Talking Like a Phisher: LLM-Based Attacks on Voice Phishing Classifiers
wenhao-li
Shankar Karuppayah
Associate Professor, CYRES · Founder & CEO, BitRanger
Cybersecurity Research Centre (CYRES), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
Professional Summary
Shankar Karuppayah is an Associate Professor and Deputy Director at the Cybersecurity Research Centre (CYRES), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), which he joined as Senior Lecturer in 2016. He is also the Founder & CEO of BitRanger Sdn. Bhd., a USM cybersecurity spin-off established in October 2023 that translates research and innovation from USM/CYRES into operational cybersecurity capabilities, including OwlSight, an outsourced Security Operations Centre platform.
He obtained his B.Sc (HONS) Computer Science from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2009 and his M.Sc. Software Systems Engineering from King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB) in 2011. In 2016, Shankar obtained his PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) from TU Darmstadt, where his research on advanced techniques for monitoring peer-to-peer botnets later formed the basis of his Springer book, Advanced Monitoring in P2P Botnets: A Dual Perspective.
His research has since expanded from P2P botnet monitoring and malware analysis into broader areas including intrusion detection, cyber threat intelligence, machine learning for cybersecurity, IoT and cyber-physical security, network security monitoring, and the translation of cybersecurity research into deployable, operational technologies.
Education
PhD in Computer Science (Cyber Security)
Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany
MSc in Software Systems Engineering
RWTH Aachen, Germany & King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok, Thailand
BSc (HONS) in Computer Science (Networking)
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
Interests
Cyber Threat Intelligence & Botnet Monitoring
Intrusion Detection & Network Security Monitoring
AI / Machine Learning for Cybersecurity
IoT & Cyber-Physical System Security
Security Operations Centres (SOC)
Cybersecurity Research Commercialisation
Recent Publications
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1 min read
Semantic interoperability in IoT for Industry 4.0: Review, taxonomy, challenges, and future research
devamekalai-nagasundaram
PhishSSL: Self-supervised Contrastive Learning for Phishing Website Detection
wenhao-li
Leveraging federated learning for DoS attack detection in IoT networks based on ensemble feature selection and deep learning models
tasneem-qasem-al-ghadi
Enabling SECS/GEM in legacy equipment: a proof of concept
muhammad-syahir-kamal-fitri
Grants & Funded Projects
Selected research grants and industry-funded projects as Principal Investigator, Project Leader, or Co-Researcher.
Research on Cyber and Physical System Security with the ERIA CPSF-ERAB Initiative in 2025 in Malaysia
An international research collaboration under the ERIA CPSF-ERAB initiative on cyber and physical system security in the energy domain.
OpenSOC SEA-NREN Initiative: Empowering Research Networks Against Cyber Threats
An APNIC ISIF Asia grant project to support emerging National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) in Southeast Asia in establishing Security Operations Centre (SOC) …
Research Into Security Layer and Communication for i-Connect Industry 4.0 in Manufacturing Modular Model Industry 4.0 Digital Twin Factory With Intelligence System on Systems and IOT Connectivity for Industry 4.0
An industrial research project to design and propose a lightweight AI-powered IDS mechanism for Manufacturing Industry 4.0 environments.
Cybersecurity Awareness Training
A full-day awareness training program crafted to upskill members of an academic institution’s in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Enhancing Cybersecurity for Distributed Energy Resources in Malaysia
An international research collaboration studying cybersecurity challenges for distributed energy resources (DER) and IoT controller deployment models in Malaysia.
Designing and Developing A Security Operations Center As A Service Sensor Prototype
An industry project to design and develop a sensor to be leveraged for offering a Security Operation Center as a Service (SOCaaS).
Accomplishments
ITEX 2026 Special Award
Japan Intellectual Property Association, International Invention, Innovation & Technology Competition 2026 ∙
January 2026
Awarded for OwlSight - Outsourced Security Operation Centre for SMEs.
ITEX 2026 Gold Medal
Malaysian Invention and Design Society, International Invention, Innovation & Technology Competition 2026 ∙
January 2026
Awarded for OwlSight - Outsourced Security Operation Centre for SMEs, as part of USM’s innovation showcase.
Pingat Jasa Kebaktian (PJK)
Penang State Government ∙
January 2025
A Malaysian state honour awarded for meritorious service.
International Innovation Award
Malaysia Technology Expo 2024 ∙
January 2024
International Innovation Award at the Malaysia Technology Expo 2024.
