Prof. Dr. Bhawani Shankar Chowdhry organised this workshop to educate people about the cyber range and malware protection so that they could gain knowledge about cyber security.
Everyone should be aware of the safeguards they use to keep themselves safe. As a result, in order to represent the needs of the global cybersecurity ecosystem, the IEEE IES Karachi Section Chapter successfully organised the workshop on “Cyber Range” on December 23, 2022, at VDC Hall, IICT Building, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology, Jamshoro, Pakistan, in collaboration with Cyberskills, Ireland.
The goal of this workshop was to teach participants how to detect and mitigate cyberattacks. Cyber Range, potential malware analysis, identifying live machines, service identification, and protocol analysis are all covered. In this media age, where children are constantly connected to social media and the internet, concerns about cyber security, cyberbullying, and cyber hygiene are relevant.
The event began with the recitation of the Holy Quran. Following that, Dr. Abi Waqas, the event’s organizer, who also serves as Branch Counselor for IEEE MUET STB and Chair of the IEEE IES Karachi Section, delivered the opening remarks. He welcomed the Chief Guest, Guest Speaker, Teacher Coordinators, and Participants and began the event’s formal proceedings.
Prof. Dr. Tuaha Hussain Ali, Vice Chancellor of MUET, spoke about the need for cyber skills in this digital world where things can’t work without social media and the internet. He also praised the efforts of the entire team, as well as the coordinators, Dr. Abi Waqas and Prof. Dr. Bhawani Shankar Chowdhry, in organising such a workshop so that people could become aware of the situation.
He also emphasised IEEE’s role in student and professional capacity building. He stated that IEEE has a significant role in this university’s extracurricular activities and has brought many honours to Mehran UET, and he believes that such technical activities will be beneficial to students in the future.
Prof. Dr. Bhawani Shankar Chowdhry, the event’s chief coordinator and chair of the IEE Karachi Section, organised this workshop to educate people about the cyber range and malware protection so that they could gain knowledge about cyber security.
He also praised the IEEE for being the most vibrant engineering society in the world. Prof. Smith stressed the importance of students developing life skills in addition to academic knowledge and technical skills.
When a student joins a team or organization, he considers communication, interaction, and confidence to be important skills. As of today, students face numerous challenges in launching their careers; he identified patience, tolerance, and hard work as keys to success in connecting individuals with the right industries.
Prof. Thomas Newe, who received his honours degree in computer engineering in 1991, joined the event as a renowned guest speaker and delivered his keynote virtually. Following that, he worked for the Microelectronics Applications Centre (MAC) in Ireland as a senior software engineer. He received his PhD from the University of Limerick in 2003 for his work on formal verification logics for use in security protocol design.
He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at the University of Limerick, the group leader of the IoT/WSN Security activities in the Optical Fibre Sensors Research Centre and the Centre for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, a PI in Confirm, and a FI in the MaREI.
A well-known visitor, Dr. Muzaffar Rao, a lecturer in the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at the University of Limerick (UL), physically led the workshop. He is also an Associated Investigator (AI) in the research centres “Lero—Irish Software Engineering” and “CONFIRM—Smart Manufacturing.” In January 2017, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Limerick. He worked on his Ph.D. during this time.
OT/ICS security, IT/OT integration, BitW (bump-in-the-wire) security, AI/ML in cybersecurity, IoTs and IIoTs, robotic automation, cyber-physical systems, and embedded systems are among his research interests. His research efforts have yielded several peer-reviewed publications in international conferences and journals.
He discussed cyber skills and the Cyber Range, which is a virtual environment where organisations can practise cyber combat training. It’s an effective method for testing and developing skill sets such as pen testing, network protection, system hardening, TTPs, and incident response by replicating existing information systems. It is also a useful tool for raising awareness, particularly among managers and board members, by demonstrating the potential consequences of ransomware attacks in a realistic manner.
Many students from various departments at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology Jamshoro attended a successful workshop to raise awareness about cyber-attacks and how to protect yourself from them by using the MUET cyber range.
Dr. Abi Waqas Memon, Chair IEEE Karachi Section, Dr. Faheem Yar Khuhawar, Associate Prof., TL, MUET, and the entire team organised such a wonderful event. At the end, a closing ceremony was held in which all participants and volunteers received certificates for their efforts. The distinguished guests of the event were also given tokens of appreciation.