Associate Professor (Dr) Sheeba Armoogum

ABOUT Associate Professor (Dr) Sheeba Armoogum

Dr. Sheeba Armoogum is an Associate Professor in the Department of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) within the Faculty of Information, Communication & Digital Technologies (FoICDT) at the University of Mauritius. She is a globally recognised Cybersecurity Architect, an academic leader, and a patent-holding innovator with over 20 years of experience encompassing research, higher education, policy, and strategic industry collaboration. In addition to her academic role, she serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director (INED) at Rogers Capital Technology Services Ltd since February 2023, where she contributes to board-level decisions regarding digital transformation, technology governance, and cybersecurity resilience. 

Dr. Armoogum holds a PhD in Cybersecurity, a master's degree in Computer Science, and graduated with a degree in Physics, Mathematics, and Electronics. She is certified in Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) under ISO/IEC 27001:2022, 17021-1:2015, and ISO 27006-1:2024. Additionally, she possesses formal certifications in Research Ethics from TRREE and in blockchain development from IBM. 

She is the Founder and Group Head of the CyberSecurity & Forensics Research Group (CSFRG), through which she leads a portfolio of research projects and capacity-building initiatives. She is the co-inventor of the AI-Driven Ethical Governance System for Unified Cyber Threat Intelligence and Digital Forensics Incident Response, filed under WIPO classification G06F, and the sole inventor of an Extended Genetic Technique-Based Intrusion Detection and Prevention System, patented under WIPO classification H04L.

Her interdisciplinary research interests encompass:

● Cybersecurity and Cyber Defence [Threat Intelligence (CTI), Incident Response (DFIR), OSINT, Quantum Cybersecurity and Post-Quantum Cryptography, Cryptographic Systems for AI and Privacy]

● Forensics and Investigative Technologies [Cyber Forensics (Network, Cloud, Mobile), Deepfake and Synthetic Media Forensics, Dark Web Forensics and Digital Traceability]

● AI and Cognitive Technologies [Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and NLP, Federated Learning, Quantum AI, Privacy-Preserving and Explainable AI Systems, Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) and Brain-Integrated AI]

● Societal and Psychological Dimensions [Cyberpsychology: Mental Health, Online Behaviour, and Digital Ethics, Psychological Profiling of Offenders and Victims in Digital Space]

● Networking and Emerging Architectures [Secure Wireless, Sensor, and IoT Networks, Cloud, Edge, and Blockchain-based Security Models]

Dr. Armoogum currently supervises PhD projects on cyber resilience frameworks, cyberpsychology-informed security design, and AI-driven mitigation of cyberbullying and sextortion. She has mentored numerous postgraduate and undergraduate projects addressing network forensics, malware detection, ransomware mitigation, offensive cyber profiling, and AI-integrated digital forensics.

As a Principal and Co-Investigator, she has secured and led multiple funded projects supported by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the University of Mauritius in various areas, including diversity and inclusion in tech-driven workplaces, AI-enabled assessment tools in engineering education, natural language processing for low-resource languages, marine ecology monitoring using AI and computer vision, and neural machine translation for local linguistic contexts. 

Her global visibility complements her academic contributions as a keynote speaker and research fellow. She has addressed major international events across the United States, Iceland, India, Poland, South Africa, and Mauritius on responsible AI, cyber risk governance, and digital forensics. She is currently a Research Fellow at INTI International University in Malaysia and a Visiting Faculty member at Alt_Ed, Growth Ten, in South Africa.

Her excellence has been recognised through multiple honours, including Africa’s Woman Leaders Award 2024, the STEM Academia & Research Gold Award 2024, the GlobalWIIN Special Recognition Award 2023 in Reykjavik, and a listing among the Top 45 Most Influential Women in Digital Transformation in Africa by CIO Africa.

