Tutorial sessions

Abstract:

In today’s complex threat landscape, effective cybersecurity relies on more than just static defenses. This hands-on tutorial equips participants with a practical, end-to-end skillset covering three critical domains: Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), Security Operations Center (SOC) workflows, and deep-dive network forensics. Participants will learn how to operationalize threat intelligence using real-world indicators, triage alerts in a simulated SOC environment, and decode packet-level data to uncover the root cause of incidents. Through live demonstrations using Wireshark, Security Onion, and Splunk, attendees will walk through a series of realistic attack scenarios and learn how to correlate logs, analyze packet captures, and extract actionable insights.

Key Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Apply CTI to identify and contextualize Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) in real-world attack scenarios.
• Simulate SOC workflows, including alert triage, log correlation, and incident escalation.
• Perform packet-level analysis using Wireshark to investigate suspicious network behavior and detect anomalies.
• Leverage Security Onion and Splunk for centralized log collection, threat detection, and forensic investigation.
• Correlate threat intelligence, logs, and network traces to reconstruct multi-stage cyberattacks and formulate effective response strategies.

Sajith is a Research Scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the United States of America. His research involves grid-level decarbonization, increasing resilience of human settlements against extreme climates, advanced building energy modeling and advanced thermal energy storage systems analysis. In addition to that he is a Visiting Scientist at the Colorado School of Mines where he contributes to research on the same topics above. He works for and assist co-manage three Clean Energy Ministerial work streams. (i) Solutions Center (SC), which provides assistance to developing countries to design and implement clean energy policies, and resolve deployment-related challenges, (ii) NICE Future Initiative on Nuclear Energy policy assistance (iii) 21st Century Power Partnership which serves as a platform for public-private collaboration to advance policy for the large-scale deployment of renewable energy in combination with deep energy efficiency and smart grid solutions.

He is a Global Expert on SDG7 to the UNDESA UN-Energy process and a IRENA Youth Council Member. He is also a Climate Negotiator for Sri Lanka on Global Stocktake. IEEE MGA has appointed him as a representative to the Sustainable Climate Matrix Organization (TSCMO) to lead its external outreach subcommittee and IEEE PES has appointed him to lead the young professionals advisory council 2026-27.

As global demand for connectivity accelerates, the challenge of maintaining network performance while minimizing energy consumption has never been more critical. 5G and emerging 6G technologies introduce new tools that enable networks to become not only faster, but also more intelligent, adaptive, and sustainable. This tutorial will showcase how the IEEE 5G/6G Innovation Testbed—a globally accessible cloud-based platform—provides a hands-on environment for exploring and validating such innovations.

Participants will learn how advanced 5G capabilities can directly contribute to sustainability goals, including:

• Dynamic bandwidth allocation APIs that optimize resource use by scaling network capacity in real time based on user activity;
• Automated orchestration and closed-loop management that scale network functions down as soon as traffic dips, conserving power without compromising performance; and
• Network slicing techniques that allow efficient service differentiation while maintaining energy-aware operation across diverse applications.

The session will also introduce the IEEE Testbed’s open-source architecture and its ability to host both proprietary and experimental tools for research, education, and industry collaboration. Attendees will gain insight into how this testbed enables the testing, integration, and demonstration of sustainable network practices that can shape the design principles of the networks of the future.

By the end of this tutorial, participants will understand how the IEEE 5G/6G Innovation Testbed can serve as a proving ground for sustainable, efficient, and resilient communication systems—advancing both technological innovation and environmental responsibility.

The rising demand for sustainable aquaculture has increased interest in microalgae as an alternative fish feed. This work introduces a smart monitoring and anomaly detection framework that integrates Long-Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN)–enabled sensors with a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) autoencoder model for outdoor microalgae cultivation in 300 L tanks. A solar-powered Internet of Things (IoT) system was developed to continuously track key water quality parameters, including pH, water temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), and oxidation–reduction potential (ORP). Among these, ORP emerged as a sensitive indicator of both growth dynamics and contamination. The LSTM autoencoder, trained on normal ORP signals, successfully identified anomalies through reconstruction error analysis, achieving strong performance (precision: 1.000, recall: 0.944, F1-score: 0.971, AUC-ROC: 1.000). Applying a moving average filter further enhanced signal stability for robust model training. In addition, a customized heatmap visualization of reconstruction errors simplified anomaly interpretation for end-users. This approach demonstrates the potential of combining IoT sensing and machine learning to enable timely interventions, enhance the reliability of microalgae cultivation, and contribute to global goals in sustainable aquaculture and food security.

Emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products are persistent in aquatic environments, posing ecological and health risks. This tutorial introduces recent advancements in Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) as sustainable technologies for the degradation of these pollutants, focusing on the generation of highly reactive radicals (•OH) to achieve complete mineralization of recalcitrant compounds.

Case studies from Malaysia’s river water quality assessments and collaborative projects with the Department of Environment and local industries illustrate real-world applications. Experimental insights from the APEC Scientist Invitation Program at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) will also be highlighted, particularly on the synthesis and characterization of Ni–Fe₂O₃ and Mn–Fe₂O₃ heterogeneous electro-Fenton catalysts for ibuprofen and phthalate degradation. The session concludes by emphasizing cross-sector collaboration between academia, industry, and government agencies to scale up AOP applications in real wastewater systems for sustainable environmental protection.

The growing demand for sustainable solutions in environmental management has accelerated the shift toward eco-friendly technologies. Among these, green nanotechnology has emerged as a promising approach that merges nanoscience with the principles of green chemistry to minimize ecological impact. This talk explores the innovative use of plant-mediated synthesis of nanoparticles as an environmentally benign alternative to conventional chemical and physical methods. By integrating concepts from green materials science, nanotechnology, and environmental sustainability, this session aims to inspire researchers, students, and industry practitioners to adopt nature-inspired innovations for pollution mitigation and resource conservation. Ultimately, it envisions a cleaner, greener future—where plants become the factories of tomorrow’s nanomaterials and technology harmonizes with nature to protect our planet.