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Tel Aviv University has established the Colton Center, Israel’s first multidisciplinary center for the study of autoimmune diseases – chronic conditions involving an abnormal response of the immune system within body tissues. The Center will collaborate with Israel’s medical centers and health services including HMO’s and Hospitals as well as selected scientists from other academic institutions to enable big data analytics of medical information and biological samples from patients with autoimmune diseases and promote understanding of the causes of morbidity and recurrent flareups and possible early diagnostics and treatments.

The TAU research approach will be unique in its nature fundamentally being based on big data analytics that will direct any traditional scientific wet lab work. The intent of the center would be to grant research funding to multidisciplinary groups of scientists including computer science, engineering, biology, statistics, mathematics, psychology, and more. The different research programs will be managed based on agreed upon milestones with the ability to reach substantial sums upon success. In addition to its multidisciplinary clinical research, the new Center will encourage experimental and theoretical studies in immunology and conduct workshops and conferences jointly with the three other Colton Centers.

Goal: Finding a Cure for Autoimmune Diseases

The Center’s establishment was enabled by a generous donation of $10 million from TAU Governors Judith and Stewart Colton. It is the fourth research center founded by the Colton family to address autoimmune diseases, joining three centers already operating in the USA – at Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, and NYU.

“Stewart and Judith Colton, renowned Jewish philanthropists and dear friends of TAU, have set themselves a goal,” explains Prof. Ariel Porat, President of TAU. This goal is “to develop drugs and treatments for autoimmune diseases. For this purpose, they have established dedicated centers at three leading American universities, and now decided to extend this activity to TAU.”

“This donation is following many years of active contribution by the Colton Foundation to TAU’s innovation and entrepreneurships in wide range of disciplines. We are proud to belong to this elite group of universities, and together with them and the Colton family, we will strive to find a cure for autoimmune diseases.”

“Even though autoimmune diseases have been known to science since the beginning of the 20th century, we still don’t have adequate tools for prevention, treatment, or prediction of morbidity and recurrent flareups.” Mr. Stewart Colton

Tel Aviv University

In Need of Adequate Tools

Mr. Stewart Colton comments: “We believe the Consortium created by the four universities will multiply the opportunities for advancing the chances for successful research. We have worked with TAU for almost 40 years and recognize the unique talent and dedication brought to innovative science. It is a terrible disease that deserves more attention.”

“I am particularly proud that Prof. Uri Nevo from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, who was one of the Colton Fellow graduates, was appointed to be the Chair of the Center’s Steering Committee.”

“The category of autoimmune diseases covers over 100 diseases, with relatively familiar examples including lupus, multiple sclerosis (MS), psoriasis, and Crohn’s disease. Autoimmune diseases are defined as diseases in which the immune system, instead of pathogens such as viruses and bacteria, or cells infected with these pathogens, attack the body’s healthy tissues. Even though autoimmune diseases have been known to science since the beginning of the 20th century, we still don’t have adequate tools for prevention, treatment, or prediction of morbidity and recurrent flareups.”

“The new Colton Center represents the best of basic and translational research – a true collaboration between researchers and clinicians to explore the optimal avenues for deciphering the mechanisms and therapy for autoimmune diseases.” Prof. Karen Avraham

True Collaboration Between Researchers and Clinicians

Prof. Karen Avraham, Dean of TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine adds: “the new Colton Center represents the best of basic and translational research – a true collaboration between researchers and clinicians to explore the optimal avenues for deciphering the mechanisms and therapy for autoimmune diseases.”

“We will start our research carefully and modestly, hoping that from the focused study we will learn about the basic principles underlying autoimmune diseases, and eventually impact the understanding of many of these diseases, and benefit vast numbers of patients.” Prof. Uri Nevo

Aim to Benefit Vast Numbers of Patients

Prof. Uri Nevo from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chair of the Center’s Steering Committee, explains that the Center’s purpose is to promote the study and understanding of autoimmune diseases in order to improve their prevention and treatment. The first goal, he says, is to obtain measurable results, identify early signs and develop predictive algorithms for both initial onset and recurrent flare-ups. Eventually, studies may provide explanations, and possibly even discover the cause.

Other goals are to define practical recommendations for preventing onset and recurrence or reducing severity, and acquire new insights about disease mechanisms, enabling the development of new treatment strategies in the future.