She has held several strategic roles at the University of Mauritius, including Head of Department and Subject Specialist in Cybersecurity for the Higher Education Commission of Mauritius, among others. She continues to contribute as a technical expert for the Mauritius Accreditation Services. She serves on the editorial boards of various international journals, acting as an executive advisor for cybersecurity standardisation bodies across the African continent.

Through her leadership in research, policy, and innovation, Dr. Sheeba Armoogum continues to shape the future of cybersecurity with a commitment to responsible governance, inclusive education, and resilient technological ecosystems.

Community Outreach Services 

1. Professional Speaker (Speech title: “Responsible AI: Hallucinations, Bias, Cybersecurity, Ethics and Governance”) for the InnovationMauritius.com International Conference [Conference theme: AI Evolved: Navigating the Shift from Generative to Agentic AI, Its Impact on the Workforce and Workplace, May 2025. 

2. Keynote Speaker (Speech title: “Navigating the future: Unleashing the power of Technology Application with Responsible Governance”) for the 5th Africa Directors' Summit 2025, Mauritius, April 2025. 

3. Professional Speaker (Speech title: “Breaking The Barriers In Cybersecurity: A Journey of Empowerment”) for the Intel Cyber Academy Dubai & Women In Cybersecurity (WICS), November 2024. 

4. Keynote Speaker (Speech title: "A Roadmap for Inclusive Globalisation in The Digital Age" under the theme “Globalisation Reimagined In the Digital Era: Shaping an Interconnected Future") for the Research Conference organised by Richfield, South Africa, October 2024.

5. Professional Speaker (Speech title: “Hacking the Human: Are You the Weekest Link in Your Cybersecurity?”) for the Comsure’s 6th Annual Mauritius Financial Crime Conference, August, 2024, Mauritius.

6. Professional Speaker (Speech title: “Leveraging AI and Data Security to Revolutionize Investment Management and Client Engagement”) for the 3rd Annual Africa Pension Technology & Innovation Conference, August, 2024, Mauritius.

7. Keynote Speaker (Speech title: “Digital Forensic Methods for Generative AI-based Crimes”) for the Information Security Engagement, Los Angeles Chapter, by ISSA, August 21, 2024, Culver City, California, USA. 

8. Keynote Speaker (Speech title: “Hacking the Human: Are You the Weekest Link in Your Cybersecurity?”) for the Center for Cyber Security Studies & Research, July 2024, Rajastan, India.

9. Professional Speaker (Speech title: “Before You Post, THINK: Are You Sharing Smart?”) for the Toastmasters International, organised by the ACE Speakers Toastmasters, June 2024, Mauritius.

10. Professional Speaker (Speech title: “Emerging Trends in Cybersecurity Research”) for the IEEE WIE Student Branch Affinity Group, June 2024, University of Jaffna, SriLanka.

11. Professional Speaker (Speech title: “Cybersecurity & Personal Leadership”) for the IEEE WIE Student Branch Affinity Group, April 2024, University of Jaffna, SriLanka.

12. Invited Speaker for the Cybercrime & Cybersecurity Awareness workshop for the Le Bocage International School (LBIS) students, organised by the CyberSecurity & Forensics Research Group (CSFRG), March 27, 2024, Mauritius.

13. Panelist Speaker (Theme title: “Technology and Inclusion”) for the KIP Conference on “Leveraging Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for better performance”, 26 March 2024, Caudan Arts Center, Mauritius. 

14. Invited Speaker for the International Women’s Day 2024 for the theme "Remarkable Women Storytellers" organised by the Women In Tech Africa, Mauritius Chapter, 1st March 2024, @The Honoris Educational Network, Mauritius.

15. Keynote speaker for the “Tech Day – Innovate for a Sustainable Future” for the theme Cybersecurity & Business Resilience, (Speech Title : “Generative AI: Ethical perspective and Cybersecurity Considerations in Business” – AI Hallucination ), 25 October 2023 @The Ravenala Altitude Hotel, Balaclava, Mauritius. 

