About Us

Security and Forensics Engineering (SAFE) Lab is founded and directed by Dr. Irfan Ahmed in the Department of Computer Science at the College of Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University.

The lab focuses on a broad field of Cybersecurity including the following research areas:

• Digital Forensics
  • Memory Forensics
  • Code Fingerprinting
  • Cloud Forensics
  • File Type/Encoding Identification
• Industrial Control System (ICS) Security
  • Exploring new attack vectors
  • Identifying Vulnerabilities
  • Attack Detection and Recovery
  • Digital Forensics Readiness, Tools and Techniques
• Smart Manufacturing Security
  • Digital Twin
  • 3D Printers
  • Internet of Things
• System Security
  • Hypervisor
  • Virtual Machine Introspection
  • Lightweight Containers
• Malware
  • Software/Protocol Reverse Engineering
  • Malware Detection, Analysis, and Characterization
• Human Aspects of Cybersecurity
  • Studying and Improving (In)secure Cyber Behavior of End Users e.g., Personality Traits
• Cybersecurity Education
  • Pedagogical Techniques e.g., Peer Instruction, and Concept Maps
  • Outreach Strategies and Activities

The lab is fully-equipped with Desktop computers, laboratory-scale ICS testbeds of several vendors (including GE, Mitsubishi, Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Omron, WAGO, and AutomationDirect), 3D printers, and access to a data center of high-performance computing infrastructure.