Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

This research project is a comprehensive overview of cyberattacks detection and protection from a series of different and complementary angles, looking at both client and server sides and mixing analytical work and machine learning. As a starting point for this project, we have access to a unique database of actual attacks in almost real time as well as a much less common dataset: thousands of "phishing kits", the code used server side by the attackers. Our database is constantly updated. Our immediate research goals are split between "client side" (the web site that the victim of the phishing attack sees) and "server side" (the web server hosting the phishing site). Client side, our aim is to put together a new and comprehensive attack detection network that will innovate on several fronts: phishing attack detection, scale, target detection and active search. On the server side, we will develop a new approach to reconstruct the evolution and genealogy of attack code using static analysis and machine learning. We are also planning on moving beyond phishing attacks and include other type of attacks such as malware distributions but also large scale "scam" such as the "support service scam" and many others.