Dr Arash Shaghaghi | UNSW Research

Keywords

Fields of Research (FoR)

System and network security, Software and application security, Cybersecurity and privacy, Data security and protection

Biography

Arash Shaghaghi is a Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security and Acting Director of Online Education at the School of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) of UNSW Sydney. Arash has previously been affiliated with RMIT University, Deakin University, Data61 CSIRO, The University of Melbourne, and The University of Texas at Dallas. He completed his PhD in Computer Science and Engineering at UNSW Sydney, MSc in Information Security at University...view more

Research Profile: Arash has received over 1.7 million AUD in funding (Lead CI and CI combined) for his cybersecurity research from various sources, including industry, government, and universities. Most recently, he has been awarded $528K as the Lead Chief Investigator from CSCRC and Cisco for the "IoT Data Security and Assurance Framework for Intelligent Transport" project. Arash has a track record of publication at the most competitive peer-reviewed conferences and journals, such as IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (S&P) [Core A*], Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS) [Core A*], Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing (TDSC) [Q1, IF: 7], International World Wide Web Conference (WWW) [Core A*], Annual IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN) [Core A], and ACM ASIA Conference on Computer and Communications Security (AsiaCCS) [Core A]. He has received awards and appraisals for his research performance, including university recognitions and best paper awards. In 2024, he has been awarded the Early Career Academic Excellence Award (Research) from the Faculty of Engineering at UNSW Sydney. In 2023, Arash was among the top 200 young computer science and mathematics scientists selected by the Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF) in Germany. Arash has contributed to several articles on cybersecurity incidents or about his research work for various media outlets, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and The Guardian. Arash serves as the Associate Editor for the Journal of Ad Hoc Networks.

Teaching Profile: Arash is an award-winning educator with multiple awards and recognitions for leading the design, development, and delivery of hands-on cybersecurity programs and courses. In 2023, he was awarded the Educational Excellence & Innovation award from the Faculty of Engineering at UNSW Sydney. Before joining UNSW, he led RMIT's Graduate Certificate of Cyber Security Governance and Risk Management. At Deakin University, Arash was the Deputy Academic Director (Teaching) at the School of IT and the Graduate Certificate in Information Technology Director. He was also a member of the team leading the Bachelor of Cybersecurity, which redeveloped the program with a technical and hands-on curriculum by integrating several industry-leading cybersecurity certifications as part of the degree. He has completed training in designing and teaching effective learning programs and holds the Graduate Certificate of Higher Education (Learning and Teaching) from Deakin University.

My Grants

Recent grant at UNSW [Selected]:

"IoT Data Security and Assurance Framework for Intelligent Transport", Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre and Cisco [2022-2024].
"Quantum-Safe Security Measures for IoT-based Intelligent Transport Systems", CSIRO [2024-2046].
"Advanced IDE for software security support", Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre [2022-2024].
"Quantum Methods for Securing Remote Devices", NSW Department of Industry [2024-2027].
"A scalable workflow for the audio sampling of biodiversity for remote Australia", Department of Climate Change Energy the Environment and Water [2024-2026].

Grants before joining UNSW [Selected]:

"Zero Trust Architectures for Australia's Critical Infrastructure Security", Australian Government, 2020.
"Fingerprinting Compromised IoT Devices Based on Power Consumption", Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre, 2019.
"Data after Death (DaD): Understanding the Risks to Australians", Deakin Cyber Research and Innovation Centre, 2020.
"Detecting Internet of Thing (IoT) Bots", Deakin Cyber Research and Innovation Centre, 2020.
"Bitcoin Meta-data and Malware C&C Servers", Deakin Cyber Research and Innovation Centre, 2019.

My Qualifications

Education:

PhD - Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Australia.
MSc - Information Security, University College London (UCL), UK.
BSc with Distinction - Heriot-Watt University, UK.

Certifications:

Create & Manage Networks Program, REALTUS, 2024.
Negotiation Strategies for Researchers, UNSW Sydney, 2023.
Graduate Certificate of Higher Education (Learning and Teaching), Deakin University, Australia, 2021.
Essentials of Supervision (for HDRs), UNSW Sydney, 2024.
Data: Law, Policy, and Regulation, London School of Economics (LSE), UK, 2021.
Oxford Blockchain Strategy Programme, The University of Oxford, UK, 2018.
Project Management for Researchers, RMIT University, 2022.
Introduction to Qualitative Research, Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Incorporated (ACSPRI), Australia, 2022.

My Awards

UNSW Sydney, UNSW Faculty of Engineering, Early Career Academic Network (ECAN), Early Career Academic Excellence Award (Research), 2024.
UNSW Sydney, UNSW Faculty of Engineering, Educational Excellence & Innovation, Excellence Awards, 2023.
Selected as one of the top 200 young computer science and mathematics scientists for the 10th Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF), Germany, 2023.

