I am an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Grand Valley State University, where I direct the FORCE lab (Forensics and Offensive Research in Cyber-physical Environments). My research focuses on Industrial Control Systems and Critical Infrastructure Security, including discovering vulnerabilities in ICS devices, developing digital forensics tools for investigating network-based attacks on ICS, and building frameworks for ICS threat intelligence. I completed my Ph.D. in Computer Science at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2023, where I worked at the SAFE lab under the guidance of Dr. Irfan Ahmed. Before that, I completed my B.S. in Computer Science at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in 2016. In my free time, I like to watch soccer, play pickleball, and work on my cooking skills.

If you’re a student interested in doing research or a capstone project with me, feel free to reach out by email as well.

Research Interests

• Cybersecurity
• Digital Forensics
• Internet of Things
• Threat Intelligence

Recent News

• [Aug 2025] I was awarded the SPGA grant from GVSU for “KALAM: Discovering Vulnerabilities in Industrial Control Systems Protocols Using Smart Fuzzing”
• [May 2025] I was awarded the CSCE Catalyst Grant from GVSU for “Developing a Smart Fuzzing Tool for Industrial Control Systems”
• [May 2025] My paper titled “PLCpot: Application Dialogue Replay based Scalable PLC Honeypot for Industrial Control Systems” was accepted at ICCPS 2025
• [Dec 2023] I presented my work titled “vPLC: A scalable PLC testbed for IIoT security research” at ICSS Workshop 2023
• [Aug 2023] I joined Grand Valley State University as an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Director of the FORCE lab
• [July 2023] I completed my Ph.D. in Computer Science at Virginia Commonwealth University
• [July 2023] My paper titled “PREE: Heuristic Builder for Reverse Engineering of Network Protocols in Industrial Control Systems” won the BEST STUDENT PAPER award at DFRWS USA’23
• [April 2023] I presented my work titled “Industrial Control Systems Threat Intelligence Using Virtual PLC Platform” at CCI Symposium 2023
• [April 2023] I presented my work titled “Control Logic Forensics Framework using Built-in Decompiler of Engineering Software in Industrial Control Systems” at HotSoS 2023, hosted by the NSA
• [March 2023] My paper titled “Attacking the IEC-61131 Logic Engine in Programmable Logic Controllers in Industrial Control Systems” resulted in CVE-2023-2310
• [Oct 2022] I presented my work titled “Digital Forensic Tools and Techniques for Investigating Control Logic Attacks in Industrial Control Systems” at CINA Annual Meeting
• [July 2022] My paper titled “Control Logic Forensics Framework using Built-in Decompiler of Engineering Software in Industrial Control Systems” won the BEST STUDENT PAPER award at DFRWS’20
• [Feb 2022] I presented my work titled “A Case Study of Virtual Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) Forensic Framework on Investigating Control Logic Attacks in a Belt Conveyor System” at 74th AAFS