The Research Centre for Blockchain Technology (RCBT) hosted two events: the 26th International Symposium on Research in Attacks, Intrusions and Defenses (RAID’23) and the 19th EAI International Conference on Security and Privacy in Communication Networks (SecureComm’23). These were held from 16-21 October, 2023 at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University as part of the Cyber Security Week.

RAID aims at bringing together leading researchers and practitioners from academia, government, and industry to discuss novel research contributions related to computer and information security. It is an international event that brings together leading researchers and practitioners from academia, government, and industry. Attendees are from prestigious universities, government and high technology companies all over the world.

SecureComm is a conference in EAI core conference portfolio focusing on cybersecurity. The aim of SecureComm is to bring together researchers and practitioners in academic, industry, and government in security, networking, communication and other related communities to explore important research directions in the field.

The six-day event showcased a total of 26 sessions, including 1 workshop, with 102 paper presentations in additional to 4 keynote presentations on a range of cyber security topics such as cloud and network security, software security, privacy, cryptography and AI for security, etc. The keynote speakers included esteemed professors, each brining their unique perspectives to the discussions. They are Professor Guofei Gu, holder of the Eppright Professorship in Engineering in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at Texas A&M University, Professor Zhiqiang Lin, Director of Institute for Cybersecurity and Digital Trust at The Ohio State University, Professor Wenyuan Xu from the College of Electrical Engineering at Zhejiang University and Professor Robert Deng, AXA Chair Professor of Cybersecurity from Singapore Management University.

RAID’23 saw a 53% increase in total submissions compared to 2022, with 213 papers submitted and 50 accepted. SecureComm’23 received 180 total submissions, with 52 papers accepted, reflecting the high quality of research presented at these conferences.

RAID’23 also included two award categories: the Best Paper Award and the Best Practical Paper Award, each carrying a prize money of EUR2000. These awards were sponsored by BlockSec and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) respectively.

Professor Qing Li, Head of the Department of Computing, said in the opening remarks at RAID’23, “Our Department is pleased to co-organize international conferences like RAID’23, focusing on the important area of cyber security in our digital age. We have a continuous commitment to offering a dynamic platform where leading researchers and practitioners can gather, exchange ideas, and discuss the latest advancements in the field. We look forward to the insightful discussions and valuable knowledge that will emerge from this event.”

Participants are pleased to have been part of the conferences and expressed their satisfaction with the successful execution of the conferences. The General Chairs, Professor Man Ho Allen Au and Professor Daniel Xiapu Luo, emphasized the importance of cyber security in today’s world, stating, “Cyber security is a hot topic nowadays due to the proliferation of cyber threats. We are happy that the Cyber Security Week provided a great platform for scholars, researchers, and practitioners in the field to have intensive discussions and exchange ideas.”

The Cyber Security Week, through RAID’23 and SecureComm’23, has undoubtedly contributed to the ongoing dialogue on cyber security, fostering collaboration and innovation in this critical field.