by Jo Brodie and Paul Curzon, Queen Mary University of London
Ever been spammed by your fridge? It has happened, but Queen Mary’s Gokop Goteng and Hadeel Alrubayyi aim to make it less likely…
Gokop has a longstanding interest in improving computing networks and did his PhD on cloud computing (at the time known as grid computing), exploring how computing could be treated more like gas and electricity utilities where you only pay for what you use. His current research is about improving the safety and efficiency of the cloud in handling the vast amounts of data, or ‘Big Data’, used in providing Internet services. Recently he has turned his attention to the Internet of Things.
It is a network of connected devices, some of which you might have in your home or school, such as smart fridges, baby monitors, door locks, lighting and heating that can be switched on and off with a smartphone. These devices contain a small computer that can receive and send data when connected to the Internet, which is how your smartphone controls them. However, it brings new problems: any device that’s connected to the Internet has the potential to be hacked, which can be very harmful. For example, in 2013 a domestic fridge was hacked and included in a ‘botnet’ of devices which sent thousands of spam emails before it was shut down (can you imagine getting spam email from your fridge?!)
A domestic fridge was hacked
and included in a ‘botnet’ of devices
which sent thousands of spam emails
before it was shut down.
The computers in these devices don’t usually have much processing power: they’re smart, but not that smart. This is perfectly fine for normal use, but to run software to keep out hackers, while getting on with the actual job they are supposed to be doing, like running a fridge, it becomes a problem. It’s important to prevent devices from being infected with malware (bad programs that hackers use to e.g., take over a computer) and work done by Gokop and others has helped develop better malwaredetecting security algorithms which take account of the smaller processing capacity of these devices.
One approach he has been exploring with PhD student Hadeel Alrubayyi is to draw inspiration from the human immune system: building artificial immune systems to detect malware. Your immune system is very versatile and able to quickly defend you against new bugs that you haven’t encountered before. It protects you from new illnesses, not just illnesses you have previously fought off. How? Using special blood cells, such as T-Cells, which are able to detect and attack rogue cells invading the body. They can spot patterns that tell the difference between the person’s own healthy cells and rogue or foreign cells. Hadeel and Gokop have shown that applying similar techniques to Internet of Things software can outperform other techniques for spotting new malware, detecting more problems while needing less computing resources.
Gokop is also using his skills in cloud computing and data science to enhance student employability and explore how Queen Mary can be a better place for everyone to do well. Whether a person, organisation or smart fridge Gokop aims to help you reach your full potential!
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EPSRC supports this blog through research grant EP/W033615/1.
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