16. Keynote speaker for the Association of African Business Schools Deans and Directors Forum 2023 for the theme ““Power of Partnerships: African Business Schools Driving Economic and Social Development“ (Speech Title : “Leveraging Partnerships for Innovative Solutions”, 15-17 November 2023 @Westin Turtle Bay Resort & Spa, Balaclava, Mauritius. 

17. Invited Speaker (Speech title: Enhanced Cognitive Performance Using Brain-Computer Interface) for the Global Meet on Robot Intelligence Technology and Applications, SW-RITA2023, October 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 

 ( https://www.sciencewidemeetings.com/robot-tech/#invitedspeakers )

18. Invited Speaker for the Cybercrime & Cybersecurity Awareness workshop for the Le Bocage International School (LBIS) Teaching & Non-Teaching staff organised by the CyberSecurity & Forensics Research Group (CSFRG), October 2, 2023.

19. Panelist Speaker (Speech title: The Roadmap to Information Security) for the International Conference on Cybersecurity, Financial Crime & Digital Forensics 2023, Mauritius, September 26, 2023. 

20. Guest Speaker (Speech title: “Raising Awareness on Intellectual Property (IP)”) for the Global Women Inventors & Innovators Network (GlobalWIIN) Women4Solutions & Sustainability Conference 2023, Reykjavik, Iceland, September 6-8, 2023. (https://globalwiin.com/programme/)

21. Invited Speaker for the Cybercrime & Cybersecurity Awareness workshop organised by the CyberSecurity & Forensics Research Group (CSFRG) for the Loreto College Quatre Bornes students of Grade 7 and Grade 8, September 2023.

22. Keynote Speaker for the Economic Crime Prevention Conference, organized by Centre for Legal and Business Studies (CLBS) and Comsure Group, July 2023. ( https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7059784369594327040/)

23. Keynote Speaker for the 8th Global Webinar on Forensic Science for the theme related to Digital Forensics, July 19-20 2023. (https://www.globalscientificguild.com/forensic-science/)

24. Main Speaker for the Cybercrime, Cybersecurity & Cyber Forensic Investigation Workshop in practice on cybercrime themes "Sextortion, Cyber Bullying, Scamming And Child Abuse” organized by the CyberSecurity & Forensics Research Group (CSFRG), University of Mauritius, 12 June 2023.

25. Keynote Speaker for the International Women’s Day 2023 for the theme "Embrace Equity" organised by Ceridian Mauritius, April 2023.

26. Speaker for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW67) NGO Forum 2023 for the theme “Innovation, technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”, presented by TCF Global, BEC Global & BPW Business Incubator, Australia, 6th to 17th March 2023.

27. Guest of Honour for the Mauritius Independence Day 2023 held at Ébène State Secondary School (Girls), Ébène, Mauritius. 

28. Main Speaker for the Cybersecurity Awareness Webinar by the University of Pondicherry, India, 17 December 2022. 

29. Keynote Speaker for the 2022 International Conference on Intelligent and Innovative Computing Application (ICONIC 2022), The Ravenala Altitude Hotel, Balaclava, Mauritius December 8-9, 2022. (https://mauricon.org/index.php/speakers/)

30. Speaker for the Cybersecurity Awareness Webinar on "How to be Cybersmart...Practical Tips and Guidelines" by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa, 27 October 2022. 

Presentation link ( https://youtu.be/JXlKGZg1rTw)

31. Panelist Speaker for The Industry 5.0 Conference 2022 on the topic "Rise of robotic revolution and its impact of cybersecurity on robots and the Future trends on the impact of robots in the security aspects" under the theme of “Innovation Duality 5.0: Pivoting for a Future-proofed Sustainable Human-centric Era", October 2022, The Ravenala Altitude Hotel, Balaclava, Mauritius. The conference is organised in collaboration with the Uniciti Education Hub of the Medine Group, Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC), Harel Mallac Technologies (HMT), and Team SYNthesis.

