SCIFER is about the intersection of Agentic SIEM (AI-enabled Security Information and Event Management) with digital forensics capabilities. This narrative is exactly what we envisage doing with SOCoF, but it will also be exploited on our Cyber Security and Forensics BSc. BU is also the technical coordinator of this project. The SCIFER proposal preparation and submission were led by our PhD alumna Amalia Damianou, who is working with the coordinating research institution (CERTH). SCIFER was led by Vasilis Katos alongside Sermet Mir, Fudong Li, and Muntadher Sallal.
Through the SCIFER project, BU will work alongside national agencies providing rail, energy and telecoms services to gather data and to simulate cyber-attacks. It will then test how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used reliably to detect threats, improve response rates and gather information (known as digital forensics) that could be used in a court of law.
As well as looking at how technology can improve responses to cyber-attacks, the SCIFER and MoSAIcSOC projects will also explore the psychological aspects of detection and response. Professor Katos is working alongside psychology academic Dr Ala Yankouskaya on the research. Dr Yankouskaya said: “We will be researching how advanced AI-powered attack techniques influence the effectiveness, coordination, and cognitive workload of first responder teams during major incidents. The goal is to uncover socio-technical dependencies that are used to exploit people and organisations and propose methods for enhancing preparedness and decision making. Central to this work is a human-centred approach – ensuring that AI-powered tools are designed around the real cognitive and emotional needs of the people using them.”
Contacts: Vasilis Katos, Fudong Li, Muntadher Sallal, Amalia Damianou
Funders: Horizon
Collaborators: Bournemouth University, European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC), and others