Modular Automation Software for SECS/GEM-Based Production Line Testing
A multi-year industry-funded research thread (BJIM) developing modular automation software and its secure integrative control for SECS/GEM-based production line testing.
This ongoing collaboration with industry (BJIM) has progressed through several funded phases:
- Modular Automation S/W (External Grant Industry, RM 30,000.00, 30/11/2020-29/10/2026)
- Integrative Control Software for SECS/GEM Module (Match NG Grant Industry, RM 38,300.00, 01/04/2022-31/10/2024)
- Feasibility of Secure Modular Automation Software in an Actual Production Line Environment (Bridging Grant - Mentor, RM 25,000.00, 01/09/2025-31/08/2026)
- Modular Automation S/W - Production Line Testing (External Grant Industry, RM 49,050.00, 01/03/2026-30/11/2026)
Project Member:
- Dr. Shankar Karuppayah (PI)
- Dr. Mohd Heikal Husin
- Azleena Mohd Kassim
- Nor Athiyah Abdullah
- Chun Keng Foong
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selvakumar Manickam
- Mohd Najwadi Yusoff
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.