Summary
The Department of Cyber Security Engineering (CYSE) was established to meet the urgent and growing demand for professionals capable of protecting complex systems at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds.
Building on George Mason’s leadership in engineering and information security, CYSE launched the first bachelor’s program of its kind in the United States, creating a model that integrates cybersecurity into system design from the very beginning. Since then, the department has expanded to include master’s and accelerated degree programs, a thriving capstone experience, and a dynamic research enterprise recognized nationally and internationally.
Our Mission
To educate and inspire the next generation of cybersecurity engineers through rigorous programs that combine technical knowledge, practical application, and innovative thinking, while contributing impactful research that strengthens the security and resilience of society’s critical systems.
CYSE is committed to advancing research that anticipates emerging threats, develops adaptive defenses, and secures cyber-physical systems across critical domains such as infrastructure, communications, and smart technologies. We prepare future leaders through rigorous programs that build advanced technical skills and problem-solving abilities, while supporting students with scholarships, mentorship, and experiential learning. Through partnerships with government, industry, and academia, we ensure our work guides practice, informs policy, and strengthens the resilience of global systems.
Source: Website
OnAir Post: CYSE- Cyber Security Engineering Department
About
Chair’s Statement
Welcome to the Department of Cyber Security Engineering––the first of its kind in the country and the top-ranked program in Virginia.
We are leaders in education in this field, offering both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in cyber security engineering.
Our programs prepare students to tackle some of the most daunting security issues of our day. We teach engineers how to design large, secure systems from the ground up.
Demand for our graduates has never been higher. One group suggests that the global cybersecurity workforce shortage will reach upwards of 1.8 million unfilled positions by 2022. Other reports put that number above 3 million.
Our faculty members are world-renowned leaders in education and research, and our students have the opportunity to work with them in some of the best labs in the country.
Our focus is not only on giving students the technical knowledge they need but helping them become leaders in their fields.
We strive to provide our students with a foundation that will serve them for a career of life-long learning while also advancing the frontiers of engineering.
Explore our programs on this website and see for yourself.
Sincerely,
Paulo Costa
Chair, Department of Cyber Security Engineering
Source: Website
Contact
Email: School
Locations
Cyber Security Engineering Department
Room 359 (Mail Stop 6B1)
Research Hall
George Mason University
Phone: 703-993-6760
Web Links
Degrees
The Department of Cyber Security’s (CYSE) challenging curriculum, dedicated faculty, and state-of-the-art labs will give you the expertise you need to create and maintain crucial information systems that will protect our nation from cyber threats.
As digital systems are deployed to control services we depend on, such as utilities, transportation, economic mechanisms, and defense, the risk of a malicious attack is growing. Cybercriminals identify weaknesses in communications and data networks to steal or sabotage valuable information. Cybersecurity engineers are the guardians of the digital galaxy.
We train our graduates to meet the urgent need for advanced technical skills in everything related to security and communications.
Bachelor’s Degrees
- Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS): Concentration in Cybersecurity
- Computer Science, BS
- Cyber Security Engineering, BS
- Information Technology: Concentration in Cyber Security
Master’s Degrees
- Applied Information Technology, MS: Concentration in Cyber Security
- Computer Science, MS
- Cyber Security Engineering, MS
- Data Analytics Engineering, MS: Concentration in Cyber Analysis
- Information Security and Assurance, MS
Doctoral Degrees
- Computer Science, PhD
- Information Technology, PhD: Concentration in Information Security and Assurance
- Information Technology, PhD: Concentration in Information Systems
Graduate Certificates
Research Centers
Our research labs and centers are leading the battle against cybercrime. They focus on wireless communications, 5G technology, sensors, artificial intelligence, and more. Take a look at the capabilities and infrastructure available in our laboratories.
C5I
Source: Website
The Command, Control, Communications, Computing, Cyber, and Intelligence (C5I) Center at George Mason Universityis the nation’s first and only civilian university-based entity offering a comprehensive academic and research program in military applications of information technology and cyber security.
Living Innovation Lab
Source: website
NoVa Node’s Living Innovation Lab supports foundational research in such areas as 5G performance and the security of autonomous vehicles, the Internet of Things (IoT), smart manufacturing, smart cities and infrastructure, and mobile communications.
The Radar and Radio Engineering Lab ..
Source: website
The Radar and Radio Engineering Lab (RARE Lab) is located at George Mason University’s Volgenau School of Engineering and is focused on enhancing the state of the art in safety and security applications of cognitive radios. The lab has partnerships with industry players, government agencies, as well as other academic institutions in the US and abroad; conducting research projects in areas as diverse as air transportation, high-speed trains, autonomous vehicles, smart power grids, and others.
