Professor Hung Nguyen
Professor
School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
I am a professor in the school of computer and mathematical sciences and the leader of the Information warfare and advanced cyber theme within the Defence trailblazer, the University of Adelaide.
I'm leading a research group on Cyber-AI, applying new advances in AI to solve problems in network fragility and security. We focus on developing autonomous and provable cyber defensive solutions. This means building and configuring systems that are secure by design and training trustworthy AI agents to help defend networked systems. By employing tools from graph theory, game theory and AI/ML we are able to develop practical solutions that help human operators deal with the complexity, fast-paced and deceptive nature of the cyber environments.
I’m an associate editor for (1) IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence and (2) Elsevier Ad-Hoc Networks journals and I’m on the technical program committees for the following upcoming conferences (1) AAMAS 2025 (CORE A*), (2) ACM ASIACCS 2025 (CORE A), and (3) The Web Conference (2024, 2025) (CORE A*).
I'm giving an invited talk at the RNDM 2024 conference in November 2024 on Higher-graph models for security. Please check it out.
For most recent updates to my work (especially code, data and papers), please visit https://hxnguyen.github.io.
(27/07/2024): I'm looking to recruit 4 research fellows to work on projects using abstract algebra and machine learning to solve cybersecurity problems. Please get in touch with me directly with your CV if interested.
(01/12/2023): We have recently been awarded a 2.5-year grant for provable network security. We are looking for 2 research fellows and one research engineer to join this exciting project. Please contact me if you would like to know more.
Short Bio: Professor Hung Nguyen is the Cyber lead for the Defence trailblazer (the University of Adelaide and UNSW). He has an excellent track record in working with Industry and in developing academia-industry collaborations. Over the last 15 years, he has been leading more than 15 successful projects delivering solutions in network security, modelling and simulation of networked systems for Defence and Industry. Outside of academia, he has worked both in start-ups (Telari); consulting to leading telecom and solution providers such as Telstra, CSL, AT&T and CISCO; and providing security and modelling solutions for the Australian Defence Force and Cybersecurity SMEs. He has published more than 80 publications on these topics at prestigious international journals and conferences.
- My Research
- Career
- Publications
- Grants and Funding
- Teaching
- Supervision
- Professional Activities
- Contact
Since 2009, I have been developing autonomous and provable techniques for securing the information environment. This means building and configuring systems that are secure by design, not just addressing problems when they strike. By leveraging tools from graph theory, game theory and AI/ML we build practical solutions that help human operators deal with the complexity, fast-paced and deceptive nature of the cyber environments. Our research program is supported by multiple grants from Defence and the Australian Research Council - current projects are shown below.
For details of these projects, please contact me directly.
My paper on network auto-configuration in 2010 started the Autonetkit software (ANK). ANK is currently being used as the auto-configuration tool for the Cisco VIRL simulation and emulation environment. See for example here.
The Internet Topology Zoo that I helped build is widely used in all areas of networking research and development worldwide and has been cited more than 1200 times.
My tomography papers were nominated for awards at major networking conferences.
Find out more about my research publications at my Google scholar page.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2025 - ongoing Professor University of Adelaide 2021 - 2024 Associate Professor University of Adelaide -
Language Competencies
Language Competency English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review Vietnamese Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2004 - 2008 École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Switzerland PhD -
Research Interests
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Journals
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Book Chapters
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Conference Papers
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Conference Items
Year Citation 2018 Tran, Q. D., Tran, N. N., Hessel, V., Shen, S., Nguyen, H., & Arjomandi, M. (2018). Guardian Satellite-based Flow-Chemistry System Producing Quantum Dots as Counter Measure to Divert Missile Attack. Poster session presented at the meeting of 18th Australian Space Research Conference.
