News

14 April 2026

Journée LASI - LASI Day

The LASI laboratory community is pleased to invite you to a special day at ÉTS dedicated to innovation, research, and exchanges between students, researchers, and enthusiasts.

09:00 – 09:15 | Welcome Message

09:15 – 10:15 | Keynote 1 – Prof. Farid Naït‑Abdesselam, Université Paris Cité, France

10:15 – 10:30 | Coffee Break

10:30 – 11:30 | Keynote 2 – Prof. Soumaya Cherkaoui, Polytechnique Montreal, Canada

11:30 – 12:30 | LASI Faculty/Student Session – Part 1

12:30 – 14:00 | Lunch + Student Competition  (A‑4520)

14:00 – 15:00 | LASI Faculty/Student Session – Part 2

15:00 – 15:15 | Coffee Break

15:15 – 16:15 | Keynote 3 – Prof. Hans‑Arno Jacobsen, University of Toronto, Canada

16:15 – 16:30 | Event Closing and Competition Winners' announcement

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Keynote 1 - 9:15 - 10:15

Title:

Securing Mobile Platforms Against Intelligent Malware: Emerging Challenges and Future Directions

Speaker:

Farid Naït-Abdesselam, Université Paris Cité, France

Abstract:

The rapid proliferation of smartphones and mobile applications has made mobile platforms a central component of modern digital infrastructure. At the same time, these systems have become prime targets for increasingly sophisticated malware campaigns. In response, machine learning techniques have been widely adopted to improve malware detection and classification at scale. However, as learning-based detectors become more prevalent, attackers are increasingly exploiting weaknesses in the learning process itself, transforming malware detection into a fundamentally adversarial problem.

This talk examines the evolving landscape of mobile malware detection in the presence of intelligent adversaries. It discusses recent advances in learning-based detection approaches, including representation learning techniques that expose structural patterns within mobile applications. The talk also highlights emerging attack models, such as adversarial perturbations, data poisoning strategies, and AI-assisted malware manipulation that can evade modern detection systems.

The talk concludes with a discussion of defensive strategies and open research challenges aimed at building resilient and trustworthy malware detection systems capable of securing next-generation mobile platforms. 

Bio:

Farid Naït-Abdesselam is a Full Professor of Computer Science at Université Paris Cité. His research lies at the intersection of networking, cybersecurity, and distributed systems, with a particular focus on secure communication systems, network resilience, malware detection and analysis, and adversary-aware machine learning. He has authored over 180 peer-reviewed publications, edited two scientific books, and contributed several book chapters on topics including network security, malware forensics, and blockchain technologies. His work bridges theoretical foundations and practical deployments across large-scale networked systems, including mobile, vehicular, drone, and sensor networks. 

 Keynote 2 - 10:30 - 11:30

Title:

Toward Quantum-Aware Communication Networks: Opportunities and Challenges for 6G and Beyond

Speaker:

Soumaya Cherkaoui, Polytechnique Montréal, Canada

Abstract:

As communication systems approach the limits of classical technologies, new paradigms are being explored to sustain future demands for speed, efficiency, and trust. Quantum technologies represent one such paradigm shift, offering fundamentally different ways of handling information. Rather than relying solely on conventional signal processing and computation, quantum-based approaches introduce novel mechanisms that could redefine network capabilities.

This presentation discusses how quantum communication, quantum-enhanced learning techniques, and quantum information processing may contribute to the design of future networks. It highlights opportunities such as new forms of secure data exchange, improved handling of complex network dynamics, and the emergence of hybrid quantum-classical architectures. Key challenges, including scalability, reliability, and technological readiness, are also examined. The discussion aims to outline a forward-looking vision of communication systems shaped by quantum principles.

