Abstract of Talk:

Trucks play a very role important role in driving the nation's economy, moving more than 70% of all the freights transported in the US by weight. Any event that grounds all trucks even for a few days, have severe consequences, including food shortages, hospitals exhausting their oxygen supplies, and gas stations running out of fuel. While we have not yet faced such a situation, the way modern heavy vehicles are designed, this increasingly looks like a distinct possibility. Modern day trucks are equipped with numerous sensors, embedded controllers, communication networks, and electro-mechanical systems that work in tandem to improve their performance, efficiency, safety, connectivity, and user-experience. However, they also bring up serious cyber threats to the truck's operation. This talk discusses cyber security vulnerabilities our group has identified that span across all modern day heavy vehicles and allow a hacker to access the embedded controller network of a truck to cause different types of attacks. We present some approaches for detecting attacks in real-time and show how we can distinguish them from safety-critical events. We have developed reporting tools and techniques that can aid the heavy vehicle drivers in near real-time to make informed decisions in the event of a cyber attack. We conclude by discussing some of our future research directions in heavy vehicle security.

Brief Profile:

Indrakshi Ray is a Professor in the Computer Science Department at Colorado State University. She has also been a visiting faculty at Air Force Research Laboratory, Naval Research Laboratory, and at INRIA, Rocquencourt, France. Prior to joining Colorado State, she was a faculty at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She obtained her Ph.D. from George Mason University under the joint supervision of Professor Sushil Jajodia and Professor Paul Ammann. Her Master's degree in Computer Science and Engineering is from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. Her Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science and Technology is from B.E.College, Kolkata, India. Dr. Ray's research interests include security...Read More

Abstract of Talk:

Transportation electrification is one of the objectives towards reducing urban pollution and decarbonization. Majority of the nations are now focussing on e-mobility in order to accomplish the goals. However, decarbonization behind battery EV charging is a concern because of the carbon footprint due to the electric power generation. In addition, electrification of gasoline vehicles does not reduce the concerns of traffic congestion and safety on the road. This keynote talk will address the issues of on road safety and traffic congestion by the conceptualisation of connected vehicles. It demands for more electronics instead of more electric technologies in vehicles. The talk will address the technologies, merits as well as challenges behind connected vehicles technologies.

Brief Profile:

Akshay Kumar Rathore is an IEEE Fellow and expert in power electronics and control of electrical motor drives. He is currently a Professor and Program leader of Electrical Power Engineering at Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore. From 2011-2015, he served as an Assistant Professor in Electrical   and   Computer   Engineering, National   University   of Singapore. From 2016-2021, he served as an Associate Professor in Electrical   and   Computer   Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada where he was listed in the Provost Circle of Distinction in 2021. He served as the Graduate Program Director and Chair of Graduate Awards during 2020-21. Dr. Rathore is a recipient   of   the   2013   IEEE   IAS   Andrew   W.   Smith Outstanding Young Member Achievement Award, 2014 Isao Takahashi Power Electronics Award, 2017 IEEE IES David Irwin Early Career Award, 2019 IES Publications Service Recognition Award, 2020   IEEE   Bimal   Bose   Award   for   Industrial Electronics Applications in Energy Systems, 2021 Nagamori Award, and 2023 Distinguished Alumna Award (Young Achiever Category -IIT BHU Varanasi). He published about 300 research papers in international journals and conferences, including 105 IEEE TRANSACTIONS. Dr. Rathore is currently serving as the co-Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, IEEE Fellow Evaluation Committee member of IEEE IES Society, and member of the IEEE Nikola Tesla Award Committee. 

Abstract of Talk:

In recent years, the integration of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, powered by large language models, has led to remarkable progress in the field of mental health care. One of the most notable developments has been the incorporation of AI in digital interventions, such as smartphone apps, to optimize user experience and enhance the effectiveness of mental health treatment. With the emergence of data-driven AI approaches, which focus on leveraging the vast amount of available data, language - a critical aspect of human cognition - can now be quantitatively analyzed using natural language processing to create conversational agents for therapeutic intervention. This talk will provide an overview of the current techniques and tools employed in large language models and mental health support, as well as exploring the future potential of this rapidly evolving field.

