Prof. Nauman Aslam

Prof. Nauman Aslam, Northumbria University

Title: From Connected to Cognitive: Intelligence, Autonomous and Security in Future Wireless Networks

Abstract

Over four decades, wireless networks have moved through three stages: networks that carry data, networks that measure themselves, and networks that optimise their own operation. A fourth stage is now arriving. Increasingly, networks are expected to act on goals rather than parameters, and machine learning has moved from analysing the network to controlling it. The talk examines this transition and the challenges of embedding intelligence, autonomy and security within the same architecture. We begin with the multi-agent reinforcement learning methods already used for network control, connecting to our own work in two areas: distributed learning for high-definition map updates in vehicular networks, which reduced latency for map traCic while remaining within existing standards; and studies of the fragility of learned models under adversarial evasion. We then contrast these with a newer class of agent built on large language models, tool use and retrieval, which diCers in one fundamental respect that it can be instructed in words. This leads to the question of what defences are available at each level: adversarial training and robustness applied to individual models, and architectural controls over authority, provenance and participation. The central argument is simple: how quickly a decision must be made, and how far we can check it beforehand, determine where each kind of agent belongs. We will examine the interface between the two layers, following the path from an operator's instruction, to the objective given to a learned controller, to the behaviour that results, and the challenges that arise along the way. The talk closes with design principles and three proposals for this community.

Biography

Nauman Aslam is a Professor of Network Systems and Security in the School of Computer Science at Northumbria University. Before joining Northumbria University as a Senior Lecturer in 2011, he served as an Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University, Halifax (NS), Canada, where he also earned his Ph.D. in Engineering Mathematics in 2008. Prof. Aslam leads the Cyber Security and Network Systems (CyberNets) research group at Northumbria University and has also served as Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange, overseeing the REF2021 submission for UoA11. His current research addresses challenges in vehicular networks, IoT, network security, EV charging management, and AI applications in communication networks. As Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Investigator (CoI), he has secured several grants from funders such as the European Commission, EPSRC, Innovate UK, and industry. Prof. Aslam has co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and serves as the Chair of the IEEE UK and Ireland Communications Society (ComSoc) chapter.