Advertising Algorithms Help Communication Network Intelligence

The same technology that allows online advertisers to target consumers as we browse the web could eventually play a key role in communication network security – even at the national-defense level. An award-winning group of researchers published a study in IEEE Xplore saying that advertising algorithms--frequently used by search engines like Google and Yahoo--could help develop a machine-learning approach for navigating complex communication networks. In the past, it was relatively easy to both protect communication networks from attempted hacking and intercept (or jam) signals from other networks. These days, though, networks are anything but simple thanks to various factors such as mobile devices, sensing technologies, social networks, and others. As a result, understanding how these networks communicate is a challenge.