32. Panelist Speaker for The Women In Tech Week 2022 (20 October 2022) under the theme: “Privacy – Enhancing Computation”, organised by the Women In Tech Africa, Mauritius Chapter @The Caudan Art Centre, Mauritius.

33. Main Speaker on the topic of Cybersecurity for the Number Resource Society (NRS), Voila Hotel, Mauritius, 7 October 2022.

34. Guest Lecturer/Speaker in Cybersecurity for the ERASMUS+ programme at the University College of Enterprise and Administration in Lublin, POLAND, 13 – 17 June 2022.

35. Panelist Speaker for the sectoral discussion on “IT & Emerging Technologies” for Mauritius Research & Innovation Council (MRIC) conference 2022 “Assises de la Recherche et de l’Innovation” to set the foundations of a National Masterplan for technology, research, and Innovation for the Republic of Mauritius. (27th April 2022 to 29th April 2022) 

Video Link: https://youtu.be/JKnGqlGBlKc

36. Main Speaker for the "Awareness of Cybersecurity": organised by the CyberSecurity & Forensics Research Group (CSFRG), Women Techmakers Mauritius and Google Developer Student Clubs (9th April 2022 to 7th May 2022). 

37. Panelist Speaker for The Women In Tech Week 2021 under the theme: “Career Conversation with Women in Cybersecurity”, organised by the Women In Tech Africa, Mauritius Chapter.

38. Panellist moderator for the “Securing FinTech’s Future: Opportunities & Challenges in FinTech Cybersecurity” organised by the Mauritius|Africa Fintech Hub (MAFH). 

Video Link: https://youtu.be/LHT_KIodn9w

Since 2004, the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCSA) in its vision of empowering a more secure interconnected world has dedicated the month of October to Cybersecurity awareness. In line with one of the core missions of the Faculty of Information, Communication and Digital Technologies to “Engage in ICT-related activities with the community”, I desire to share my knowledge and expertise in the field of Cybersecurity with different schools, colleges & universities in Mauritius to create a Cybersecurity culture. Awareness of cyber security aims to ensure that users are aware of risks that they can face with online activities because end-users play a vital role in ensuring the security of networks and information systems. The main objective of cybersecurity awareness education is to educate the pupils and teachers of schools and colleges; and students & staff of universities; in Mauritius on the potential risks they face when using internet communication tools, such as social media, chat, online gaming, email and instant messaging with a focus on work from home vulnerabilities and learn from home vulnerabilities.  

The activities include:

1.    Educate staff & students on different cyber threats faced such as Identity Theft, Cyberbullying, Online Harassment,  Online Fraud, Hacking, Offensive Content, Invasion of Privacy, File Sharing & Privacy, Ransomware, and Cyberespionage.

2.    Raise awareness of the sensitivity of data on computer systems & mobile devices.

3.    Educate on Cyber Hygiene to maintain a healthy Cybersecurity culture.

4.    Provide precautionary measures for avoidance of vulnerabilities to cyberattacks during online learning.

5.    Recommend best practices to prevent data breaches.

Patent, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

1. INTERNATIONAL PATENT: South African Patent for the invention of a method/system for Intrusion Detection and Prevention System, registered at the South African Patent Office, Republic of South Africa.

INVENTOR: Associate Professor (Dr.) Sheeba Armoogum

Valid period: March 2022 to March 2042

Career

Following my Master's degree, I took up my first full-time academic post at the Faculty of Engineering, the University of Mauritius in July 2006. Subsequently, I got promoted to Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering in the year 2016 and then to Associate Professor. In 2017, I was appointed as the first Head of the Department of Information and Communication Technologies for the newly formed Faculty of Information, Communication & Digital Technologies (FoICDT). Below are the different positions I served or currently serving at the University of Mauritius:

1. Group Head of the CyberSecurity & Forensics Research Group (2021 - Present).

2. Link Coordinator for the partnership between the University of Mauritius and Harel Mallac Technologies Ltd. (October 2022 - Present)

3. Link Coordinator for the Academic Partnership between the University of Mauritius and EC-Council (Feb 2021 - Present).3

4. Member of the Doctoral School committee for Structured Course/Module for MPhil/PhD Students (June 2021 - present).

5. Member of Innovation Lab Steering Committee between the University of Mauritius and Ceridian (Mauritius) Ltd (April 2021 - present).