Bio:

Soumaya Cherkaoui is a Full Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering and Software Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal, Canada. Her research interests are in wireless networks. Particularly, she works on Machine learning empowered next generation networks (B5G/6G), distributed edge intelligence, and communication networks for verticals such as connected vehicles, IoT, and IIoT. Before joining academia as a professor in 1999, she worked in industry as a project leader on projects targeted at the Aerospace Industry. Pr. Cherkaoui has published ~200 research papers in reputed journals and conferences. She has been a guest editor and a member of the editorial board of several IEEE, Wiley, and Elsevier Journals including IEEE JSAC, IEEE Network, IEEE Systems and Computer Networks. Her work resulted in technology transfer and was awarded with recognitions and best paper awards including a best paper award at the IEEE Communications Society Flagship conference IEEE ICC, in 2017. She has chaired prestigious conferences such as IEEE LCN 2019 and has served as as symposium co-chair for flagship conferences including IEEE ICC 2018, IEEE Globecom 2018, IEEE Globecom 2015, and IEEE ICC 2014. She was also Chair of the IEEE Communications Society Technical Committee on IoT-Ad hoc and Sensor Networks (2020-2021). Pr Cherkaoui is a recipient of the Mirela Notere Award, the IEEE Bio-Inspired Computing STC Leadership Award, and was named "Star" in Networking and Communications by N2Women. She is an IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Lecturer.

LASI Presentation Session – Part 1 - 11:30 - 12:30

Dr. Héber Hwang Arcolezi, “An Adversarial Perspective of Local Differential Privacy”

Prof. Diala Naboulsi, “SNOW: A Split Reinforcement Learning Approach for Energy Efficiency in Tactical Network Slicing”

Fahdah Alalyan, “Secure Distributed Federated Learning for Cyberattacks Detection in B5G Open Radio Access Networks”

Dr. Mohamed Wazzeh, “Towards Private and Continuous Authentication at Scale”

LASI Presentation Session – Part 2 - 14:00 - 15:00

Prof. Ulrich Aivodji, “Assessing the risks of interdependent privacy in large language models”

Prof. Chamseddine Talhi, TBD

Zouhir Ballal, “Potential of Kepler Towards Power Observability for Sustainable Cloud Computing”

Reda Morsli, “Multidimensional intrusion detection in cloud environments”

Keynote 3 - 15:15 - 16:15

Title: 

Lifting the Fog of Uncertainties: Dynamic Resource Orchestration for the Containerized Cloud

Speaker:

Hans-Arno Jacobsen, University of Toronto, Canada

Abstract:

Advances in virtualization technologies have sparked a growing transition from virtual machine (VM)-based to container-based infrastructure for cloud computing. From the resource orchestration perspective, the lightweight and highly configurable nature of containers not only enables opportunities for more optimized resource management strategies but also poses greater challenges due to additional uncertainties and a larger configuration parameter search space. 

In this talk, we introduce Drone, a container orchestration framework that adaptively configures resource parameters to improve application performance and reduce operational cost in the presence of cloud uncertainties. Built on Contextual Bandit techniques, Drone is able to achieve a balance between performance and resource cost on public clouds, and optimize performance on private clouds where a hard resource constraint is present. We show that our algorithms achieve sub-linear growth in cumulative regret, a theoretically sound convergence guarantee, and our extensive experiments show that Drone achieves an up to 45% performance improvement and a 20% resource footprint reduction across batch processing jobs and microservice workloads.

This talk draws from a paper that is joint work with Yuqiu Zhang; SoCC’23 - https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3620678.3624646

Bio: 

Hans-Arno Jacobsen holds the Jeffrey Skoll Chair in Computer Networking and Innovation and is the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Data-Intensive Systems at the Sr. Rogers Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, where he is a professor of Computer Engineering and Computer Science. His pioneering research lies at the intersection of distributed systems, data management, and data science, with a particular focus on blockchains, (complex) event processing, and cyber-physical systems (cf. msrg.org). Most recently, he has become interested in quantum computing, where, to this end, he is working on applications in molecular property prediction (computational chemistry), quantum machine learning, and distributed quantum computing. He also serves as the Scientific Director of the pan-Canadian Quantum Software Consortium (qscc.ca). Arno is a Fellow of the IEEE.

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27 September 2024

Canada Foundation for Innovation - John R. Evans Leaders Fund

https://www.etsmtl.ca/actualites/lets-recoit-pres-de-1-million-de-dollars-pour-la-recherche

16 January 2024

Hiring! Hiring! MSc or PhD student

With Prof. René J. Landry, we are seeking a candidate to enroll in the MSc or the PhD program within ÉTS to work with us in LASSENA lab on the following topic:

Enhancing localization with integrated terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks

The problem of outdoor and indoor localization using the integrated terrestrial and non-terrestrial network (ITNTN) is a challenging research area that requires a comprehensive understanding of the heterogeneous components of the network. The proposed project aims to investigate the challenge of achieving centimeter-precision localization using the signals of both terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, including components such as cellular networks, Wi-Fi, UAVs, HAPS, and LEO satellites.

