Researcher

Dr Arash Shaghaghi

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 at the School of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) of UNSW Sydney. He is a member of the Information Security and Privacy Group (IsPri) at CSE and the UNSW Institute for Cyber Security (IFCYBER). 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 at UNSW...view more

Arash Shaghaghi is a Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security at the School of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) of UNSW Sydney. He is a member of the Information Security and Privacy Group (IsPri) at CSE and the UNSW Institute for Cyber Security (IFCYBER). 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 at UNSW Sydney in Computer Science and Engineering, MSc in Information Security at University College London (UCL) and BSc at Heriot-Watt University. 

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. Before joining UNSW, he led the development and delivery of the Graduate Certificate of Cyber Security Governance and Risk Management at RMIT. At Deakin University, Arash was the Deputy Academic Director (Teaching) at the School of IT and the Director of the Graduate Certificate in Information Technology. He was also a member of the team leading the Bachelor of Cybersecurity, which redeveloped the program with technical and hands-on curriculum by integrating several best cyber certifications as part of the degree. He has completed advanced training in designing and teaching effective learning programs and holds the Graduate Certificate of Higher Education (Learning and Teaching) from Deakin University.

As a researcher, Arash has received over $1Mil AUD funding (PI and CI combined) for his cyber security research from various sources, including industry, government, and universities. Most recently, he was awarded $528K as Primary Investigator from CSCRC and Cisco for the "IoT Data Security and Assurance Framework for Intelligent Transport" project. He has received awards and appraisals for his research performance, including university recognitions and best paper awards. His research findings have been covered by media outlets such as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Arash currently serves as the Associate Editor for the Journal of Ad Hoc Networks.


My Grants

Recent grants at UNSW:

  • "IoT Data Security and Assurance Framework for Intelligent Transport", Source: Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre and Cisco, Amount: $528,000, 2022-2024.
    [Role: Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators: Prof Flora Salim, Prof Sanjay Jha, A/Prof Gustavo Batista, Professor Ruhul Sarker, A/Prof Aleksander Ignjatovic] || [Project Announcement: IFCYBER, UNSW]

  • "An Open-Source Context Sharing Platform for IoT Deployments", Source: UNSW Centre for Critical Digital Infrastructure, Amount: $50,000, 2022.
    [Role: Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators: Prof Sanjay Jha, Simon Finn] || [Project Announcement: IFCYBER]

  • "Advanced IDE for software security support", Source: Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre, Amount: $300,000, 2022-2024. [Role: Co-investigator, Principal Investigator: Helen Paik, Co-Investigators: Prof Sanjay Jha, Dr Siqi Ma]

  • ACRA Visiting Fellowship to visit the School of Computing and Information Systems at the University of Melbourne, Source: CSE, UNSW, Amount: $2000, 2022.  [Role: Principal Investigator]

  • Taste of Research (ToR) student recruitment scholarship | Summer Term 2023, Source: CSE, UNSW, Amount: $6000, 2022 - read more about our project here. [Role: Principal Investigator]

 

Other grants (selected):

  • "Provably Secure and Efficient Machine-to-Machine Authentication Solutions for IoT Systems", Source: Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre (CSCRC), Amount: $180,000, 2021-2024. [PhD Research Project, Role: Primary Supervisor, Co-Supervisor: Prof Robin Doss]
  • "Zero Trust Architectures for Australia's Critical Infrastructure Security", Australian Government, Amount: $60,741, 2020. [Role: Co-Investigator, Principal Investigator: Prof Robin Doss]
  • "Fingerprinting Compromised IoT Devices Based on Power Consumption", Source: Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre (CSCRC), Amount: $10,700, 2019. [Honours Project, Role: Primary Supervisor]
  • "Data after Death (DaD): Understanding the Risks to Australians", Source: Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation (CSRI), Deakin University, Amount: $10,000. [Role: Primary Investigator]
  • "Detecting Internet of Thing (IoT) Bots" | Summer Research Project, Source: Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation (CSRI), Deakin University, Amount: $4,000. [Role: Primary Supervisor]
  • "Bitcoin Meta-data and Malware C&C Servers" | Summer Research Project, Source: School of IT, Deakin University, Amount: $9,326. [Role: Primary Supervisor]

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:

  • Negotiation Strategies for Researchers, UNSW Sydney, 2022.
  • Graduate Certificate of Higher Education (Learning and Teaching), Deakin University, Australia, 2021.
  • 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

2018 - now:

  • 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


Areas of supervision

[Upcoming Recruitment]:

  • I'm looking to recruit 2 PhD students with competitive scholarships: tuition fee and up to 50K per annum living stipend starting in 2023. More details to come soon. If interested, send me an email with all your transcripts attached. 

Currently supervising

  • PostDoc: Dr Mohammad Goudarzi (Main Supervisor), 3 (Co-supervisor, Completed).
  • PhD Students: 3 (Ongoing)
  • Research Assistants: Zakria Qadir (Main Supervisor)
  • Masters with Major Thesis: 3 (Completed).
  • Funded Summer Projects: 2 (Completed),
  • Masters with Minor Thesis: 10 (Completed).

My Engagement

Media Engagements:


My Teaching

  • Operating System Fundamentals for Security (ZZEN9217), Master of Cyber Security, UNSW Online. || Role: Course Developer (H5 2022), Course Convenor (H5 2022).
  • Foundations of Cyber Security (ZZEN9201), Master of Cyber Security, UNSW Online. || Role: Course Convenor (H2 2023).

View less

Location

School of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE),
Level 4, Building K17,
UNSW SYDNEY 2052.

Map reference
Map reference (Google map)