Deakin University, School of Information Technology Award - Excellence in Early Career Research Performance, 2020.
Best Demo Award, The 45th IEEE Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN) [Core A-ranked], 2020.
Deakin University, School of Information Technology Award - Excellence in Teaching & Unit Development, 2020.
Deakin University, School of Information Technology Award - Successfully Embedding Industry Certifications within Cyber Security Units, 2020.
Deakin University, School of Information Technology Award - Excellence in International Student Engagement, 2020.
Deakin University, School of Information Technology - Teaching & Learning Award: Outstanding Industry Capstone Supervisor, 2019.
The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), UNSW ARC Research Student Award, 2018

My Research Supervision

Supervision keywords

computer security

critical infrastructure security

cyber security

data security

Areas of supervision

[Upcoming Recruitment]:

I'm looking to recruit 2 PhD students with competitive scholarships starting in 2025-2026.

Currently supervising

Research Team:

PostDoc - Current: Dr Mohammad Goudarzi [Main, CSCRC Project] | Dr Shohreh Deldari [Main, CSCRC Project]
Software Developer: Nimesha Wickramasinghe [Main, CSCRC Project], Xinzhang Chen [Main, CSCRC Project], Chengbin Feng [Main, CSCRC Project], Harshmeetsingh Ramindersingh Chandhok [Main, CSCRC Project]
Research Assistant: Hassan Ali [Main, CSCRC Project]
PhD Students - Current: 3

PostDoc - Former: 3 (Co-supervisor)
PhD Students - Graduated: 2 (UNSW)
Masters with Major Thesis: 3 (Completed)
Funded Summer Projects: 2 (Completed)
Masters with Minor Thesis: 10 (Completed)

My Engagement

Media Engagements:

"Turn your phone off every night for five minutes, Australian PM tells residents", The Guardian (23 June 2023). [Selected parts of interview published at 9to5Mac, etc. Translated versions of the article in Spanish, Turkish, Chinese, Greek, Polish, German, etc. | UNSW Archive]
"Digital wallet use is rising, but are smartphone payments safer?", Money Magazine (23 June 2023).
"What to do with digital data after death", ABC Weekend with Jason Chong, ABC Adelaide (17 June 2023).
Can virtual credit cards shield you against identity theft?, BusinessThink (25 April 2023). [Re-published by UNSW IFCYBER]
Five ways to protect your data and prevent identity theft, BusinessThink (15 March 2023). [Re-published by UNSW IFCYBER, UNSW Business School, UNSW Engineering, UNSW Computer Science and Engineering).
Why cybersecurity continues to be a problem for the industry | UNSW Newsroom (20 Oct 2022) (Re-published by UNSW Twitter highlights, KBI.Media, Academicgates, Business Acumen Magazine, Miragenews, The National Tribune, IDM). Several media interviews by Prof Jha based on our joint media release, including with The Wire, Reuters, ABC, Yahoo Finance, U.S.news, and more.
Podcast with RRR - topic: "Cybersecurity on Private Message Apps"
Radio Interview with Byte Into IT (21 September 2022) - topic: "Encryption and Secure Messaging Apps".
Radio Interview with Joy Media | Joy Drive (15 September 2022) - topic: "Encryption and Secure Messaging Apps".
Unlocking the secret to private messaging apps | UNSW Newsroom (Re-published by UNSW Twitter highlights, TechXplore, Miragenews.com, The National Tribune, Technology Decisions, Techxplore, Pinterest, Womenlovetech, Amity Source, The Wix)
Digging your own digital grave: how should you manage the data you leave behind? (theconversation.com) (Re-published by Gizmodo, Cosmos Magazine, Australasian Science, Australian Privacy Foundation, Downtoearth, Serenity Funerals)
"From the cradle to the grave", published by Australian Information Security Association (AISA) Cyber Today.
ABC Radio National: Data after death: protecting your digital legacy - ABC Radio National. (interviews on the same topic with ABC Radio Sydney, ABC Statewide Drive NSW, ABC Radio Adelaide, 2NURFM Radio of New Castle).
"Cybersecurity and Law" interview with Deakin Newsroom as program lead for the School of IT, Deakin University.

My Teaching

Operating System Fundamentals for Security (ZZEN9217), Master of Cyber Security, UNSW Online.
Foundations of Cyber Security (ZZEN9201), Master of Cyber Security, UNSW Online.
Penetration Testing (ZZEN9213), Master of Cyber Security, UNSW Online.

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