Cyber security research and teaching activities take place in the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, both in our Edinburgh, UK and Dubai, UAE campuses.
Cyber security research takes place across the Department of Computer Science's three research areas: Intelligent Systems, Interaction, and Rigorous Systems. In particular, there are cyber security research activities taking place in several of our research groups.
The Complex Systems Laboratory's cyber security activities primarily relate to the use of machine learning for cyber security data analysis.
The PUMA lab's cyber security activities focus on the personalisation of privacy with particular emphasis on pervasive systems.
The Interactive and Trustworthy Technologies (ITT) group's cyber security activities primarily relate to usable security and privacy.
The Dependable Systems (DS) group's cyber security activities primarily relate to system safety and security.
The Ultra group's cyber security activities primarily relate to software security.
MLSEAN Machine Learning based software systems SEcurity ANalysis (2025-2026)
Description: Mobility project with the Université de Rennes/IRISA.
Investigators: Manuel Maarek, Sophie Pinchinat (Université de Rennes/IRISA), Michael Lones, Sasa Radomirovic
Funding: UK-France Science, Innovation, and Technology Researcher Mobility Scheme
Border Patrol: Improving Smart Device Security through Type-Aware Systems Design (2017-2023)
Description: The goal is to make the design of hardware systems, and in particular smart devices, resilient against hidden malicious functionality by ensuring that devices only do what is expected of them. It combines state-of-the-art advances in type theory and compiler technology, and applies them to hardware design.
Investigators: Wim Vanderbauwhede (Glasgow), Sven-Bodo Scholz, Nobuko Yoshida (Imperial), Chris Fensch
Funding: EPSRC, as part of the Trust, Identity, Privacy and Security in the Digital Economy call.
The Integration and Interaction of Multiple Mathematical Reasoning Processes (2015-2019)
Description: This EPSRC Platform Grant underpins a broad range of basic and applied research. For example, two current feasibility projects are investigating the modelling and automatic discovery of system safety hazards at design time.
Investigator: Andrew Ireland
Researchers: Maria Teresa Llano (Goldsmiths, University of London), Rajiv Murali
Funding: EPSRC
Blockchain & cryptocurrencies
Supervisors: Manuel Maarek, Mike Just, Andrea Eross
PhD student: Tin Tironsakkul (PhD completed in 2022)
Security and privacy of cloud computing
Supervisors: Hani Ragab, Mike Just, Hind Zantout
PhD student: Salih Ismail (PhD completed in 2024)
Secure and usable payment systems for mobile devices
Supervisors: Mike Just and Tessa Berg
PhD student: Katie Watson (PhD completed in 2022)
Online security and people with autism
Supervisors: Tessa Berg and Mike Just
PhD student: Kirsty Macmillan (PhD completed in 2023)
Developer-Centred Security
Supervisors: Manuel Maarek, Hans-Wolfgang Loidl
PhD student: Léon McGregor (PhD completed in 2023)
Impact of Gamification on Developer-Centred Security (2017-2018)
Investigators: Manuel Maarek, Sandy Louchart (Glasgow School of Art)
Researchers: Léon McGregor, Ross McMenemy (Glasgow School of Art)
Funding: RISCS-NCSC
Serious Coding: A Game Approach To Security For The New Code-Citizens (Secrious Project) (2020-2024)
Description: Games are an immersive medium which the project will use to engage code-citizens and deliver an intervention on security matters. Additionally, the process of designing serious games itself elicits the nature of the practice and engages participants in defining how to intervene and act effectively.
Investigators: Lynne Baillie, Manuel Maarek, Hans-Wolfgang Loidl, Rob Stewart, Sandy Louchart (Glasgow School of Art), Daisy Abbott (Glasgow School of Art), Adam Reed (University of St Andrews)
Researchers: Sheung Chi Chan, Theo Georgiou, Olga Chatzifoti (Glasgow School of Art)
Funder: EPSRC EP/T017511/1
Community and Trust in Crisis Management (2017-2021)
Description: The aim of the project is to allow decision makers in crisis management to quickly access the information they need to make timely decisions by focussing on two factors: how can the data be automatically retrieved from multiple incompatible data sources (data matching/integration) and how can the decision maker know how reliable it is (provenance). This project will produce a system that automatically discovers data according to specific queries that is both relevant (closely aligns semantically with the query) and reliable (aligns with the provenance models of the querier) and ranks these responses according to likely usefulness (combination of relevance and reliability).
Investigators: Fiona McNeill, Paolo Missier (Newcastle), Jeremy Bryans (Coventry)
Researchers: Diana Bental, Jannetta Steyn (Newcastle)
Funder: Office of Naval Research
Insider threat detection modeling
Description: The aim of this project is to model and classify insider threats, such as when a person inappropriately shares sensitive company information.
Supervisors: Mike Just, Michael Lones
PhD student: Filip Bartoszewski (PhD completed in 2022)
Behaviour-based malware detection with machine learning
Supervisors: Mike Just, Nick Taylor
PhD student: Esma Lounes
Anomaly detection via machine learning for IoT
Supervisors: Mike Just, Michael Lones
PhD student: Kahraman Kostas (PhD completed in 2024)
The Computer Science Department offers MSc and BSc degrees in Cyber Security. The MSc degrees can be taken either full-time (1 year) or part-time (2 year) in our Edinburgh, UK, or Dubai, UAE campuses.
MSc Computer Science for Cyber Security in Edinburgh, UK (since 2021-22, certified by NCSC)
BSc (Hons) Computer Science (Cyber Security) in Edinburgh, UK
In addition, a selection of our cyber security courses/modules can be taken as part of your studies towards other degrees of our department.
Find out more about studying at Heriot-Watt University and our university rankings.
For further information, please contact Mike Just or Manuel Maarek or Sasa Radomirovic