Adaptive Resilient Forensics for CPEs

About the research project

The project addresses the critical vulnerability in modern digital investigations where interconnected cyber-physical systems—including autonomous vehicles, drone swarms, smart city infrastructure, industrial IoT networks, and wearable devices—continuously evolve based on real-time data streams. The core challenge lies in maintaining forensic evidence integrity when compromised devices actively subvert investigation processes through coordinated data poisoning, temporal manipulation, and cascading deception attacks that corrupt entire forensic ecosystems. Current forensic methodologies treat devices as static evidence sources, failing catastrophically when adversaries exploit dynamic interactions and temporal dependencies to inject false evidence and manipulate behavioural patterns across networked environments.

This research develops Byzantine-fault-tolerant forensic architectures capable of maintaining investigative accuracy even when up to quarter of devices are compromised. The primary objectives include creating distributed consensus mechanisms for real-time evidence validation, implementing adaptive threat detection that evolves with changing device behaviours, designing self-healing forensic networks resilient to cascading failures, and establishing temporal evidence correlation frameworks for dynamic system states. The methodology employs practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (pBFT) protocols, multi-source evidence cross-validation, continuous behavioural baselining, and digital twin forensics for simulation-based evidence verification.

Expected outcomes include the framework providing sub-second evidence validation with high accuracy in adversarial environments, supporting dynamic device networks while preserving forensic capability during coordinated attacks.

Primary supervisor

Meet Doctor Muhammad Bilal Amin

Funding

Applicants will be considered for a Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship or Tasmania Graduate Research Scholarship (TGRS) which, if successful, provides:

• a living allowance stipend funded by University of Tasmania of $34,315 per annum for 3.5 years
• a relocation allowance of up to $2,000
• a tuition fees offset covering the cost of tuition fees for up to four years (domestic applicants only)

A tuition fee offset may be offered to eligible international applicants following competitive assessment 

As part of the application process you may indicate if you do not wish to be considered for scholarship funding.

Other funding opportunities and fees

For further information regarding other scholarships on offer, and the various fees for undertaking a research degree, please visit our Scholarships and fees on research degrees page.

Eligibility

Applicants should review the Higher Degree by Research minimum entry requirements.

Ensure your eligibility for the scholarship round by referring to our Key Dates.

Additional eligibility criteria specific to this project/scholarship:

• Applicants must be able to undertake the project on-campus
• Masters by Research with specialisation in domains of Cybersecurity/AI/Distributed Systems Or
• Masters (Course work) with Industry experience in the domain of Cybersecurity Or
• Bachelors (Hons) with research component in the domains of Cybersecurity/AI/Distributed Systems

Selection criteria

The project is competitively assessed and awarded. Selection is based on academic merit and suitability to the project as determined by the College.

Additional essential selection criteria specific to this project:

• Technical Skills - Expertise in digital forensic processes and evidence validation, fault-tolerant distributed systems , cyber-physical systems (CPS) and IoT infrastructure security, plus AI/machine learning capabilities for adaptive threat detection and behavioural analysis in adversarial environments.
• Research Skills - Strong critical thinking and analytical capabilities with a proven research record demonstrated through published article(s) in journals/conferences, along with experience in experimental design, data analysis, and interdisciplinary problem-solving methodologies
• Soft Skills - Excellent team collaboration and leadership abilities to work effectively across computer science domains. Strong communication skills for presenting complex technical concepts to diverse stakeholders, and adaptability to manage evolving project requirements in a dynamic research environment

Application process

1. Select your project, and check that you meet the eligibility and selection criteria, including citizenship;
2. Contact Doctor Muhammad Bilal Amin to discuss your suitability and the project's requirements; and
3. In your application:
   • Copy and paste the title of the project from this advertisement into your application. If you don’t correctly do this your application may be rejected.
   • Submit a signed supervisory support form, a CV including contact details of 2 referees and your project research proposal.
4. Apply prior to 1 October 2026.

Full details of the application process can be found under the ' How to apply ' section of the Research Degrees website.

Following the closing date applications will be assessed within the College. Applicants should expect to receive notification of the outcome by email by the advertised outcome date.

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