The most recent email you sent was likely encrypted using a tried-and-true method that relies on the idea that even the fastest computer would be unable to efficiently break a gigantic number into factors.

MIT professor of electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) member Vinod Vaikuntanathan was one of four outstanding undergraduate teachers and mentors have been named MacVicar Faculty Fellows. He joins professor of EECS Karl Berggren, professor of political science Andrea Campbell, and associate professor of music Emily Richmond Pollock in receiving the honor.

In George Orwell’s novel “1984,” Big Brother watches citizens through two-way, TV-like telescreens to surveil citizens without any cameras. In a similar fashion, our current smart devices contain ambient light sensors, which open the door to a different threat: hackers.

A new system called Speranza is aimed at reassuring software consumers that the product they are getting has not been tampered with and is coming directly from a source they trust.