My research focuses on cyber situational awareness, risk modeling and analytics, AI/ML, and distributed systems, with the goal of helping defenders make timely, evidence-based decisions in modern heterogeneous infrastructures. I developed CyVIA, a three-dimensional security framework that integrates risk and vulnerability assessment with cyber threat intelligence to support continuous, infrastructure-aware security analysis. I have recently extended CyVIA with an AI/ML layer to improve scalable vulnerability understanding and prioritization, while keeping human judgment central to determining whether risk is actionable or acceptable.
In addition to risk analytics, I collaborate on complementary directions such as risk-informed adaptive cyber deception to mitigate early-stage reconnaissance in IoT environments under resource constraints. My current projects span continuous cyber risk assessment, dynamic risk modeling for large-scale cyber-physical systems, and practical defenses for emerging infrastructures. I welcome new ideas and collaborations, please feel free to reach out.
CyVIA (Cyber-threats and Vulnerability Information Analyzer) is a security analytics project designed to improve cyber situational awareness through continuous, risk-informed assessment of complex infrastructures. CyVIA consolidates vulnerability and threat intelligence from multiple sources into a unified, multi-format knowledge base and uses this information to support dynamic risk and vulnerability analysis for large-scale, heterogeneous cyber environments. More recently, CyVIA has been extended with an AI/ML layer to help scale vulnerability understanding and prioritization, while keeping human judgment central to determining whether identified risk is actionable or acceptable.
CyRISK+ integrates telemetry, behavioral analytics, and contextual intelligence to generate adaptive, real-time risk scoring and mitigation recommendations.
Published work: Syscon24, Syscon23, EAI22, Meditcom21, ICCCN20
The IoT Smart-Home Lab will provide students with hands-on opportunities to explore security and forensic issues in emerging technologies. By studying smart devices, students will analyze vulnerabilities, simulate attacks such as replay, man-in-the-middle, and eavesdropping, and practice defensive countermeasures. At the same time, Justice Studies students will use the lab to develop digital forensic and investigative skills, collecting and analyzing data artifacts from IoT environments.
Collaborators:
Dr. Denise Nation, Justice Studies Department, Winston-Salem State University
Darien Robinson, Justice Studies Department, Winston-Salem State University
I am currently seeking students to participate in a research project on network threat hunting at scale, involving large-scale network simulation and active traffic generation to identify and flag malicious applications and activities using AI-assisted detection analytics. Preferred qualifications include experience with virtualization and containers; computer networks and network security; vulnerability and risk assessment; and proficiency in Python programming, as well as familiarity with AI/ML concepts.
Awarded funding from the Office of Research & Innovation to continue the research on CyRISK+: AI-Driven Real-Time Cyber Risk Assessment Framework
Awarded NC Collaboratory funding as PI to create an IoT Smart-Home Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics research lab
Dr. Debzani Deb, Computer Science Department, Winston-Salem State University
Dr. Jafar Gharavi-Naeini, Department of Chemistry, Winston-Salem State University
Dr. Denise Nation, Justice Studies Department, Winston-Salem State University
Darien Robinson, Justice Studies Department, Winston-Salem State University
Christian Griffin, Graduate Student, Winston-Salem State University
Dr. Nazia Sharmin, Computer Science Department, Appalachian State University
Dr. Deepak Tosh, Associate Professor, University of Texas at El Paso
Dr. Martin Zhao, Associate Professor, Mercer University
Hayden Amazon, Cybersecurity Major Undergraduate - Poster BEAR Day 2024
Reilly Holbel, Cybersecurity Major, Undergraduate