Rafiqul Islam

Dr. Rafiqul Islam is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computing at Charles Sturt University's School of Computing, Mathematics & Engineering, within the Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences. He specializes in Cybersecurity with a focus on malware analysis, authentication systems, cloud security, IoT security, and privacy in digital environments. He leads the Cybersecurity Research Group and has been recognized nationally/internationally with awards like the 2021 Cyber Security Researcher of the Year Award from AISA. His research has attracted over $7M in external grants, including a $68M Cybersecurity CRC project.

• Education: PhD (Network Security), MSc (Research), BSc (Hons), PGDip (Learning & Teaching)
• Leadership: Director of the Cybersecurity Research Team at CSU
• Publications: Over 200 peer-reviewed articles, emphasizing AI-driven cybersecurity solutions for IoT, cloud, and industrial systems

Research interests span adversarial machine learning, ransomware detection, secure agri-food supply chains, and medical data privacy. His work bridges theoretical advancements with real-world applications, such as resilient IoT configurations and threat intelligence frameworks for smart agriculture.

Recent articles focus on AI-enhanced cybersecurity for IoT, malware classification systems, and blockchain-based healthcare data protection. He actively collaborates on projects addressing cybersecurity challenges in distributed networks and emerging technologies.

• Awards: Professional Excellence, Research Excellence, Leadership Award (CSU), Cyber Security CRC contributions
• Grants: $7M+ secured as Co-PI in collaborative projects

His lab focuses on interdisciplinary research, integrating AI, data science, and cybersecurity to address modern digital challenges.