The fight against cyber threats: A conversation with Selcuk Uluagac

Cybersecurity researcher Selcuk Uluagac is an eminent scholar chaired professor in the Knight School of Computing and Information Sciences. He’s an expert in cybersecurity and privacy, focusing on malware, ransomware, Internet of Things, smart systems and more. As director of the Cyber-Physical Systems Security Lab, Uluagac collaborates with Google, Microsoft and other industry leaders to advance research and prepare the next generation of cyberwarriors to take on the rising threat of increasingly sophisticated, profit-driven cybercriminals.

What’s one of the most concerning cyber threats today?

Ransomware is the No. 1 arms race between hackers and cybersecurity experts today. This type of malicious software holds sensitive personal data hostage in exchange for payment. Nearly every U.S. organization has been targeted: Fortune 500 companies, banks, governments, hospitals, insurance companies, schools. One recent breach led to a backlog in filling people’s prescriptions. It’s totally paralyzing. That’s why companies end up paying. In 2023, the payouts hit $1.1 billion.

Can ransomware attacks be combatted?

Bad guys will always find a way to get into your system. Hackers have everything in their arsenal to attack any system. Imagine you can lock all the doors and windows in your house. Does that really guarantee someone can’t break in? No, but being in this field for 15 years as an active researcher in cybersecurity topics, I’ve seen firsthand that the best way to prevent attacks is education and knowledge. If you learn to think like a hacker, you stay one step ahead. When you understand how things fall apart and break, you become a better defender.

How do you help students ‘think like a hacker’ in your lab?

My lab has every operating system and smart device imaginable. Working hands-on with this tech, students learn how different companies approach security. Undergrad student Paulina Acosta Cevallos had never touched an Apple computer before she joined my lab. Today she works at Apple as a software engineer. Other students have been hired by Amazon, Google, Sandia National Labs, the Department of Homeland Security and more.

What has your recent research uncovered about potential new types of ransomware?

Modern web browsers are almost operating systems themselves, capable of running software programs and encrypting files. Our study showed these capabilities, combined with the browser’s access to host a computer’s files — including ones in the cloud, shared folders and external drives via the File System Access API — make it possible for hackers to create new types of browser-based ransomware. We also outlined defense approaches at different levels (browser, file system and user) to mitigate this ransomware and communicated with the developers who’ve expressed support for our work and interest in our approaches.

Can smartphones also make us vulnerable to hackers?

YES, INDEED, in a new study supported by Google’s ASPIRE Program, we looked at the security of older Android phones. Data was collected from around the world to understand how security updates are pushed onto these phones. In some countries, phones are getting updates 30 days later than other places, putting them even at an increased risk against hackers. Google has been extremely interested in our results and they shared our findings internally with their vendor partners. That’s always our goal: Demonstrate how a system is vulnerable to attacks to help build better systems with security and privacy in mind.

What’s next?

I was recently named a program director of the National Science Foundation’s Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace program. I’ll be using my expertise to help manage a diverse portfolio of projects and guide decisions on new directions for cybersecurity and privacy research projects. I’m so honored to represent FIU in this role.