CoEIA Delivers a Keynote at IEEE ICCSN 2018 in China

Prof. Muhammad Khurram Khan, professor of cybersecurity at the Center of Excellence in Information Assurance, was invited as a keynote speaker at the 10th IEEE International Conference on Communication Software and Networks (IEEE ICCSN), held from 6 to 9 July 2018 in Chengdu, China. The conference was sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (USA), the Sichuan Institute of Electronics, the 54th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) and Guangdong University of Technology.

The conference brought together scientists, researchers and academics working in communication networks, software, systems, signal processing, computer security and optical communications. Prof. Khurram delivered a talk titled "Cybersecurity Threats and Challenges of Smart Cities", addressing the technical and research concerns smart cities may face.

He opened by outlining the value of information and communication technologies for smart cities, which harness them to address the challenges of urbanization and improve residents' quality of life. Cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, blockchain and big data can deliver valuable services in areas such as the environment, transport, healthcare, tourism, mobility, energy management, and safety and security.

He stressed that greater connectivity can expose smart cities to cybersecurity risks that threaten city operations and residents' lives, and that cybersecurity becomes a major concern as smart cities move from concept to reality. He called for cybersecurity to be made a top priority for stakeholders, and presented some of his research results at CoEIA and future directions in the field.

Other invited keynote speakers included Prof. Koichi Asatani (Kogakuin University, Japan), Prof. Yang Xiao (University of Alabama, USA), Prof. Shum Ping (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore), Prof. Xu Huang (University of Canberra, Australia), Dr. Mohamed Fauzi (Multimedia University, Malaysia), Prof. Feng Gang (University of Electronic Science and Technology of China) and Prof. Maode Ma (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore).

In addition to his keynote, Prof. Khurram was invited on 9 July to give a research seminar at the Sichuan Provincial Key Lab of Cloud Computing and Intelligent Technology, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, attended by many faculty members and students. Such seminars help exchange ideas, build collaboration and explore joint research opportunities.