Research group Network and Systems Engineering Cyber Security
It is surprisingly often that the world, usually unconscious of the risks though sometimes conscious of them, falls on new developments such as the Internet of Things (the linking of devices via the ‘cloud’). This already leads to record DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks, but in the future, may also lead, for example, to mobile network failures or power cuts or a combination of both. Cybersecurity is relevant to all disciplines.
The Network and Systems Engineering Cyber Security research group focuses on three key areas:
- Identity and Access Management
How we determine who can access a system and when that access is acceptable. - System Security, with an emphasis on the Internet of Things
New applications enable uses to use the data in their devices safely - Usable Security
Finally, Usable Security investigates the intersection between application security and human factors: how can we build secure systems that users want to use rather that looking for ways around them?
All of these are increasingly important, as they are of great societal and economic significance. As cybersecurity is relevant to all disciplines and a must for every professional, whether we are talking about the health industry or in the economic domain where new e-commerce business models arise continuously. That is why the research group works together with all the research platforms, but primarily with Good Governance for a Safe World. This requires multidisciplinary research combined with the expertise from, for example, legal specialists and public administration officials.
Examples of practice-based research
5G Research
Mobile communications became an essential part of our human interactions, contributing to the economic and social development of the world population. From developed to developing countries, mobile communications is woven into communicative practices of millions of people everywhere, shaped and adjusted by people and organizations according to their needs. Previous generations of mobile networks have delivered communications services such as voice, messaging and data, using respectively 1G, 2G, 3G & 4G. Mobile communications has become one of the most important technology in the modern world. But the demand for data throughput and information exchange capabilities have increased beyond people’s needs.
The 5th generation, 5G NR, is expected to transform the future society, by enabling pervasive computerization of various physical objects with sensors, controller and transmitter. This principle is called the Internet of Things (IoT). The foreseen adoption of 5G NR raises security and privacy concerns. Indeed each previous iteration of mobile communications protocol faced various security and privacy issues. Furthermore the security and privacy results from the previous mobile communications set a dubious scene for the 5th generation. The Research Group Network and Systems Engineering, part of the Centre of Expertise Cyber Security, decided to investigate signal communications from a security and privacy approach including previous mobile communications and explore the 5th generation of mobile communication protocols.
Health care
The research group studies how the use of smartphones connected to smart devices like blood pressure monitors and scales can be optimised for both patients and their doctors. The limiting condition here is that patient privacy is guaranteed and personal and private data only shared with the treating physician.IoT
The research group studies information ‘leaked’ in the market by IoT devices. Even if information cannot be read directly from a device due to encryption, there is still much information that can be accessed based on the data traffic. For example, if we monitor the rough data traffic to and from door sensors and see that there is indeed a flow of data, we can assume that the sensors are in use.
Julien Sebire
Julien Sebire is a security researcher tackling the Internet of things (IoT) security challenges within industrial and home-based environment. He has helped securing the Final Assembly Line for Airbus commercial aircrafts. Julien designed one of the first security architecture, risk analysis and set of security requirements for the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations. He emphasized the cyber security and vulnerability processes for the Galileo program of the European Space Agency. Julien is now conducting research within the Center of Expertise for Cyber Security, where he dedicates himself to study radio technologies security issues and privacy leakage within the context of Internet of things and Industrial Control systems.
J.G.C.Sebire@hhs.nlAbout the professor
dr. Thomas Quillinan
Thomas Quillinan is a lector of Network and Systems Cyber Security at The Hague University of Applied Sciences and a senior researcher and programme manager for Security at Thales Research and Technology Nederland. In his work at Thales, he is responsible for the coordination and delivery of activities related to safety research at TRT Nederland. He works together closely with the safety research group at Thales, as well as organisations and networks working nationwide on developments in Network & Systems Engineering Cyber Security. Thomas earned his PhD in Security for Distributed Systems and his Master’s in Computer Science from the University College Cork in Ireland. Prior to this, he was a member of the IIDS group at the VU University Amsterdam, where he worked on safety for distributed systems and crisis management. Thomas originally studied Computer Engineering in the University of Limerick in Ireland. His interests include research into the security of information and distributed systems. He holds both the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) and CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) certifications.
t.b.quillinan@hhs.nl