UNSW researchers receive major funding

Transportation is the lifeblood of any city. An efficient, safe, and secure transport system is critical to supporting a developing mobile population. The growing adoption of technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence facilitates the provision of more intelligent, integrated, and connected transport solutions. This leads to the increase in digitalised transport networks, with a broad range of data flowing across systems and widespread tracking and monitoring of digital and physical networks.

As more devices and control systems are connected online, more vulnerabilities arise, increasing the potential for disruption from cyber-attacks. Approximately a quarter of all cyber incidents reported to the Australian Cyber Security Centre during the 2020-21 reporting period were associated with Australia’s critical infrastructure or essential services.

The Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre (CSCRC) has announced a major project funding that involves close collaboration between Cisco and UNSW to devise practical solutions to address critical requirements associated with the adoption of IoT in intelligent transport. The projects brings a team of experts across the School of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), Institute for Cyber Security (IFCYBER), and the School of Engineering and IT (SEIT) and is led by Dr Arash Shaghaghi. The project is funded under CSCRC's "Security and Configuration Management of Internet of Things" theme led by Professor Sanjay Jha.

Cisco’s lead in this project, Simon Finn, believes this is a project with significant potential. “Provenance, trustworthiness, and assurance of IoT data processing and management are critical requirements for IoT deployments in intelligent transport”.

Professor Flora Salim, Cisco Chair and Professor in the School of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at UNSW, believes that the close collaboration with Cisco as one of Australia’s key industry players in enabling secure and efficient critical infrastructure and transportation is “a unique opportunity for collaborative research with immediate impact”.

The project team includes Dr Arash Shaghaghi, Professor Flora Salim, A/Prof Gustavo Batista, Professor Ruhul Sarker, A/Prof Aleksander Ignjatovic, and Professor Sanjay Jha.