Magnetic Cybersecurity

Electronic systems can be weak spots in a security system, potential points of access for hackers and malicious users. But how might a new screen inspired by a unique ability of squids and octopi change cyber security? We’ll explore in the U.S. National Science Foundation’s “Discovery Files”.
The increasing frequency, creativity, and variety of cybersecurity attacks means an understanding of threats and the ability to reduce them are vital to national security.
NSF-supported engineers at University of Michigan have developed a new system of magnetic particle swarms that can act as pixels and bits for encrypted information.
Partially inspired by the pigments that squid use to change the color of their skin, the flexible screen can display images like a computer by using magnetic fields to program specific patterns and information in a swarm of particles.
The screen can show a public image for anyone to see or change to a secure encrypted image when read over a complex array of small magnets. This magnetic array acts like an encryption key without the need for electronic systems and the security liabilities inherent to them.
The research could be further developed for soft computing devices, and multifunctional, reconfigurable display devices with a growing list of potential applications in national security, defense, camouflage and anti-counterfeiting technologies.

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