6. Member of Project Monitoring Committee for the Review / Replacement of  PBX at the University (2021 - present)

7. Member of Faculty Research Advisory Committee (FRAC), (2020 - 2021).

8. Jury Panel member for University of Mauritius Hackathon 2020.

9. Head of Department of Information & Communication Technologies (2017-2019).

10. Member of the Research Week Intellectual Property(IP)  Committee (2007)

Publications

Check out Research &Publicaitons details!

Professional Certifications

1. Certified for the International PATENT registered at the South African Patent Office in the field of Cybersecurity ascribed for Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems. (Validity March 2022 - March 2042).

2. Certified in Research Ethics (TREEE Certification, supported by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership & Swiss National Science Foundation) 2021.

3. Certified in Research Ethics Evaluation (TRREE Certification, supported by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership & Swiss National Science Foundation) 2021.

4. Blockchain Developer Mastery Award by IBM, 2018.

Positions outside University

1. (April 2024- August 2024) Consultant: Consultancy to part-time lecture on the module Cybercrime and Cybersecurity for the Master in LLM programme at the University of Technology, Mauritius.

2. (April 2023)  Subject specialist for the accreditation of the “Master of Information Systems and Technology with Data Analytics and Visualisation Specialisation” Programme to be offered at Curtin Mauritius and awarded by Curtin University, Australia @ the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Mauritius.

3. (April 2023) Jury for the Girls in ICT 2023 Short Video Competition for the theme "Digital Skills for Life" organised by the National Computer Board (NCB) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology.

4. (November 2022- May 2023) Consultant: Consultancy to part-time lecture the two modules Digital Forensics & Investigation 1 and Digital Forensics & Investigation 2 under the two programmes MSc Cybersecurity Level 1 and Level 2 at the Amity Institute of Higher Education Mauritius.

5.  (July 2021)  Subject specialist in the field of Cybersecurity for the accreditation of the “Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) (Network Technology and Cyber Security)” programmes (2021) @ the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Mauritius.

6. (March 2022 - present)  Technical Expert for the Information Security Management System (ISMS) at Mauritius Accreditation Service MAURITAS. 

7. (2008- 2012) External Moderator at the University of Technology, Mauritius at the School of Innovative Technologies and Engineering (SITE).

External / National / International Committees

International Committee:

1. (2024) International Postgraduate Project Examiner for the Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia, March – May 2024.

2. (2023) Member of the Technical Committee for the SAMDEX (South African Mobile Devices EXPO 2023 in association with the Department of Higher Education & Training - Republic of South Africa, Department of Science & Innovation - Republic of South Africa, SAMDDRA (South African Mobile Devices Distributors and Repairers Association), @Johannesburg, South Africa.

3. (2024) Member of the Technical Programme Committee (TPC) for the International Conference on Image Enhancement and Computer Vision (ICIECV 2024), China, September 6-8, 2024.

4. (2023) Executive Board Member (representing Mauritius and African Countries) of the International Cyber Security & Investigation Committee (ICSIC), (September 2023 – Present) 

5. (2023) Interim-Chairperson of the Southern African Federation of Engineering Organisation (SAFEO) Industry Committee on ICT (September 2023 – Present) 

6. (2023) Co-Chair for the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and its Applications 2023 (icARTi), October 2023 - Second Edition, 9 & 10 November 2023 at the Preskil Island Resort, Mahebourg, Mauritius.

7. (2023) International Doctoral (PhD) Examiner for the University of KWAZULU-NATAL, South Africa, August – October 2023.