Rapid Prototyping Research Center
Source: Website
Mason’s Rapid Prototyping Research Center (RPRC), in the university’s College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), is a premier applied engineering hub located in the National Capital Region. Key patrons include the Department of Defense (DoD), Intelligence Community, and other National Security Agencies.
Research Focus
Mason is world-renowned for its systems approach to cybersecurity, with expertise in key areas of advanced manufacturing and supply chain security, such as cyber-vulnerabilities research, 5G security, AI-based intrusion detection, autonomous system security, and secure adoption of smart technologies.
Research of Consequence
Our researchers are at the forefront of exploration and study in several significant areas.
Air transportation management: As a center of excellence in operations research (NEXTOR), our work is staying ahead of the challenge of coordinating an increasingly crowded sky.
Information and network assurance: We’re planning for the next big network hack by building defenses to protect you, your business, and our national communications systems from attack.
Configuration analytics and assurance: The best defense is a good offense. Our researchers are constructing testing methods and automatic systems to keep up with quickly changing user environments, networks, and cyber-physical systems.
Command, Control, Communications, Computing, Cyber, and Intelligence (C5I): We’re the nation’s first and only public university to offer comprehensive education and research in engineering for C5I. No other university has access to such research in sensing and fusion, C3 architectures, communications and signal processing, command support and intelligent systems, modeling and simulation, and distributed education and training.
Secure Information Systems: We’re imagining and composing the new structures for secure information. This realm encompasses information secrecy, integrity, and availability problems.
Exploring New Ideas
From our roots in information and communication technology engineering, our cybersecurity researchers are building inroads into uncharted territories of a future that will be more efficient, safer, healthier, and more prosperous.
Our Faculty are Experts Across Disciplines
- System security including communications, cyber-physical, communications, hardware, and network systems
- Digital forensics and analysis
- Cryptography
- Biometrics
- Security and safety of cyber-physical systems, including the safety and security of trains, aircraft, ships, and automobiles
- Electronic support for medical procedures includes formulating, validating and verifying the safety of the medical workflow, privacy, and medical data, including the protection of personal health identifiers
- Leadership, governance, and policy
George Mason is a Research-1 university, among an elite group of institutions known for performing research at the highest level of productivity and impact.
“No serious company can afford to treat cybersecurity specifically as a network or computer science problem. Cybersecurity must be seen as a first-class consideration from the earliest design phases of a system, versus an afterthought once the system is ready.”
NextG and Wireless Communications
Source: Webpage
Securing Networks and Improving Performance
NextG technology is providing new and improved network performance and speed but is also adding new connected experiences for users.
In healthcare, NextG technology will enable patients to be monitored via connected devices that constantly deliver data on key health indicators, such as heart rate and blood pressure. In the auto industry, NextG combined with machine learning will provide information on traffic, accidents, and more; vehicles will be able to share information with other vehicles and entities on roadways, such as traffic lights.
Our researchers are developing new models and systems to make NextG more useful and secure for businesses, government, and industry.
Automotive Cybersecurity
Our researchers are designing automotive applications that will provide safety and timing guarantees while offering methods for assisting with accident investigations. Our scientists intend to show how some known autonomous vehicle accidents could have been predicted and possibly avoided at the early stages of the design-verify-validate-test life cycle using our methodology.
Battery Technology and Renewable Energy
Our research group has demonstrated that cyber threat actors could exploit battery control systems to cause explosions. To protect against this threat, we are developing new battery safety and protection systems to ensure the physical safety of battery systems. Additionally, we are testing system communication security systems to protect wired and wireless electric charging systems from cybersecurity and electromagnetic attacks.
System Integration and Test-Bed Development
Our scientists are developing a digital-twin virtual test-bed that, in conjunction with physical testing, will permit in-lab, in-simulation, and in-field testing. This full range of testing options will lead to improved transportation safety, cybersecurity, and energy efficiency for future transportation and smart mobility systems, and improve training for cybersecurity, transportation, and digital law-enforcement personnel.
Control Systems and Security
Source: Webpage
Keeping Our Transportation and Healthcare Systems Secure
Research in this area includes the safety and security of trains, aircraft, ships, and automobiles. The goal of this research is to create secure cognitive radio networks that ensure mandated safety guarantees. This research also includes electronic support for medical procedures includes formulating, validating and verification of the safety of medical workflows (now called Careflows), privacy and security of medical data, including the protection of personal health identifiers.
Smart Manufacturing Architecture
Source: Webpage
Improving American Manufacturing
Smart Manufacturing has the potential to make American manufacturing more productive, more energy-efficient, and more competitive.