The candidate will begin with a detailed literature review of the current state-of-the-art in outdoor and indoor localization techniques. The review will also cover the existing research on the ITNTN and its components. Subsequently, the candidate will examine the localization approaches that combine heterogeneous components of the ITNTN and evaluate their performances, in both urban and suburban areas. The methodology will include the use of advanced techniques such as cross-layer optimization, MIMO, and beamforming. The proposed research will be conducted using a combination of theoretical analysis, simulation, and experimentation. The experiments will be conducted in a controlled environment using an open network laboratory to emulate realistic wireless environments.

The expected outcome of the proposed research is a comprehensive understanding of the challenges of achieving centimeter-precision localization in outdoor and indoor environments using ITNTN. The research will also provide insights into the localization methods based on multiple and heterogeneous signal sources. Finally, the research will provide a set of guidelines for designing cross-layer mechanisms that can achieve centimeter-precision localization using ITNTN.

References:

[1] Zafari, A. Gkelias and K. K. Leung, "A Survey of Indoor Localization Systems and Technologies," in IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 2568-2599, thirdquarter 2019, doi: 10.1109/COMST.2019.2911558.

[2] S. Büyükçorak, G. K. Kurt and A. Yongaço&gcaron;lu, "Inter-Network Localization Frameworks for Heterogeneous Networks With Multi-Connectivity," in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. 68, no. 2, pp. 1839-1851, Feb. 2019, doi: 10.1109/TVT.2018.2886934.

[3] H. Zheng, M. Atia and H. Yanikomeroglu, "High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)-Aided GNSS for Urban Areas," 2022 IEEE International Conference on Wireless forSpace and Extreme Environments (WiSEE), Winnipeg, MB, Canada, 2022, pp. 29-34, doi: 10.1109/WiSEE49342.2022.9926812.

This position is fully funded. Interested candidates must have a very good background in communications (mandatory), signal processing (mandatory), and hands-on experience (an asset). They are required to provide a motivation letter, up-to-date CV, university transcripts, and reference letters (upon request), to send to wael.jaafar@etsmtl.ca. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews.

6 December 2023

Regular meeting for IEEE INGR Satellite Working Group, where I presented recent UAV-UE navigation findings.

Link to presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTE5S6IlYkg&ab_channel=WaelJaafar

Related publications:

• N. Cherif, W. Jaafar, H. Yanikomeroglu, and A. Yongacoglu, “Disconnectivity-aware Energy-efficient Cargo-UAV Trajectory Planning with Minimum Handoffs”, Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Commun. (IEEE ICC 2021) ** Best Paper Award **

• N. Cherif, W. Jaafar, H. Yanikomeroglu, and A. Yongacoglu, “RL-Based Cargo-UAV Trajectory Planning and Cell Association for Minimum Handoffs, Disconnectivity, and Energy Consumption ”, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology (Early Access, Dec. 2023).

• Z. Yan, W. Jaafar, B. Selim, H. Tabassum, “Multi-UAV Speed Control with Collision Avoidance and Handover-aware Cell Association: DRL with Action Branching”, Proc. IEEE Glob. Commun. Conf. (Globecom 2023).

8-10 November 2022

Our work “Multi-Mode High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS) for Next Generation Wireless Networks” (S. Alfattani, W. Jaafar, H. Yanikomeroglu, A. Yongaçoglu) has won the First Prize in the IEEE Competition on Non-terrestrial Networks for B5G and 6G

Awards ceremony (First prize): https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxLiNVIUafJAUu2UTmz2kVDuPIOwazBWFO

Winning work presentation (starting 1:20:00): https://youtu.be/idyT3tPe1Bc

26 October 2022

Presentation of research interests at the "Avis de recherche" event in ÉTS.

Link to presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX7mGOKVzFo