Prof. Nevo: “Due to the complexity of the immune system, and the difficulty in measuring the interaction between the immune system and tissues in the body, we face some tough challenges. We do not understand the biological mechanism that drives many autoimmune diseases, or how they are connected with genetic and environmental risk factors. As a result, very few specific medications are on offer, and in many cases the disease becomes chronic.

“One of our main objectives is to establish research collaborations with various players: the medical institutions affiliated with TAU, the health services, and representatives of NPOs addressing the various diseases. Our intention is to sample their data and utilize the vast knowledge they have accumulated. The data will enable computerized analysis of samples taken from autoimmune patients in Israel, to help us understand the causes for the onset and recurrent flareups of these diseases.”

To choose the focus of its research for the next few years, the Colton Center is presently sending out a dedicated survey to thousands of clinicians and researchers in Israel. “We want to hear the opinions of doctors and experts, in order to focus on a limited number of diseases,” says Prof. Nevo. “We will start our research carefully and modestly, hoping that from the focused study we will learn about the basic principles underlying autoimmune diseases, and eventually impact the understanding of many of these diseases, and benefit vast numbers of patients.”

Featured image: Mr. and Mrs. Colton

The Superpowers of the Female Locust

Written by AUFTAU on 8 December 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Every mother will do anything to know that her offspring are in a safe place. The female locust, however, takes it to a whole new level: A new Tel Aviv University study has discovered that these females have superpowers. The female locust’s central nervous system has elastic properties, allowing her to stretch up to two or three times her original length when laying her eggs in the ground, without causing any irreparable damage.

“We are not aware of a similar ability in almost any living creature,” say the researchers. “Nerves in the human nervous system, for example, can stretch only up to 30% without tearing or being permanently damaged. In the future, these findings may contribute to new developments in the field of regenerative medicine, as a basis for nerve restoration and the development of synthetic tissues.”

“The superpower of the locust is almost something out of science fiction. There are only two other known examples in nature of a similar phenomenon: the tongue of the sperm whale, and a certain type of sea snail whose nervous systems are able to extend significantly due to an accordion-like mechanism they have.” Prof. Amir Ayali

WATCH: TAU Researchers Describe their Surprising Discovery – The Female Locust has Superhero-like Abilities

Showing Flexibility

The study was conducted by a team of Tel Aviv University researchers led by Dr. Bat-El Pinchasik of the School of Mechanical Engineering in The Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and Prof. Amir Ayali of the School of Zoology in the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. Also participating in the study were Dr. Rakesh Das from the School of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Moshe Guershon from the School of Zoology, and Prof. Eran Perlson and Amjd Ibraheem from the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology in the Sackler Faculty of Medicine. The research was published in iScience.

“When the female locust is ready to lay her eggs, she digs a hole in the ground that will offer them protection and optimal conditions for hatching,” explains Dr. Pinchasik. “For this purpose, she is equipped with a unique digging apparatus, consisting of two pairs of digging valves located at the tip of the abdomen, on either side of the ovipositor (a tube-like organ used for laying eggs).”

“As she digs, she extends her body, until sensors located along its length signal that she has reached a suitable point for depositing her eggs. Thus, an adult female, whose body length is about four to five centimeters, may, for the purpose of laying her eggs, stretch her body to a length of 10-15 centimeters, then quickly return to her normal length, and then extend again for the next egg-laying.”

“The superpower of the locust is almost something out of science fiction,” muses Prof. Ayali. “There are only two other known examples in nature of a similar phenomenon: the tongue of the sperm whale, and a certain type of sea snail whose nervous systems are able to extend significantly due to an accordion-like mechanism they have. We sought to identify the biomechanical mechanism that gives the female locust its wonderful ability.”

From left to right: Prof. Amir Ayali, Dr. Rakesh Das and Dr. Bat-El Pinchasik

“Contrary to previous hypotheses and examples we are familiar with, we did not find any accordion-like mechanism. We discovered that the nervous system of the female locust has elastic properties, which enable it to elongate and then return by itself to its original state, ready for reuse, without any damage caused to the tissue. This finding is almost incomprehensible from a biomechanical and morphological point of view.” Dr. Bat-El Pinchasik

Key to Rehabilitation Treatments and Regenerative Medicine?

