Asymmetric Security

This stream focuses on building realistic defensive cybersecurity benchmarks utilizing data from Asymmetric Security's work on real-world incidents.

Stream overview

Existing cybersecurity benchmarks lack realism, rarely testing how models behave in realistic security scenarios. This is especially challenging in cybersecurity because most relevant data is private.

Asymmetric Security responds to real cyber incidents and therefore holds data not available in the public domain. We would like to work with MATS scholars to build realistic benchmarks grounded in these real cyber incidents. 

Mentors

Alex Chan
Asymmetric Security
,
Chief Scientist
Security
Dangerous Capability Evals
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Zainab Ali Majid (Zainab)
Asymmetric Security
,
Co-Founder
SF Bay Area, London
Security
Dangerous Capability Evals

Zainab is the co-founder of Asymmetric Security. She was previously a cybersecurity analyst at Stroz Friedberg, where she investigated some of the largest cybersecurity breaches of the past decade (e.g., Cambridge Analytica). She has also published at NeurIPS on AI cybersecurity evaluations. Zainab holds a master’s degree in Physics from Oxford University.

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Mentorship style

1 hour weekly meetings by default for high-level guidance. We will respond within a day to async communication. 

Fellows we are looking for

Essential: 

  • Experience implementing AI model evaluations. 

Preferred:

  • At least one year of professional software engineering experience. 
  • Strong interest in AI cybersecurity. 

Scholars can collaborate with other MATS scholars and can find collaborators on their own. Asymmetric Security staff may also engage deeply. 

Project selection

We will assign the project direction; scholars will have significant tactical freedom.