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Mohammad Hammoudeh Editor-in-Chief of ACM’s Distributed Ledger Technologies journal
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Abstract: As the world accelerates toward intelligent and interconnected infrastructures, including power grids, transportation systems, oil and gas facilities, and water utilities, the attack surface for malicious actors is expanding at an unprecedented pace. This keynote will explore the rising cyber threat landscape targeting critical infrastructures, driven by digital transformation, the proliferation of IoT and AI, and the convergence of IT with operational technologies (OT). We will begin by examining recent high-profile attacks and threat actor trends that expose the vulnerabilities of intelligent infrastructures. The talk will then cover the unique characteristics and constraints of OT environments that make securing these domains particularly challenging. Traditional defensive paradigms such as air-gapping, unidirectional gateways, and network segmentation will be reviewed, along with their limitations in modern, interconnected contexts. The keynote will conclude by highlighting urgent open research problems, including secure remote monitoring, threat detection in constrained and legacy systems, cyber-physical resilience modelling, and AI-driven anomaly detection tailored for OT.
Bio:
Mohammad Hammoudeh is a globally recognised expert in cybersecurity, specialising in quantum-resilient systems and AI-driven defences for Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). As the Saudi Aramco Cybersecurity Chair Professor, he leads research in post-quantum security and Operational Technology (OT) protection, including the use of digital twins and AI for securing industrial systems. He has secured over $15.5 million in research funding from major institutions such as Saudi Aramco, Innovate UK, and the EU Horizon Programme, and ranks among the world’s top 0.05% scientists. Dr. Hammoudeh is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of ACM’s Distributed Ledger Technologies journal.