In the study, the researchers removed the central nervous systems from female locusts and placed them in a liquid simulating their natural environment, under physiological conditions similar to those inside the body. Using highly sensitive measuring instruments, they measured the forces needed to extend the nervous system.

Dr. Pinchasik: “Contrary to previous hypotheses and examples we are familiar with, we did not find any accordion-like mechanism. We discovered that the nervous system of the female locust has elastic properties, which enable it to elongate and then return by itself to its original state, ready for reuse, without any damage caused to the tissue. This finding is almost incomprehensible from a biomechanical and morphological point of view.”

Prof. Ayali adds that, “in further studies, we will investigate the matter in depth, with the aim of identifying the specific mechanism that enables this unique feature. We hope that in the future our findings will help to develop synthetic tissues with a high level of flexibility, and to restore nerves in regenerative medicine therapies.”

TAU Researchers Identified a Serious Security Flaw in Samsung’s Galaxy Series

Written by AUFTAU on 1 April 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

TAU Researchers Identified a Serious Security Flaw in Samsung’s Galaxy Series.

Tel Aviv University researchers have discovered a serious security flaw in Samsung’s flagship Galaxy series. The researchers contacted Samsung in May 2021, and in October the company released a software update that fixed the loophole. According to the researchers, users who have not updated their Android software since October are urged to do so as soon as possible, as hackers could take advantage of the loophole found to hack into the Galaxy smartphones in the series and steal sensitive information.

The study was conducted by Prof. Avishai Wool of TAU’s School of Electrical Engineering, Dr. Eyal Ronen of the Blavatnik School of Computer Science, and graduate student Alon Shakevsky.

Securing the Last Layer of Protection

“In protecting smartphones using the Android system, there is a special component called TrustZone” explains Prof. Wool. “This component is a combination of hardware and software, and its job is to protect our most sensitive information – the encryption and identification keys. We found an error in the implementation of Samsung’s TrustZone code, which allowed hackers to extract encryption keys and access secure information.”

“It should be understood that phone companies like Samsung go to enormous lengths to secure their phones, and yet we still hear about attacks, for example in the case of the NSO spyware,” Dr Ronen adds. “TrustZone is designed to be the last layer of protection, the internal safe. So, even if NSO managed to hack into my phone, it still wouldn’t be able to access the encryption keys. For example, if I approve a bank transfer using a fingerprint, the fingerprint enters the phone’s TrustZone, and hackers will have no way to use the fingerprint to carry out transactions in my bank account. In our article, we showed that failures in Samsung’s code also allowed access to these sensitive cryptographic keys.”

The Research Team (from left to right): Alon Shakevsky, Prof. Avishai Wool and Dr. Eyal Ronen

“A Secret Code Never Guarantees Longevity”

In May 2021, the Tel Aviv University researchers contacted Samsung and presented their findings. In October 2021, Samsung released an update to the Android operating software that fixed the major loophole in about 100 million Galaxy phones. The company and the researchers coordinated the date of the publication of the findings and the date of the update in order to prevent hackers from taking advantage the loophole.

“Master’s student Alon Shakevsky worked for months on extracting the code from the device so that we could investigate it,” says Wool, “and two weeks ago hackers broke into the company’s databases and leaked Samsung’s code. The information that was previously confidential is today available to everyone, including researchers like us. Therefore, the lesson for phone companies should be to publish the code in advance, let the experts and researchers check the architecture, and not to rely too much on the code’s secrecy. A secret code never guarantees longevity, because it will eventually leak. In the end, we helped Samsung.”

“In order to protect ourselves,” Dr. Ronen concludes, “we encourage all owners of Samsung Galaxy devices to update their software.”

What the Ukraine Crisis Means for Cyber Warfare

Written by AUFTAU on 1 March 2022. Posted in Magazine, Newsroom.

What the Ukraine Crisis Means for Cyber Warfare.

While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rapidly unfolds, we sat down with Omree Wechsler, a senior researcher in TAU’s Yuval Ne’eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security, to discuss the cyber security aspects of the conflict in Ukraine.

Omree, Ukraine’s vice prime minister recently said the country had launched an ‘IT army’ to combat Russia in cyberspace. How would you assess Ukraine’s cyber capabilities?

Several attempts were actually made to assess the national cyber power of states, however, Ukraine was not among them due to the lack of data. While the research community is still in the dark about Ukraine’s cyberspace capabilities, we can assume that due to the fact that Ukraine was targeted by Russian cyberattacks ever since the annexation of Crimea, their cyber defense teams should be highly experienced.

