BYU student to present research

PROVO — Brigham Young University student Tim van der Horst has been invited to present his latest research in the field of computer security at an international conference this week in Nice, France.

A doctoral student in computer science, van der Horst will present at SecureComm 2007, the Third International Conference on Security and Privacy in Communication Networks. Only one-fourth of the research advancements submitted this year were selected to be presented.

Van der Horst will present a unique method for Web authentication he has developed that addresses the problem of users having too many passwords. The idea behind his design is to completely replace the need for passwords at secure Web sites by using an automated process that involves users' e-mail or instant messaging accounts and randomly generated digital security keys.