The world has never had so many computers, and yet we continue to grow and grow their number. All around us, we are digitizing everything, our phones, our cars, our houses and our healthcare. We are connecting and automating everything - smart grids and smart cities, intelligent transportation systems and industrial informatics. 

But with all this increased capability also comes increased risk: in particular, the risk of cyberattack. How do we protect our information, our equipment, and our way of life?

These are the questions that I and my students seek to answer at UNSW Sydney, with active research looking into the following topics:

• Cybersecurity of manufacturing systems with a focus on guaranteeing safe operations

• Cybersecurity risks by AI technologies including Large Language Models (ChatGPT)

• Cybersecurity risks and mitigation strategies for smart power grids

• Cybersecurity applications of new AI technologies (autonomous security tests)

• Automatic bug fixing

• Embedded systems and hardware cybersecurity

• Hardware and Firmware Trojan Design and Detection (red-team / blue-team)

• Privacy preservation technologies

My supervision style tends to work well for self-directed and self-motivated students keen on taking ownership of their own research agenda. I want you to work on what you're passionate about!

So if you’re looking for funded opportunities in graduate research and these topic areas sounds interesting to you, please reach out to me!

I'm at hammond [dot] pearce AT unsw [dot] edu [dot] au

It would be great to have you join us in sunny Sydney, Australia!

Studying with me and my students will expose you to researchers from all over the world! My major partners include (but are not limited to!):

• Asst. Prof Benjamin Tan from the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada and his group

• Prof. Ramesh Karri from New York University, New York USA, and their Center for Cybersecurity 

• Prof. Partha Roop from the University of Auckland, New Zealand