Dr. Mai Abdelhakim of University of Pittsburgh

There is an ever-increasing need for cybersecurity education in the age of Internet of Things (IoT) and cyber-physical systems (CPS). Technologies of IoT and CPS are transforming engineering systems and critical infrastructure, such as energy grid, healthcare, and manufacturing, enabling connectivity and autonomous operations. Along with the enormous benefits of these disruptive technologies, there are alarming cybersecurity concerns. The vulnerabilities to cyberattacks and their negative impacts are becoming far greater and can cause devastating damage to physical assets, health as well as public safety concerns. Cybersecurity education is now needed for anyone working with technology, especially those incorporated in critical infrastructure. Hence, there is a growing need for cybersecurity education accessible to a broader audience of engineering students. In this talk, I will highlight the impacts of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence on cybersecurity. Then, I will present efforts aiming at filling the gap in cybersecurity education giving an example of cybersecurity course structure and certification accessible to students in different engineering majors. Sample interdisciplinary modules combining artificial intelligence and cybersecurity will be discussed.

Biography:

Dr. Mai Abdelhakim is an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. She received her PhD in electrical engineering from Michigan State University (MSU), and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electronics and communications engineering from Cairo University. Following her PhD, she was a postdoctoral research associate at MSU. She later was a research scientist at OSRAM research center working on Internet of Things protocols, authentication mechanisms, and positioning systems. She is currently a senior member of the IEEE. She received the University of Pittsburgh’s Innovation in Education award in 2023. Dr. Abdelhakim serves as an Associate Editor of IET Communications since January 2023. Her research interests include cybersecurity, cyber-physical systems, artificial intelligence, and reliable decision-making under uncertainty.