Usman Rauf

  • Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity
  • Director, Graduate Cybersecurity Program | Head, CRISP Lab
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Usman Rauf

Dr. Usman Rauf is an accomplished cybersecurity expert with a Ph.D. in Software & Information Systems from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He specializes in cybersecurity, applied formal methods, and threat analytics. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Graduate Cybersecurity Program at Mercy University, where he also leads the CRISP Lab. 

Dr. Usman's research focuses on insider threat detection, vehicular security, and bio-inspired cybersecurity architectures. Dr. Rauf has worked as senior personnel on significant federal research and educational grants, and has published extensively in high-impact journals such as Future Generation Computer Systems,  IEEE Access and Sensors. He is a dedicated educator and researcher with a commitment to advancing the field of cybersecurity through innovative research and academic leadership. Currently, he is working on:

  • Behavioral Analytics
  • Covert Channel Detection
  • Security of Intera Vehicle networks
  • Privacy Quantification in Smart Applications
  • Security and Privacy of Internet of Medical Things
  • IASP 530: Digital Forensics
  • IASP 540: Information Assurance
  • IASP 560: Wireless Network Security
  • IASP 590: Cybersecurity Internship
  • IASP 595: Special Topics in Cybersecurity
  • IASP 599: Independent Studies
  • IASP 600: Graduate Projects
  • IASP 601: Graduate Thesis
  • Fadi Mohsen, Usman Rauf, et al. On Identification of Intrusive Applications: A Step Towards Heuristics-Based Adaptive Security Policy, IEEE Access, 2024. (Impact Factor: 3.4)
  • Zhiyuan Wei, Usman Rauf, et al. E-Watcher: Insider Threat Monitoring and Detection for Enhanced Security, Annals of Telecommunications, 2024. (Impact Factor: 1.9)
  • Usman Rauf, et al. Employee Watcher: A ML-based Insider Threat Detection Framework, CSNET, 2023.
  • Usman Rauf, et al. A Taxonomic Classification of Insider Threats: Existing Techniques, Future Directions & Recommendations, Journal Of Cybersecurity & Mobility, 2023. (Impact Factor: 1.075)
  • Usman Rauf, et al. A Survey on COVID-19 Data Analysis Using AI, IoT, and Social Media, Sensors, 2023. (Impact Factor: 3.9)
  • Usman Rauf, et al. Formal Approach to Thwart Against Insider Attacks: A Bio-Inspired Auto-Resilient Policy Regulation Framework, Future Generation Computer Systems, 2021. (Impact Factor: 7.5)

Research & Educational Fundings: 

  • AutoSecNet: International Consortium for Advancing Vehicular Security Research – Submitted to NSF (Pending)
  • An Integrated Security Framework to Combat Stealthy Attacks on the Internet of Medical Things – Submitted to NSF (Pending)
  • Cybersecurity Research Innovation Grant: $465,398, National Security Agency (NSA) – Principal Investigator (2022–Present)
  • STEM and Articulation Funding: $4,928,344, Department of Education (DoE) – Co-Principal Investigator, Activity Director (2021–Present)
  • Information Technology Research, CyberSEES Grant: $563,000, National Science Foundation (NSF) – Lead Author, Research Participant (2013–2017)
  • Asymmetric Resilient Cybersecurity (ARC) Initiative: U.S. Army Research Office (ARO) – Research Collaborator (2015-2016)