PhD in Computer Science, Heriot-Watt University

There are multiple new PhD opportunities in Computer Science at Heriot-Watt University. Please check this link below to find more details:

PhD opportunities in Computer Science

Please note: Full CV and mark transcripts from all relevant degrees is essential for full applications.


PhD opportunities in ITT groups:

If you are interested, please click this link to find out how to apply.

The Application of Cyber Security Countermeasures to Secure Healthcare Robots

Supervisor: Prof Lynne Baillie and Dr Manuel Maarek

Robotics technology is nowadays becoming widely used in different sectors: healthcare, military, household, construction, and many more. From a security point of view, the threat of unauthorized disclosure to the robot system violates the confidentiality of a patient. The threat by unauthorized parties to patient data and the robot itself violates the integrity of the system. For that reason, investigating what security a robot system to be used in healthcare will need is a top priority to ensure that the sensors, physical robot, the robot system, users, and connected third-party systems are all secured and that all the sources of threats are addressed with corresponding defence mechanisms through the appropriate security and risk models. Any security mechanisims must work well for and be understood by the end user who will interact with the system. The user involvement in the design and development of any solutions is paramount as it has been found that if security solutions do not work well for the end user then they are simply not adopted. This project will work in collaboration with a healthcare EPSRC funded project which is investigating how we can use robots and sensors to diagnose a specific health condition.