Brief Profile:

Dr Heena Rathore is presently Assistant Professor in Department of Computer Science at Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA. She formerly held positions as Assistant Professor of Practice at University of Texas at San Antonio and Visiting Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University at Texarkana. She has also worked as Data Scientist and Program Manager at Hiller Measurements, Austin. She received her Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur India while she was a Tata Consultancy Services Research Scholar. For her postdoctoral research, she worked on the US Qatar joint project on Medical Device Security, which included collaborators from Qatar University, the University of Idaho, and Temple University. Her research interests include cognitive AI, cybersecurity of cyber-physical systems, and biologically inspired systems. Dr. Rathore is IEEE Senior member, and chair for IEEE EMBS Lone Star Section. In the past, she has served as ACM Distinguished Speaker, Vice Chair for IEEE Central Texas Section. Her professional and research experience has led to several prestigious awards, including NI Global Engineering Impact Award, Educationist Empowering India, IEEE Region 5 Outstanding Individual Achievement Award, and many others.

Abstract of Talk:

Increasing use of digital technology in Industrial Control Systems (ICS) brings in cyber-security as a crucial threat to the operational continuity of cyber-physical systems (CPS) as well as to public safety. Many security measures, such as intrusion detection and prevention systems, virtual private networks, data diodes or identity management systems that are well-tested in an information technology (IT) setting often cannot be applied directly to the CPS networks since ICSs use different protocols and logic than used in IT systems. Moreover, there is very little understanding or research geared towards the human operators’ response under cyber-security threats, and operation procedures to cope with such threats. Human operators are one of the weakest links in cyber and operational security and can often become unwitting accomplices in an attack. APTRON is an ongoing project that takes a mission centric view of security in Cyber Physical Systems integrating ICS and SCADA systems, IT systems and human users, and develops a formal methodology for quantitative security risk assessment and mitigation. In APTRON, a mission is abstracted as a complex network of networks defined by dependencies between various system activities, user activities, and resources. The continuity of the mission is more important than protecting the computing infrastructure on which it executes from cyber-attacks.
In other words, the system needs to continue to provide mission related services in the face of an attack even though it may have to suffer some collateral damage from security attacks. In the worst case, there needs to be provisions for the graceful degradation of mission services by avoiding cascading catastrophic failures, when all defensive measures have failed. Interestingly, such a change in paradigm from the traditional asymmetric attacker-defender warfare, where the defender is trying to plug all possible security holes and the attacker is trying to exploit just one, enables a defender to proactively define and deploy defensive strategies in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. In this talk, we discuss the underlying formal framework for APTRON. It is based on the paradigm of attack graphs. The attack graph model allows the defender to articulate and reason about the dependencies between a mission's cyber assets, the mission's activities and objectives, the effect of various types of end-users on the mission, and the effects of a cyber-attack on the continuity of the mission. We discuss some of our work in how to automate the generation of attack graphs from vulnerability descriptions and system configuration, how to perform network defense cost-benefit analysis and some strategies for risk mitigation that allow one to adapt the defense response to emerging threats.

Brief Profile:

Prof Indrajit Ray is a Professor at Colorado State University. He joined the Computer Science Department faculty at Colorado State University in the fall of 2001. Prior to that (Fall 1997 to Winter 2001) he was an Assistant Professor in Computer and Information Science at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. His main research interests are in the areas of data and application security, network security, security modelling, risk management, trust models, privacy and digital forensics. At Colorado State University, He is a member of the Data and Applications Security Group, the Network Security Group, and the Software Assurance Laboratory. His research has been funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Federal Aviation Administration. He was one of the founding members and the first Chair of the IFIP TC-11 Working Group 11.9 on Digital Forensics. He has served on numerous conference program committees and organizing committees, on grant review panels, and as an external evaluator of academic programs. He is currently serving on the editorial board of three international journals. Prof Ray is a member of the IEEE Computer Society, ACM, ACM Special Interest Group on Security Audit and Control, IFIP WG 11.3 on Data and Applications Security and IFIP WG 11.9 on Digital Forensics. He received a PhD in Information Technology from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA in 1997. My undergraduate degree is B.E. in Computer Science and Engineering, received from Bengal Engineering College, India (currently known as Bengal Engineering and Science University) in 1984. He also received the M.E. degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Jadavpur University, India, in 1991.

