Sam Maesschalck FHEA

Research Interests

My research interests mainly lie within network security and digital forensics. These research areas are further underlined by an interest for honeypots, industrial control systems and software-defined-networking. Due to the nature of industrial control systems, a need for specific security measures has emerged, specifically one that has minimal interference with the devices itself. Digital forensics fits perfectly within security, as it supports us to obtain valuable information from (infected) systems.

Further interests lie within the aspect of cyberspace and its relation to national security and international relations as these are of importance to consider within the critical infrastructure environment. The emergence of cyberspace as a new domain of warfare and criminal activity has brought many questions with it and exposes nations to a range of new threats. One of the major threats in this area is CNI, which I want to focus on from both a technical and socio-technical aspect. This calls for further research into the aspects of cyberspace, how they might interfere within these areas, and how we can effectively mitigate them. A final area of interest is situated within the educational sphere and how technology can be used to enhance the learning experience of students.

Current Research

My current research focuses on the security of critical infrastructure systems and environments with a specific interest in honeypots.