Information Sciences and Computer Science Departments Host Prof. Amr El Abbadi for a Scientific Lecture on Data Privacy and Scalability

The Information Sciences Department at the College of Life Sciences, in collaboration with the Computer Science Department at the College of Science at Kuwait University, hosted Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), Prof. Amr El Abbadi, on Tuesday, February 11, 2026, to deliver a specialized scientific lecture.

The lecture, titled “Practical Approaches to Private and Scalable Data Management Systems,” addressed one of the most significant technical challenges of the digital age: achieving a balance between protecting data privacy and ensuring system efficiency and scalability.

In this context, Prof. El Abbadi highlighted the growing body of global data protection regulations, most notably the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union. He emphasized that the challenge extends beyond protecting stored data to also safeguarding data access patterns, which can themselves reveal sensitive information and expose systems to security risks.

During his talk, he discussed the latest cryptographic techniques aimed at enabling practical private data access. He reviewed the concept of Oblivious RAM (ORAM) as a leading method that enables untraceable access to encrypted data. He also introduced the QuORAM system, which enhances ORAM capabilities by incorporating fault tolerance through quorum-based replication protocols, ensuring continued data protection even in cases of system failures.

Regarding public data, he examined Private Information Retrieval (PIR) mechanisms and the challenges associated with implementing them in Key-Value storage systems, particularly when the precise data location is unknown to the user. He further explored emerging research directions that rely on Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) to improve performance, scalability, and query flexibility while preserving privacy.

Prof. El Abbadi concluded his lecture with a forward-looking perspective on the role of large language models and the potential for enabling Private Inference in artificial intelligence systems, especially amid the rapid global expansion of these technologies.

The lecture witnessed notable attendance and engagement from faculty members and students, underscoring the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing global challenges related to data privacy and information security. This event forms part of the departments’ ongoing efforts to enhance academic engagement and foster research collaboration with internationally distinguished institutions.

At the conclusion of the event, Prof. Amr El Abbadi was honored by Acting Head of the Information Sciences Department, Prof. Qasem Saleh, in recognition of his scientific contributions and valuable lecture, which enriched attendees and strengthened knowledge in the fields of data privacy and information security.