The Ukrainian government has called upon the country’s hacking community to help protect their infrastructure, conduct espionage and disruptive activities against Russian forces. In addition, certain international hacking collectives (such as Anonymous) declared that they would act against Russian targets.

Screenshot from a popular St. Petersburg news outlet (https://www.fontanka.ru/): On February 28, several Russian news sites were attacked, warning readers not to "send their sons and husbands to certain death.” Anonymous claimed responsibility

Screenshot from a popular St. Petersburg news outlet (https://www.fontanka.ru/): On February 28, several Russian news sites were attacked, warning readers against “sending their sons and husbands to certain death.” Anonymous claimed responsibility

The official website of the Kremlin, the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin, kremlin.ru, crashed a few days ago (it is still down at the time of writing). Who is behind this attack?

The kind of attack we see on Russian official websites is called a ‘Denial of Service’ cyberattack (or DDoS). It’s a relatively easy task, and does not require sophisticated cyber expertise. Looking at past cyberattacks that were attributed to Western governments, mostly the U.S. Cyber Command, it does not seem that this is an instance of Western retaliation (Western cyberattacks would in theory look more like disabling military systems and so on), but rather the work of “hacktivists” – hackers who employ their capabilities as part of their social/political agenda. It could also be the work of Ukrainian hackers who took advantage of the opportunity to hit some symbolic target.

The power is no longer reserved for the state, then?

That’s correct. There are many other actors with access to cyber capabilities of varying complexity. However, advanced capabilities require means, such as money and expertise. Therefore, the most capable threat actor in this regard remains the state. It is also important to mention that cyber capabilities render factors such as population and geographic size, that are essential for conventional military might, obsolete.

I think that in the current conflict, international hackers or hacktivists could mostly embarrass the Russian government and cause some disruptions. One way that international hackers could cause damage to Russian targets is by ransomware attacks that encrypt data thus making it unreadable to the systems that use it. Another may include leaking highly sensitive or classified data that will be used by more sophisticated groups for more sophisticated attacks. However, the damage they can cause is usually limited compared to the capabilities of Western governments.

The Russian invasion disrupted Ukraine’s internet connectivity, but the country has successfully mobilized public opinion with the help of social networks, and its Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked billionaire Elon Musk through Twitter to make available his company’s Starlink satellite broadband service in Ukraine. Musk delivered.

What type of cyber operations have been employed in this conflict?

Before the military attacks, the Russians also used DDoS attacks and flooded Ukrainian government and banking websites. Other attacks employed so-called ‘wipers’, a malware that deletes data and renders computers unusable. There are plenty of tools in the cyber toolbox.

What were the Russian objectives of the cyberattacks?

In January, some experts argued that the attacks’ objective was to steal information relevant to an upcoming invasion. DDoS attacks may have been used for diversion, while the wiper attacks prevented the Ukrainian government from quickly recovering by deleting data and preventing machines from booting.

The Russians also did their best to wreak fear and doubt among Ukrainian citizens and to embarrass the Ukrainian government. These attacks were accompanied with a constant disinformation campaign including reports on Ukrainian aggression in Eastern Ukraine.

Did it work?

There is no evidence that the attacks destabilized the public support for the Ukrainian government, inside Ukraine or abroad. It may seem that some of the Russian disinformation was also directed at local Russian citizens in order to increase support for the attack. There is still no indication that it worked, as reports on Russian soldiers that have been compelled to invade Ukraine are coming in.

Omree Wechsler

Should we expect more cyberattacks from Russia?

I believe Russian aggression in cyberspace will continue, in order to support its military operations. Cyberattacks that cripple the electric grid, water systems and other critical infrastructure are even more possible, given the fact that many critical systems in Ukraine use Russian technologies and software. A prime example, is Ukraine’s electrical grid which was built during Soviet times. It is very likely that many more malware infections are lying dormant in Ukrainian systems, ready to be deployed.

Russian threat actors will likely direct their cyber efforts against NATO and EU member states as well, in retaliation for supporting Ukraine and announcing sanctions. In fact, banks, critical infrastructure operators, government and public administration agencies in Europe and in the U.S. have been on alert for a while. Earlier this month, oil and fuel supply companies in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium were hit by ransomware and forced to work in limited capacity. These attacks were attributed to a Russian-speaking group named ‘BlackCat,’ and, given that all these countries have in common that they are NATO member states that agreed to send troops and aircraft to countries surrounding Ukraine, it is difficult to decouple the attacks from the crisis in Ukraine.

Will the West remain idle?

Apart from sanctions, it is possible that the West will employ cyberattacks. According to reports, U.S. President Joe Biden was presented with various options to carry out cyberattacks aimed at disrupting the Russian invasion. The UK Defense Secretary, Ben Wallace, stated that the UK may launch cyberattacks on Russia if it targets the UK networks. However, given their sensitive position, Western responses in cyberspace are likely to be limited and reactive. It really depends on the purposes and gains they wish to achieve.

Theoreticians have long tried to define how cyberattack operations can be utilized amid political and military conflicts, and whether they stand on their own or support conventional military operations. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the months preceding, therefore, are bound to be investigated as case studies necessary to understand the nature of cyberwarfare operations.

AI Week 2022 Draws over 5,000

Written by AUFTAU on 24 February 2022. Posted in Newsroom.

Israel’s leading AI Week was recently organized by Tel Aviv University and covered breakthroughs and innovations in AI, as well as its application in business strategy, policy, and future development, gathering a whopping 5,000 AI practitioners and data scientists from 75 countries. TAU’s third AI Week occurred in the midst of the industry’s continued growth, as the global AI market is expected to reach a $190.61 billion market value in 2025, and over 83% of companies reporting AI as a top priority in their business plans.

Industry leaders from companies including Intel, Google, PayPal and Facebook, as well as renowned professors from global universities such as Tel Aviv University, MIT and New York University, gathered for this year’s AI Week Conference, and shared new insights and practices across the world of artificial intelligence. Government representatives from Israel, the UK, Spain and Singapore were also present and shared their strategies towards strengthening the AI ecosystems in their respective countries.

The event was organized by TAU’s Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center (ICRC), the Yuval Ne’eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security and the TAD – Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. It was co-founded with Intel and is supported by the Israeli Innovation Authority.

Projected Growth Across Industries

The conference speakers shared their expertise in natural language processing (NLP) and deep learning, as well as the latest developments in AI across industries, ranging from health and medicine to transportation.

The projected growth of AI field was an essential consideration across the board for the various industries.

Jack Hidary, Head of Sandbox, for instance, delivered the opening keynote on AI in the quantum age, followed by two additional keynotes – Prof. Lior Wolf (Computer Science and TAD’s management) on Explainable AI and Dr. Amitai Armon (Intel) on AI Innovations and their Intel Applications.

The event included a special joint session by TAD center and Google as part of the AI4Good collaborative initiative, focused on health. Dr. Debby Cohen (Senior Research Scientist, Google) and Dr. Shiri Stempler (Director of Collaborative Research, TAD) moderated the session, which included speakers from both TAD and Google, showcasing advances in the fields of AI and Health.

AI Week’s Chairman, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel, who is also Co-Head of Israel’s AI Initiative and Director of TAU’s Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center (ICRC), shared his view that AI will be the dominant technology for the next five-ten years and said “Israel is capable of being one of the global hubs for AI technology, as we are for cyber technology.”

AI Considerations Across the Map

Carme Artigas, Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence of Spain, said AI should be considered as a driver for change, and stressed the need to place it at the center of a smarter and more inclusive model. She referred to AI as a driver of economic recovery after the pandemic, and said Spain’s strategy aims are to develop academic and scientific excellence in the field of AI. She believes this should happen by implementing AI into the existing value chain and model and that it must be developed by a human-centered approach.

Sana Kharengani, Head of UK Office for Artificial Intelligence, noted that public perception is a huge barrier to implementing AI tech in society, and that technical standards and institutions are key. She highlighted the need for new and clear standards and regulations for AI, which she said will “improve our perception of these technologies and mitigate any new risks without stifling innovation.” Kharengani mentioned the UK’s algorithm transparency standard for the public sector as a prime example.

Brig General, Aviad Dagan, Head of Israel Defense Forces’ Digital Transformation discussed the great strides Israel Defense Forces is taking towards AI and Data Strategy in a world where winning wars in a world where fighting is no longer just about physical weapons.