DOI2016 Nguyen, H., Naguleswaran, S., & Webb, M. (2016). Emergency Communication in Australia: Current Situation and Future Directions. Poster session presented at the meeting of Proceedings of The 5th Disaster and Emergency Management Conference. Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. 2013 Ager, B., Balduzzi, M., Barlet-Ros, P., Carvalho, P., Casas, P., Celeda, P., . . . Xie, L. (2013). Welcome message from the WNM chairs. Poster session presented at the meeting of Proceedings - Conference on Local Computer Networks, LCN. Sydney, Australia: IEEE.
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Report for External Bodies
Year Citation 2019 Britton, M., & Nguyen, H. (2019). Land C3 Communications Modelling and Simulation:
Tranche 1 Scoping Study.2019 Wang, G., Costa, A., Northcote, B., Nguyen, H., Warner, N., McMahon, J., & Mihailescu, M. (2019). TEMS™ Capacity Manager Vodafone Fiji Capacity Analysis Project Report - 2019. 2019 Wang, G., Warner, N., Costa, A., Northcote, B., Mihailescu, M., McMahon, J., & Nguyen, H. (2019). TEMS™ Capacity Manager IndoSat Capacity Analysis Project Report. 2018 Wang, G., Northcote, B., Costa, A., McMahon, J., Warner, N., Mihailescu, M., & Nguyen, H. (2018). TEMS™ Capacity Manager Vodafone Fiji Capacity Analysis Project Report. 2018 Britton, M. S., & Nguyen, H. (2018). BCS(L) NETWORK TRAFFIC MODELLING, Milestone Report #8. 2018 Britton, M. S., & Nguyen, H. (2018). BCS(L) NETWORK TRAFFIC MODELLING Milestone Report #7. 2018 Britton, M. S., & Nguyen, H. (2018). BCS(L) NETWORK TRAFFIC MODELLING Milestone Report #6. 2018 Britton, M. S., & Nguyen, H. (2018). BCS(L) NETWORK TRAFFIC MODELLING Lessons Learnt Report. 2018 Britton, M. S., & Nguyen, H. (2018). BCS(L) NETWORK TRAFFIC MODELLING Quarterly Report #2. 2018 Britton, M. S., & Nguyen, H. (2018). BCS(L) NETWORK TRAFFIC MODELLING Quarterly Report #1. 2018 Costa, A., & Hung, N. (2018). Analysis of Uniti Wireless Speed Test Data. 2016 Coyle, A. J., Nguyen, H., & Northcote, B. (2016). Tactical Radio Modelling - Overview Report. 2015 Northcote, B., Warner, N., McMahon, J. J., Coyle, A., Costa, A., Mihailescu, M., . . . Britton, M. (2015). Devil WCDMA network dimensioning 2015 workshop. Telstra. 2015 Northcote, B., Costa, A., McMahon, J. J., Nguyen, H., Oliu, C., & FitzGerald, D. (2015). TEMS™ Capacity Manager Guadalajara Capacity Analysis Project Validation Report Prepared for AT&T Mexico: TEMS™ Capacity Manager Client Capacity Analysis Project Reports. Reston, VA, USA: The University of Adelaide. 2015 Northcote, B., Costa, A., Nguyen, H., & FitzGerald, D. (2015). TEMS™ Capacity Manager Dar Es Salam Capacity Analysis Report Prepared for Airtel Tanzania: TEMS™ Capacity Manager Client Capacity Analysis Project Reports. Reston, VA, USA: The University of Adelaide. 2015 Northcote, B., Costa, A., Nguyen, H., Warner, N., & FitzGerald, D. (2015). TEMS™ Capacity Manager Mandalay Capacity Analysis Report Prepared for Ooredoo Myanmar: TEMS™ Capacity Manager Client Capacity Analysis Project Reports. Reston, VA, USA: The University of Adelaide. 