PhD Applicant · Cybersecurity & Trustworthy AI
Building secure, trustworthy AI for the systems critical infrastructure runs on.
Hi, I am Md Mazharul Islam — a cloud engineer and cybersecurity researcher working at the intersection of privacy-preserving computation, trustworthy AI and LLM security, and the resilience of cyber-physical systems. I am pursuing a PhD to design infrastructure that stays secure as intelligent systems take on increasingly critical roles.
- MSc CGPA 3.97 / 4.00
- First-author journals + 10 conference papers
- Vice-Chancellor's Gold Medal
/ Research Focus
Privacy-Preserving Computing & Cryptography
Searchable and homomorphic encryption, identity-based encryption, secure multi-party computation, and privacy-preserving cloud storage.
Trustworthy AI & LLM Security
Adversarial robustness, federated learning, secure fine-tuning of LLMs, RAG security, and defensive architectures for AI in safety-critical settings.
Cyber-Physical Systems Security
Anomaly detection, resilience, and secure communication in smart grids and IoT-enabled critical infrastructure.
/ Research Highlights
- First-author journal article on privacy-preserving fraud detection in health-insurance systems — Engineering Reports (Wiley), 2025.
- Proposed defensive architectures for securing Large Language Models in cyber-physical systems — ICCIT 2025 (IEEE).
- Built privacy-preserving encrypted cloud storage and keyword-search frameworks (MSc thesis).
- Developed machine-learning anomaly and fault detection for reliable, secure operation of critical-infrastructure systems.
- Engineered cyber-physical testbeds and co-simulation with NS-3, HELICS, and GridPACK for smart-grid security.
/ Research Experience
Research Assistant
Jan 2024 – PresentInstitute for Advanced Research (IAR) Lab · United International University & North South University
- Designing a privacy-preserving fraud-detection framework for healthcare data using cryptographic techniques and machine-learning anomaly detection.
- Developing models to identify abnormal and fraudulent patterns across healthcare and critical-infrastructure datasets.
- Conducting experimental evaluation of detection accuracy, scalability, and system security.
Graduate Research Assistant
Feb 2022 – Apr 2024Cyber-Physical System Research Lab · North South University
- Built and deployed cyber-physical system (CPS) testbeds for smart-grid security research and attack–defense simulation.
- Modeled and synchronized power-system and communication layers using NS-3, HELICS, and GridPACK on Linux.
- Developed co-simulation environments to analyze attack impact, resilience, and anomaly-detection strategies.
/ Professional Experience
Assistant Manager (Cloud)
Apr 2024 – PresentBangladesh Data Center Company Limited (BDCCL)
- Provision and manage Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) compute, storage, and database resources under an Infrastructure-as-Code model.
- Automate infrastructure delivery with Terraform for consistent, repeatable, and auditable deployments.
- Deliver SLA-driven cloud support, security, and compliance — troubleshooting and resolving client issues for seamless service.
Cybersecurity Instructor
Sep – Nov 2023Ethics Advanced Technology Limited (EATL)
- Delivered hands-on cybersecurity training to 50+ IT professionals from leading banks using EC-Council ICBT iLabs.
- Designed and managed interactive labs in network security, ethical hacking, and incident response.
- Mentored participants individually to strengthen practical threat detection and mitigation skills.
Solution Engineer
Dec 2020 – May 2021One World Infotech Limited
- Deployed enterprise multi-factor authentication (OneSpan) to strengthen client security posture.
- Conducted penetration testing and vulnerability assessments across enterprise environments.
- Supported SOC transformation and incident-response readiness aligned with compliance requirements.
/ Education
MSc, Computer Science & Engineering
North South University · Thesis on encrypted cloud storage & search
2020 · CGPA 3.97 / 4.00
BSc, Computer Science & Engineering
North South University · Dhaka, Bangladesh
2018 · CGPA 3.24 / 4.00
/ Honors & Awards
- Vice-Chancellor's Gold Medal — North South University, 25th Convocation (December 2024).
- 2nd Place Globally — Huawei ICT Competition 2024, Network Track (Shenzhen, China).
- 3rd Place Nationally — Huawei ICT Competition 2024 (Bangladesh).
- Peer Reviewer — ICDCC-2024 (VIT Bhopal University) and ICIDS-2024 (Manipal University Jaipur).
/ PhD Research Goal
To develop secure, trustworthy, and resilient AI-enabled cloud and cyber-physical infrastructure that protects critical systems and enables the safe deployment of intelligent technologies.