The team’s work addresses potential methods for formally analyzing safety and security risks in Automated Manufacturing Systems (AMS). They emphasize how to identify components and the communication interfaces and components can that be modeled using formal methods. The team used an automated manufacturing system producing aluminum cans to show how these processes are modeled using a suite of formal methods that included Linear Time propositional Temporal Logic (LTL), Architecture Analysis and Design Language (AADL), as well as fault and attack tree analysis.
Research Awards and Grants
Source: Webpage
Cyber Security Engineering faculty members, recognized as the best in their fields, conduct valuable research. Their funding sources include a variety of federal agencies, as well as grants from business and industry.
2025
Mohamed Gebril wins grant for research on threat hunting enhanced by generative AI (LLMs)
Associate Professor Mohamed Gebril was awarded funding for the project: “Threat Hunting Enhanced by Generative AI (LLMs).” This research explores how generative AI and large language models (LLMs) can enhance threat-hunting capabilities, improving the detection, analysis, and mitigation of advanced cybersecurity threats. Gebril’s work aims to bridge the gap between AI innovation and practical cybersecurity applications.
The project is part of the Cyber Initiative’s AI for Cybersecurity and Cybersecurity for AI program.
Mohamed Gebril wins grant for automated threat-hunting system development learning program
Associate Professor Mohamed Gebril received funding for the project: “Automated Threat Hunting System Development Learning Program.” This project focuses on creating an automated threat-hunting system to enhance cybersecurity education and workforce development. By integrating cutting-edge technologies and experiential learning, Gebril aims to equip participants with the skills necessary to tackle modern cybersecurity challenges effectively.
Gebril received funding under the 2024 Experiential Learning Program for this research.
Zhuangdi Zhu wins grant for secure, privacy-conscious threat detection research
Assistant Professor Zhuangdi Zhu received funding for the project: “Secure, Privacy-Conscious Threat Detection.” This research focuses on developing advanced methods for detecting cybersecurity threats while ensuring the privacy of sensitive data. Zhu’s work aims to design innovative, privacy-preserving solutions that enhance threat detection without compromising user confidentiality.
The project is part of the Cyber Initiative’s AI for Cybersecurity and Cybersecurity for AI program.
2024
George Mason University receives a grant from the NTIA Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund
Assistant Professor Vijay Shah and ECE Professor Kai Zeng received a grant for their project on AI-assisted efficient testing methods for 5G radio access networks. This project focuses on the research and development of AI-assisted methods for the testing of O-RAN’s radio units (RU), distributed units (DU), and central units (CU) in terms of their interoperability, performance, and security. Specifically, it aims to design an AI-based testing software framework that can facilitate and automate the 5G O-RAN testing process.
Arafin wins research grant aimed at securing chipset-based semiconductor manufacturing from untrusted supply chains
Md Tanvir Arafin, Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity Engineering, received funding for the project: “Securing Chiplet-based Semiconductor Manufacturing from Untrusted Supply Chains.” In this project, Arafin and his group will design provable trust embedding techniques for counterfeit chiplet detection.
Arafin received $50,000 from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority for this research. Funding began in Jan. 2024 and will end in Jan. 2025.
Vijay K. Shah receives funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
Vijay K. Shah received funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Wireless Innovation Fund on O-RAN Testing R&D award to build a comprehensive cybersecurity testing framework for 5G Radio Access Networks.
Anticipated funding: $480K
More info: https://www.nextgwirelesslab.org/o-ran-cybersecurity-testing
Vijay K. Shah and Kai Zeng receive funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
Vijay K. Shah and Kai Zeng received funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Wireless Innovation Fund. The project aims to formulate AI-assisted testing methods for 5G O-RAN components (i.e., RU, DU, and CU) and design an AI-based testing software framework to automate broader 5G Open RAN testing.
Anticipated funding: $700K
Vijay K. Shah receives funding from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority
Vijay K. Shah received funding from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority for Fingerprinting Technology for Enhancing 5G/NextG O-RAN Supply Chain Risk.
Anticipated funding: $49,993
More info: https://www.nextgwirelesslab.org/fingerprinting-for-o-ran-supply-chain
2023
Vijay K. Shah, Kai Zeng, and Parth Pathak receive funding from the National Science Foundation
Vijay K. Shah, Kai Zeng, and Parth Pathak received funding from the National Science Foundation to secure mmWave communications with reconfigurable intelligence surfaces.
Anticipated funding: $800K
More info: https://www.nextgwirelesslab.org/securis
Vijay K. Shah receives funding from the National Science Foundation
Vijay K. Shah received funding from the National Science Foundation for Collaborative Research: Research Infrastructure: CCRI: New: Distributed Space and Terrestrial Networking Infrastructure for Multi-Constellation Coexistence.
Anticipated funding: $299,989