2015 Northcote, B., Costa, A., Nguyen, H., Warner, N., & FitzGerald, D. (2015). TEMS™ Capacity Manager Mandalay Capacity Analysis Project Validation Report Prepared for Ooredoo Myanmar: TEMS™ Capacity Manager Client Capacity Analysis Project Reports. Reston, VA, USA: The University of Adelaide. 2015 Northcote, B., McMahon, J. J., Nguyen, H., Brooks, T., & FitzGerald, D. (2015). TEMS™ Capacity Manager Atlanta Capacity Analysis Report Prepared for AT&T USA: TEMS™ Capacity Manager Client Capacity Analysis Project Reports. Reston, VA, USA: The University of Adelaide. 2014 Nguyen, H., & Costa, A. (2014). SAPN Restoration Analysis Forecast Tool v1.0. 2014 Nguyen, H., & Webb, M. R. (2014). Wireless Mesh and Backhaul Solutions for Responder Check-in Systems. 2014 Northcote, B., Warner, N., McMahon, J. J., Coyle, A., Costa, A., Mihailescu, M., . . . Li, Y. (2014). Devil WCDMA network dimensioning 2014 workshop. Telstra. 2013 Northcote, B., Warner, N., Coyle, A., Costa, A., Mihailescu, M., Nguyen, H., . . . Li, Y. (2013). Devil WCDMA network dimensioning 2013 workshop. Telstra. 2012 Northcote, B., Warner, N., Coyle, A., Costa, A., Mihailescu, M., Nguyen, H., . . . Yates, S. (2012). Devil WCDMA network dimensioning 2012 workshop. Telstra. 2012 Britton, M., Naguleswaran, S., Nguyen, H., Coyle, A., Yates, S., & Mihailescu, M. (2012). FogNet v4.0 User Guide. 2011 Coyle, A., Nguyen, H., Naguleswaran, S., Britton, M., Porter, C., & Webb, M. R. (2011). SANLab Year 3 Report. 2010 Coyle, A., Nguyen, H., Naguleswaran, S., Britton, M., Porter, C., & Webb, M. R. (2010). SANLab Year 2 Report. -
Theses
Year Citation 2018 Nguyen, D. D. (2018). Adaptive Reinforcement Learning for Heterogeneous Network Selection. (PhD Thesis, The University of Adelaide). 2008 Nguyen, H. (2008). User-level Internet tomography and overlay routing. (PhD Thesis, Thèse École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne EPFL). -
Working Paper
Year Citation 2016 Nguyen, D. U. O. N. G., Nguyen, H. U. N. G., & White, L. A. N. G. (2016). Distributed RAT Selection with Enhanced Reinforcement Learning. Technical Report, The University of Adelaide.
DOI2009 Nguyen, H., Denisa, G., Kurant,, M., Argyraki, K., & Thiran, P. (2009). Fundamental Properties of Routing Matrices and Their Implications for Network Tomography. Technical Report, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL). -
Internet Publications
Year Citation 2024 White, L., Nguyen, D., & Nguyen, H. (2024). Satisfaction and Regret in Stackelberg Games. AAMAS 2024, Aukland, New Zealand 6-10 May 2024.
DOI2023 White, L., Oskar, R., Nguyen, D., & Nguyen, H. (2023). Bayesian Rationality in Satisfaction Games. AAMAS 2023, London UK, May 29 - 2 June, 2023.
DOI2023 Nguyen, D., White, L., & Nguyen, H. (2023). Social Optimum Equilibrium Selection for Distributed Multi-Agent Optimization. AAMAS 2023, London UK, 29 May - 2 June, 2023.