Abstract of Talk:

Metaverse term has different aspects and concepts for the readers. The easy understanding of a reader’s metaverse is a new way of hue cyberspace. Metaverse does not refer to any specific technology but several cutting-edge technologies and how those will be used under specific conditions. Mainly it focuses on social networks in 3D virtual reality mode. It creates a virtual space by the combination of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. This virtual world provides a lot within its virtual cyberspace, including digital currency, digital and virtual economy, and multiple owners can own it. Users can be able to buy and sell their goods and properties, and even users can sell and purchase other livelihood items including cars, clothes, and other living items. Metaverse claims even more at the next level to use the NFTs technology for digital assets. We expect many opportunities from Metaverse and its related technologies in the near future. Besides of these opportunities, the expected cybersecurity challenges are there as well, some of them such as NFTs, Darkverse, Financial fraud, Privacy issues, Cyber-physical threats, Virtual/augmented/mixed/extended reality threats, social engineering, and other related threats.

Brief Profile:

Professor Dr. Noor Zaman Jhanjhi, often referred to as N.Z. Jhanjhi, holds the esteemed position of Professor in Computer Science with specializations in Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence. He currently serves as the Program Director for Postgraduate Research Degree Programmes in Computer Science and Director of the Center for Smart Society (CSS5) at Taylor’s University, Malaysia. Recognized as one of the world’s top 2% research scientists for consecutive years in 2022 and 2023, he is esteemed as one of Malaysia's top three computer science researchers. Notably, he was honored as an Outstanding Faculty Member by MDEC Malaysia in 2022.

Prof. Jhanjhi boasts a prolific publication record with numerous highly indexed works in WoS/ISI/SCI/SCIE/Scopus, accumulating a collective research impact factor exceeding 1000 points. His Google Scholar H-index stands at an impressive 65, with an I-10 Index approaching 291, and a Scopus H-index of 42. With over 600 publications to his credit, including several international patents in Australia, Germany, the UK, and Japan, Prof. Jhanjhi has significantly contributed to the academic discourse.

An accomplished editor and author, he has curated over 50 research books published by esteemed publishers such as Springer, IGI Global USA, Taylor & Francis, IET, Elsevier, Wiley, Bentham, and Intech Open. Prof. Jhanjhi excels in mentoring postgraduate scholars, with over 38 scholars graduating under his tutelage. He also serves as Associate Editor and Editorial Assistant Board member for reputable journals and has received accolades such as the Outstanding Associate Editor award for IEEE ACCESS.

Renowned as a top-tier reviewer by Publons (Web of Science), Prof. Jhanjhi has evaluated over 60 theses as an external Ph.D./Master thesis examiner for universities worldwide. His extensive academic qualifications span 10 years and encompass accreditation bodies such as ABET, NCAAA, and NCEAC. Prof. Jhanjhi's diverse research interests encompass Cybersecurity, AI, IoT Security, Wireless Security, Data Science, Software Engineering, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Additionally, he has been invited as a keynote speaker for over 60 international conferences and has chaired numerous international conference sessions.

https://expert.taylors.edu.my/cv/noorzaman.jhanjhi
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=J6QVIncAAAAJ&view_op=list_works

Abstract of Talk:

A vehicular Ad-hoc Network is a wireless network that provides comfort while driving and enhances safety. A tremen-dous amount of information is exchanged between vehicles and roadside units. While exchanging information, we should prevent others from identifying the subject of communication or learning one's location. The current privacy-preserving approaches for Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs) generally maintain many pseudonyms for a single vehicle, neglecting to consider the need for a secret identity. These authentication approaches make managing pseudonyms challenging and revocation inefficient. To handle this issue one of the methods is use of blockchain. As it has various properties such as immutability, transparency, distributed consensus etc.

Brief Profile:

Prof Meenakshi Tripathi is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at MNIT Jaipur. She received her PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from the MNIT in 2015. She has over 14 years of teaching experience in computer science and information security. She has published more than 100 research articles in leading journals, conference proceedings and books, including IEEE Transactions, IJCS, Computer Networks, journal of Supercomputing etc.. Under her guidance, four students have already been awarded their Ph.D. degrees, and five more are working with her. She has supervised around 30 PG students and more than 60 UG students for their project work. She holds several professional designations, including Dean at Rajasthan Skilled University Jaipur, BoS member of the University of Kota, Ex-chairman of CSI Jaipur chapter, BoS member of the Central University of Rajasthan etc. She is a senior member of IEEE, ACM and a lifelong member of CSI. Her research interests include information security, wireless sensor networks, IoT, Software Defined Networks, blockchain etc.