8. (2023) Member of the Technical Programme Committee (TPC) for the International Conference on Image Enhancement and Computer Vision (ICIECV)

9. (2022) Member of the Technical Programme Committee (TPC), Session Chair for the 2022 International Conference on Intelligent and Innovative Computing Application (ICONIC 2022)

10. (2022) Session Chair for the 2022 International Conference on Intelligent and Innovative Computing Application (ICONIC 2022). 

11. (2022) Associate Editor for the International Journal on Future Revolution in Computer Science & Communication Engineering (IJFRCSE)

12. (2022) Session Chair, Reviewer and member of IEEE NEXTCOMP 2022 conference committees. 

13. (2021) Member of the Technical Programme Committee (TPC) for the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and its Applications (icARTi)

14. (2021 - present) Member of the Africa Region to International Cyber Security AFRICC steering committee and Deputy Secretariate of the committee for Southern Africa. The committee is made of a diverse team of dedicated, focused and driven cybersecurity experts. 

15. (2021 - present) Member of the International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICC) steering committee. 

16. (2021 - present) Mentor for the Mauritian participants for the International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICC) competition in Athens Greece, in June 2022.  I am currently mentoring & coaching the selected candidate Deepshikha Meetoo from the course MSc Network Security & Management in the theme related to Reverse Engineering, Digital Forensics & Web Security.

17. (2018) Member of IEEE NEXTCOMP 2019 conference committees.

18. (2014) Member of International Programme Committee (IPC) for IST-Africa 2014 Conference.

19. (2013) Member of IEEE AFRICON 2013 conference committee.

Reviewer for International Journals/Conferences

1. ARRAY Open Access Journal 2023

2. Emerald Publishing Ltd 2021

3. International Conference on Intelligent and Innovative Computing Application (ICONIC 2022)

4. International Conference on Image Enhancement and Computer Vision (ICIECV 2023)

5. International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and its Applications (icARTi 2021)

6. International Conference on Advances in Big Data, Computing and Data Communication Systems (icABCD 2021)

7. International Conference on Intelligent and Innovative Computing Applications (ICONIC 2020)

8. Next Generation Computing Applications (NextComp 2019, NextComp 2022) 

9. AFRICON 2013

10. IST AFRICA 2014

Organisation of Seminars & Workshops

1. Organised workshop on “Cybercrime & Cybersecurity Workshop” University of Mauritius Non-Academic Staff, University of Mauritius, June 2024. (Upcoming)

2. Organised workshop on “Cybercrime, Cybersecurity & Cyber Forensic Investigation Workshop in Practice” @ Paul Octave Wiehe Auditorium, University of Mauritius, June 2023.

3. Organised a virtual workshop on “Morisia 2.0: Translation of Kreol Republik Moris to English and English to Kreol Republik Moris using Natural language processing and deep neural machine Translation Techniques” for the stakeholders in Rodrigues Island, Higher Education Commission Funded Project, 30th May 2023.

4. Organised workshop on “Morisia 2.0: Translation of Kreol Republik Moris to English and English to Kreol Republik Moris using Natural language processing and deep neural machine Translation Techniques” @University of Mauritius, Higher Education Commission Funded Project, 4th May 2023.

5. Organised workshop on “Cybercrime & Cybersecurity Awareness” for teachers and students of Grade 5 & Grade 6 @ Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo Government School, Sodnac Quatre Bornes, April 2023.

6. Organised workshop on "Clean Code: Essential Tips to write code like a pro" in collaboration with Ceridian Mauritius @Ebene Core, May 2022.

7. Organised a workshop on "Cybersecurity Awareness and Prevention" in collaboration with CyberSecurity & Forensics Research Group (CSFRG), Google Developer Student Clubs UoM, and Women Techmakers Mauritius from 9 April to 14 May 2022 (5 weeks). 

8. In collaboration with Ceridian Mauritius, we organized a Virtual workshop on "What are the top skills recruiters are looking for in an IT graduate" on 18 June 2021.