Hi! If you came here then you already know I'm Keheira. I applied for grad school to study hardware security. As I completed my first year I realized that I am more interested in network security and medical devices. The difference is really looking at the different layers of the technology stack. I hope this site will serve as a nice place for me to share my knowledge as I make my way into the network security field. WHAT DO YOU MEAN LAYERS? {#whatdoyoumeanlayers} ------------------------ If you didn't know, there are 7 layers in the stack for technology. As a coder I rarely have to look all the way down the stack (unless I'm using C or Assembly language). As a grad I thought I wanted to focus on layer 1 of the stack which is things that happen before you look at adding in wifi or bluetooth. I realized I didin't like focusing on those classes like I did in undergrad and so I started looking at some other layers.\ If you move up in the stack you focus more on protocols and how devices interact. This is what I was truely interested in. I think that you can have really good security practices on layer 2-5. I don't have a way to prove my theory though and this is where this resaerch comes in. I'll be listing some of the articles I read, why I picked them, and any test/experiments surrounding the topic. WHY MEDICAL DEVICES? {#whymedicaldevices} -------------------- This is a tricky question. I don't like doing medical programming much when it comes to coding BUT I've always been into robotics. As someone with a nice handful of medical "problems" I've always looked into robotics in the medical field. From pace makers to replacement limbs, I didin't hear or see many people talking about the security surrounding devices in this field. I aspire to be the point person on the topic. The coolest project I know happening right now is with diabetics hacking at the older devices to help regulate their insulin levels. I personally don't have diabetes but it does affect members of my family. When I look at the things I'm into I want to be able to give back to communities that I belong to.\ So with all this information I've decided that medical devices would be my specialty within Network Security. links: - [Diabetes Hardware Hack](https://openaps.org/what-is-openaps/) - [OSI Model](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiRof2-zqzcAhUGVN8KHa5kAzMQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DyZmn30GkcJw&psig=AOvVaw1cLosG49dV3Z74m-3AXYC2&ust=1532139483281410)