CyReSE: Cyber Security Research Software Engineering

CSIT的研究人员和更广泛的网络安全研究社区显然需要RSE的支持，以开发用于推动研究和潜在成果商业化的软件。该提案将支持一个重点研究项目，研究基于软件的物联网攻击缓解方法。它将建立一个新的物联网测试平台，包括一组故意易受攻击的蜜罐（蜜网），以吸引最新的攻击进行分析，以及消费者设备，以测试基于处理器级软件的威胁缓解措施。该试验台还将与伦敦大学学院进行多学科合作，研究基于物联网的技术滥用。此外，我将为三个现有的研究小组提供RSE支持：CSIT蓬勃发展的软件定义网络(SDN)-网络功能虚拟化（NFV）研究小组将受益于专用的RSE，以推动软件取代传统基于硬件的方法的研究领域的创新。我还将支持ICS安全研究小组的软件驱动研究框架，调查针对关键国家基础设施的攻击。恶意软件研究小组将通过基于动态汇编语言的人工智能模型来研究恶意软件检测，并将得到新型软件框架的支持，以获得有关新兴威胁的研究数据，包括无文件、预期过程和基于浏览器的攻击。这些独立设施将连接到CSIT网络靶场，这是一个价值50万英镑的培训和测试设施，可以模拟真实世界的部署模型，并在攻击和防御策略中进行实践。作为一名专门的RSE，我将在管理CSIT研究中产生的研究软件工件（包括源代码、文档和数据集）方面发挥核心和一致的作用。这将通过开发网络应用程序来管理研究代码和数据，确保研究成果的再现性、可复制性和保证。该提案的一个关键目标是在大学内建立RSE的存在，促进RSE作为吸引和留住高水平工程师的职业途径。这有可能成为北爱尔兰（NI）第一个RSE章节的核心。在大学内部和外部，将有大量的时间用于扩展和公民活动，以满足研究软件工程师协会和奖学金的目标。

There is a clear need among CSIT researchers, and the wider cyber security research community, for RSE support to develop software for driving research and potential commercialisation of results. This proposal will support a key research project into software-based approaches for IoT attack mitigation. It will establish a novel IoT testbed, including a set of intentionally vulnerable honeypots (a honeynet) to attract the latest attacks for analysis, and consumer devices to test processor-level software-based mitigations to threats. This testbed will also be employed for multi-disciplinary collaboration with University College London into IoT-based tech-abuse. Further I will provide RSE support to three existing research groups: CSIT's thriving Software-Defined Networking (SDN)-Network Function Virtualization (NFV) research group would benefit from a dedicated RSE to drive innovation in research areas where software is replacing traditional hardware-based approaches. I will also support software-driven research frameworks for the ICS security research group, investigating attacks on Critical National Infrastructure. The Malware research group, investigating malware detection by AI models built on dynamic assembly language, will be supported with novel software frameworks to derive research data on emerging threats, including fileless, expected-process and browser-based attacks. These stand-alone facilities will be connected to the CSIT Cyber Range, a £500k training and testing facility that enables simulation of real-world deployment models, and practice in attack and defence strategies. As a dedicated RSE, I will provide a central and consistent role in managing research software artefacts arising from CSIT's research, including the source code, documentation and datasets. This will be supported through the development of web applications to manage research code and data, ensuring the reproducibility, replicability and assurance of research outcomes. A key aim of this proposal is to establish an RSE presence within the university, promoting RSE as a career pathway to attract and retain high level engineers. This has the potential to be the nucleus of the first RSE Chapter in Northern Ireland (NI). Significant time will be committed to outreach and citizenship activities, both within the university and externally, meeting aims of the Society of Research Software Engineers, and of the Fellowship.