Title of Speech: Cyber Security Awareness: Challenges and Solutions

 

Abstract: Security awareness is an often-overlooked factor in an information security program. While organizations expand their use of advanced security technology and continuously train their security professionals, little is used to increase the security awareness among the normal users, making them the weakest link in any organization. As a result, today, organized cyber criminals are putting significant efforts to research and develop advanced hacking methods that can be used to steal money and information from the general public. In this talk, we will examine the latest cyber threats against human users. Explain who is behind them and why. Show how to assess the security awareness among the users. Share the results of several security awareness studies conducted among students and professionals in UAE. Finally, discuss some of the recent best practices to spread cyber security awareness.

Biography: Dr. Fadi Aloul is a Professor of Computer Science & Engineering and the Director of the HP Institute at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), UAE. He holds a PhD and MS degrees in Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, respectively, and a BS degree in Electrical Engineering summa cum laude from Lawrence Technological University, Michigan, USA. His research and industrial interests are in Cyber Security, Mobile Applications, and Design Optimization. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and the founder of several cyber security awareness initiatives in UAE including UAE’s Cyber Academy.

 

Dr. Aloul received a number of awards including the prestigious H.H. Sheikh Khalifa, UAE’s President, Award for Higher Education, Sheikh Rashid's Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement, the Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Young Arab Researchers, the AUS Excellence in Teaching Award and the Semiconductor Research Corporation Fellowship. He has 100+ publications (available at http://www.aloul.net) and 1 US patent. He is a regular invited speaker and panelist across a number of international conferences related to Cyber Security, Technology, Innovation and Education. He was the founder and chair of the UAE IEEE Graduates of Last Decade (GOLD) group, an organization dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.