The University of New England’s (UNE) Dr Kamaljeet Sandhu has begun work on new research that will develop innovative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to detect and eliminate cyberattacks on governments, businesses and universities across Australia and India.
Dr Sandhu will also provide leadership in cybersecurity and AI innovations to a team that will provide long-term education to Australian and Indian governments and universities so they can effectively collaborate, educate, and train businesses and practitioners.
Dr Sandhu is one of only six Australian researchers to be awarded funding from Round 5 of the 2024 Australian Alumni Grants Scheme (AAGS), which is aimed at strengthening ties between Australia and India through high impact projects.
“Nearly every day there is a cyberattack on our critical infrastructure which impacts areas such as finance and banking, utilities, and health systems,” says Dr Sandhu.
“What we are seeing every day is a national and global threat coming from unknown cyberattackers, and state sponsored actors beyond our borders where their identity is unknown, or will never be known. The most powerful tool that we have to counter these threats is AI.”
Dr Sandhu’s advanced research will build on AI’s capability to autonomously forecast, manage, and safeguard our critical digital assets, which is especially important during periods when the number of people closely monitoring threats is reduced, such as in the evenings and during major holidays.
The technologies that Dr Sandhu and his team are developing will be created through the use of an advanced quantum computing model, which Dr Sandhu investigated as part another Australian Government-funded project that he undertook in 2023.
“Quantum computing refers to the next generation of computers that have the capability to drive modern scientific digital infrastructure due to their superfast speeds, ability to solve complex problems quickly, and ability to process tasks exponentially faster than classical computers,” he says.
“This previous pilot project revealed that the model has vast international potential and can be scaled up to more advanced levels of AI across many countries in strategic partnerships and collaborations from governments, universities, and businesses.”
As one of the only Australian researchers to be selected for this competitive grant, Dr Sandhu is excited to expand the reach of his work in the future.
“Receiving this honour from the Australian-Indian governments has further motivated me to work towards higher levels of international achievement,” he says.
“I am already in discussion with colleagues in USA, Canada, UK, European Union (EU), and Asia for wider adoption by governments, universities, and businesses as cybersecurity and AI Innovations on digital platforms impact all of us internationally.”
