Background The Computer Security Foundations Symposium is an annual symposium for researchers in computer security and privacy, to develop and examine theories of security and privacy, to build formal models that provide a context for those theories, and to study techniques for verifying, analyzing, and implementing security and privacy. It was created in 1988 as an IEEE Computer Society workshop, in cooperation with the Technical Committee on Security and Privacy, in response to a 1986 essay by Don Good entitled "The Foundations of Computer Security - We Need Some." The meeting became a "symposium" in 2007, along with a policy for open, increased attendance. All topics relating to foundational security and privacy are in scope.
The atmosphere of the symposium is informal, encouraging an exchange of thoughtful technical discussion by all attendees both during and after scheduled presentations.
The purpose of this document is to help preserve the spirit and style of the symposium by outlining its objectives and its present mode of operation, and by establishing a steering committee to serve as an institutional memory, to assist the current organizers of the symposium in their duties, and guide the evolution of the symposium particulars.
Organization The following functions should be filled: General Chair, Program Chair, Publication Chair, Publicity Chair, Finance Chair, Steering Committee, and Program Committee. It is envisioned that the current assignments of organizers may be split, combined, or otherwise reapportioned by the General Chair among an equal, greater, or smaller number of organizers to ensure a workable allocation of the organizational burden.
The duties and obligations of each function are specified in separate sections below.
Term The General Chair is appointed by the Steering Committee and may serve for one or two years.
Planning and IEEE coordination Soon after the symposium, the General Chair for the following year's symposium must plan for it by applying for IEEE Computer Society sponsorship and/or other institutional affiliations. The planning process includes establishing a location and date for the symposium, a schedule, and an estimated budget.
Registration The General Chair handles registration and sends out invitations to the symposium if needed.
General Arrangements The General Chair arranges accommodation options and handles agreements with regard to room rates, charges for meals, breaks, and meeting room use.
Oversight of Program and Publication Chairs The General Chair must see that the Program, Publication, Publicity, and Finance Chairs perform their duties on schedule, and agree on announcements prior to publication.
Term The Program Chair is appointed by the Steering Committee and normally serves for two years. A Program Chair is expected to suggest at least one nomination who is qualified to be his or her successor. The Program Chair may enlist a Program Co-chair with the approval of the Steering Committee.
Program Committee The Program Chair appoints a Program Committee to help review the submissions.
Preparation of Call for Papershe Program Chair composes a Call for Papers, reviewing it with the General Chair before publication. The Call for Papers should list topics of current interest, indicate the needs of the program with respect to panels, working group exercises, or other special activities, and show important dates.
Management of Review Process The Program Chair is responsible for distributing submitted papers and other activity proposals to suitable members of the Program Committee, with an eye toward matching paper topics to the Committee members' areas of expertise. The Program Chair must instruct Committee members with regard to the form of the review desired.
Preparation of Program The Program Chair selects papers for presentation and other symposium activities, considering, but not necessarily following, the recommendations of the Program Committee. The Program Chair creates a preliminary program and reviews it with the General Chair, who should receive a summary of the papers and proposals that were submitted.
Term The Publication Chair is appointed by the Steering Committee, with possibilities of being reappointed while willing to continue to serve.
Publication of Proceedings This task requires coordination with the publisher, the Computer Society Press, and with authors to give them instructions and to ensure that they prepare final copies of their papers on schedule. The Publication Chair may also obtain preliminary machine-readable versions of papers, if they are available, for electronic distribution prior to the symposium.
Term The Publicity Chair is appointed by the Steering Committee, with possibilities of being reappointed while willing to continue to serve.
Term The Finance Chair is appointed by the General Chair for one year, although for continuity and oversight reasons, Finance Chairs are normally retained for as many years as they are willing to serve.
Budget This task requires coordination and agreement with the sponsor (the IEEE Computer Society’s Technical Committee on Security and Privacy and IEEE Computer Society) to plan the income (registration fees, grants, donations, etc.) and the expenses before the symposium, to close the budget after the symposium and to provide support for a final audit, if required.
Constituency The Steering Committee consists of an elected Steering Committee Chair, serving for five years, last five years’ worth of Program Committee and General Chairs, and three “members at large”, appointed by the Steering Committee Chair with approval of the Steering Committee for the duration of 5 years. Publication, Publicity, and Finance Chairs are members of the Steering Committee while they hold that position.
TCSP Representation The current Chair of the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Security and Privacy, or a designate, is a Steering Committee member.
Meetings The Steering Committee may meet in person at the symposium. In addition, the Steering Committee may interact electronically at various times when its advice is needed.
Selection of General Chair and Program Chair The Steering Committee appoints a General Chair and Program Chair each year, or whenever new appointments are needed. In each case, selection of a new Chair is by vote among the members available, and is usually conducted by e-mail.
Chair The Chair of the Steering Committee is appointed by consensus of the Steering Committee.
Amendment of Charter The Steering Committee can amend the charter. A reasonable attempt must be made to notify all active Steering Committee members of proposed changes, at least two weeks prior to a vote. Changes must be approved by a vote with a majority of active members.
Updated May 2019