MTE 2024 Silver Medal
Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2024 ∙
January 2024
Silver Medal at the Malaysia Technology Expo 2024.
HRD Corp Accredited Trainer
Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) ∙
March 2023
Professional trainer status accredited by HRD Corp (10/03/2023 – 10/03/2026).
APAN Fellowship
Asia Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) ∙
January 2023
Fellowship awarded by the Asia Pacific Advanced Network, held in Sri Lanka.
Pitch@USM Cycle 1
Universiti Sains Malaysia ∙
January 2022
Recognition at Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Pitch@USM Cycle 1, 2022.
Professional Technologist (Cyber Security)
Malaysian Board of Technologists ∙
April 2020
BJIM-USM Fellow
Universiti Sains Malaysia ∙
May 2019
Appointed as USM-BJIM (Division of Industry & Community Network) Fellow.
Graduate Technologist (Cyber Security)
Malaysian Board of Technologists ∙
January 2019
CEO@Faculty 2.0 Fellow
Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education ∙
September 2018
An industrial attachment fellowship with Huawei (Malaysia) for a period of six months.
TRANSITS I
GÉANT ∙
March 2018
TRANSITS-I course is aimed at new or potential computer security incident response team (CSIRT) personnel who wish to gain a good grounding in the main aspects of working in such a team.
Academic Staff Training Scheme (ASTS) Fellowship
Universiti Sains Malaysia and Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education ∙
October 2012
A full scholarship offer to pursue Ph.D. and thereafter join USM as a faculty member.
DAAD Scholarship
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) ∙
July 2009
A full scholarship to pursue M.Sc. in a twinning programme between RWTH Aachen, Germany and Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), KMUTNB, Thailand.
Upcoming Talks & Events
Panel Moderator: "Cybersecurity & Data Protection for Business Growth" - SOBA 2026 Connect Penang
Invited by Star Media Group Berhad to moderate a panel session on cybersecurity and data protection for Malaysian businesses at SOBA 2026 Connect Penang.
Workshop: "Tracking the Unseen: Monitoring and Investigating P2P Botnets" - GISEC Global 2026
Delivering a hands-on workshop on monitoring and investigating peer-to-peer (P2P) botnets at GISEC Global 2026, Hall 6 GISEC Academy.
Recent News
Talks & Invited Presentations
Selected international invited talks and keynotes. (See Services for a fuller list of professional service and committee roles, or Accomplishments for awards and recognitions.)
- 2026 — “Tracking the Unseen: Monitoring and Investigating P2P Botnets” (Workshop), GISEC Global 2026, Dubai Exhibition Centre, UAE
- 2026 — “Cybersecurity Awareness” (Ceramah Kesedaran Keselamatan Siber), Penang International Halal Expo (PIHEX) 2026, Politeknik Seberang Perai
- 2025 — “Cybersecurity Concerns for Energy Domain”, ERIA/ERAB Cyber and Physical System Security Workshop, Kuala Lumpur
- 2024 — “Cybersecurity Best Practices in Academic Environment”, Universitas Brawijaya (Launch of UB-CSIRT)
- 2024 — “Building Cyber Resilience through Defending against Social Engineering Attacks”, IEEE Computational Intelligence Society / Universitas Nusa Putra
- 2024 — “Cybersecurity Guest Lecture”, Universitas Brawijaya, Fakultas Vokasi
- 2023 — “The P2P Botnet Threat Mitigation Lifecycle”, IEEE Indonesia / Universitas Nusa Putra
- 2023 — “Understanding the Botnet Threat Mitigation Lifecycle”, TU Darmstadt (PNS: Protection in Networked Systems)
- 2022 — “Introduction to Cyber Hygiene”, Intel Security Conference
- 2020 — “Botnet Mitigation Best Practices and System Evaluation”, Universitas Brawijaya (DCNDS Workshop Series 2)
- 2019 — “Cloud-Based Web Security Best Practices and System Configuration Overview”, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (DCNDS Workshop Series 1)
- 2019 — “The Importance of Data Analytics in the Era of Industry 4.0”, Universitas Brawijaya
- 2018 — “Data Analytics with Pandas”, Nehru Arts & Science College, Coimbatore, India
- 2017 — “Advanced Monitoring of P2P Botnets”, Bina Nusantara University (BINUS), Indonesia
- 2017 — “Awareness of Internet Security in Digital Era”, Universitas Brawijaya
Contact
Email: kshankar [at] usm [dot] my
Phone: +604 653 4632
Book an appointment: calendly.com/kshankar_usm
Other ways to reach me: