SRI Seminar Series: Bruce Schneier [HYBRID EVENT]

Our weekly SRI Seminar Series welcomes SRI Visiting Senior Policy Fellow Bruce Schneier, an internationally renowned security technologist and one of the world’s leading voices on digital trust and cybersecurity. Schneier’s work has shaped how governments, institutions, and technologists understand security, governance, and the societal implications of networked systems.

In this talk, Schneier will introduce the concept of integrous systems design, arguing that integrity has emerged as the central challenge of modern cybersecurity. Drawing on examples from critical infrastructure, distributed networks, and AI-enabled systems, he will examine why integrity has historically been overlooked, how it differs from availability and confidentiality, and why subtle failures of integrity can produce cascading societal harms. Schneier will outline the core research questions facing the field and explore what it will take to design systems that behave as intended—even in adversarial, complex, and rapidly evolving technological environments.

Moderator: David Lie, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Venue:

Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, University of Toronto, Room W240 (second floor)

Entrance: 108 College St, Toronto, ON M5G 0C6

Talk title: Integrous systems design

Abstract

Integrity is critical to many modern cyber applications, from car-to-car communications and smart power grids to mesh networking and AI agents. Yet it has long been ignored by security professionals. This talk lays out the key problems and research questions of integrous system design—they're both difficult and subtle. The 1990s was the era of availability. The 2000s and 2010s was the age of confidentiality. Welcome to the age of integrity.

About the speaker

SRI Visiting Senior Policy Fellow Bruce Schneier is an internationally renowned security technologist, called a “security guru” by The Economist. He is the author of over one dozen books—including his latest, Rewiring Democracy—as well as hundreds of articles, essays, and academic papers. His influential newsletter “Crypto-Gram” and his blog “Schneier on Security” are read by over 250,000 people. He has testified before the United States Congress, is a frequent guest on television and radio, has served on several government committees, and is regularly quoted in the press. Schneier is a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School; a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and AccessNow; and an Advisory Board Member of the Electronic Privacy Information Center and VerifiedVoting.org. He is the Chief of Security Architecture at Inrupt, Inc.

About the SRI Seminar Series

The SRI Seminar Series brings together the Schwartz Reisman community and beyond for a robust exchange of ideas that advance scholarship at the intersection of technology and society. Seminars are led by a leading or emerging scholar and feature extensive discussion.

About the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society is a research institute at the University of Toronto that explores the ethical and societal implications of technology. Our mission is to deepen knowledge of technologies, societies, and humanity by integrating research across traditional boundaries to build human-centred solutions.

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