Natalija Vlajic

Natalija Vlajic is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at York University's Lassonde School of Engineering. She holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ottawa and an M.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Manitoba. Dr. Vlajic is a highly accomplished researcher with over 80 publications in international conferences and journals, specializing in cybersecurity with a focus on industrial control systems.

Her primary research interests include network and information security, communication systems and network protocols, cybersecurity of industrial systems, machine learning applications in security, and system performance evaluation. She has made significant contributions to the understanding of security risk management, bot and DDoS attacks, user privacy, IoT security, and sensor networks. Her work bridges theoretical security concepts with practical applications in critical infrastructure protection.

Dr. Vlajic's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on Industrial Control Systems security, particularly addressing vulnerabilities through innovative approaches like risk-based cryptoperiod optimization, attack tree modeling using MITRE ATT&CK framework, and advanced bot detection techniques. Her research combines traditional security methodologies with machine learning and data analytics to develop more robust protection mechanisms for critical infrastructure.

• NSERC University Faculty Award
• Faculty-Wide Excellence in Teaching Award
• Departmental Mildred Baptist Teaching Award
• Best Poster Award at ACM/IEEE ICCPS (2023)
• Best Paper Award at HoTSoS (2018)

Dr. Vlajic actively mentors graduate students including Gabriele Cianfarani, Melina Najimi, Stefan Petrovic, Shadi Sadeghpour, Daniel Brown, and Jazdeep Sarai. Her research group has received significant recognition, with students presenting at major conferences like GradCon hosted by Waterloo's Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute. She serves as a co-editor for the IEEE Communications Magazine special issue on Security of Communication Protocols in Industrial Control Systems.

Her research is conducted through the Security Research at York (SecRAY) initiative, focusing on practical security solutions for industrial systems, web applications, and IoT environments. The group maintains strong industry connections and collaborates on real-world security challenges, particularly in the domain of critical infrastructure protection.