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Software
Year Citation 2019 Costa, A., Northcote, B., McMahon, J., Warner, N., Nguyen, H., Mihailescu, M., & Wang, G. (2019). Telstra Devil Mobile Networks Capacity Planning Tool Release 2019 (Version 2019) [software]. 2018 Costa, A., Northcote, B., McMahon, J., Warner, N., Mihailescu, M., Nguyen, H., & Wang, G. (2018). Telstra Devil Mobile Networks Capacity Planning Tool Release 2018 (Version 2018) [software]. 2017 Costa, A., Northcote, B., Warner, N., McMahon, J. J., Nguyen, H., Mihailescu, M., & Wang, G. (2017). Telstra Devil Mobile Networks Capacity Planning Tool 2017 Release (Version 2017) [Computer Software]. 2017 Costa, A., Wang, G., Mihailescu, M., & Nguyen, H. (2017). SAPN ERT Tool - Expected Restoration Time Analytics (Version 2.0) [software]. Adelaide: TRC. 2016 Costa, A., Northcote, B., Warner, N., Mihailescu, M., McMahon, J., Nguyen, H., & Wang, G. (2016). Telstra Devil Mobile Networks Capacity Planning Tool 2016 Release (Version v2016) [software]. Adelaide: -. 2015 Northcote, B., Warner, N., Coyle, A., McMahon, J. J., Mihailescu, M., Costa, A., . . . Britton, M. (2015). TelAri Analytics v2.0 [Computer Software]. 2014 Nguyen, H., & Costa, A. (2014). SAPN Restoration Analysis Forecast Tool v1.0 [Computer Software]. 2014 Northcote, B., Warner, N., Coyle, A., Yates, S., McMahon, J. J., Mihailescu, M., . . . Li, Y. (2014). TelAri Analytics v1.2 [Computer Software]. 2013 Northcote, B., Warner, N., Coyle, A., Yates, S., Mihailescu, M., Costa, A., . . . Li, Y. (2013). TelAri Analytics v1.1 [Computer Software]. 2012 Northcote, B., Warner, N., Coyle, A., Yates, S., Mihailescu, M., Costa, A., . . . Li, Y. (2012). TelAri Analytics v1.0 [Computer Software]. 2012 Britton, M., Naguleswaran, S., Nguyen, H., Coyle, A., Yates, S., & Mihailescu, M. (2012). FogNet v4.0 [Computer Software]. -
Preprint
Year Citation 2022 Guo, M., Ward, M., Neumann, A., Neumann, F., & Nguyen, H. (2022). Scalable Edge Blocking Algorithms for Defending Active Directory Style Attack Graphs..
Over last five years I have been responsible for securing research funding worth over $9M – most if not all
are in the area of networks and security. I am the leading chief investigator and/or technical lead for $8M
of this funding. The grants comprise of 1 Defence trailblazer project, 3 Next Generation Technology Fund
(NGTF), 8 direct Defence research projects, 1 Industry funded project, 1 ARC NISRDG grant, 1 Linkage
grant as the first named chief investigator, and 1 ARC LIEF grant. Three of these projects started in 2024
and six are on-going with a total funding of $5.05M that enables me to build a substantial research group
and research programs. We have made great progress with the projects with significant publications and
capabilities delivered to the customers.
I co-lead (with Prof. Salil Kanhere, UNSW) the Advanced Cyber and IW theme of the Defence Traiblazer - a joint initiative between UoA and UNSW with a total funding of ~$240M (over 4 years, 6 themes).
Highlights of my teaching include
- My student evaluations (SELTs) are consistently extremely high; I have been well above the School, Faculty, and University averages for every question in every semester I have taught.
- I was nominated for a Faculty of SET Excellence in Teaching Award for my lecturing in 2022.
Details of the courses that I developed and taught are given below.
Lecturing
- 2023 Cybersecurity fundamentals (CS3308) 238 students
- 2023 Hot Topics in IoT Security (CS7106 50 students
- 2022 Hot Topics in IoT Security (CS7106 12 students
Course coordination
- 2023 Cybersecurity fundamentals (CS3308) 238 students
- 2023 Parallel and Distributed Computing (CS 3305/3705) 125 students
- 2023 Hot Topics in IoT Security 50 students
- 2023 Applied Privacy course 20 students
- 2022 Hot topics in IoT security 12 students
- 2022 Parallel and distributed computing 108 students
Course development
- 2022: I designed and developed on my own the entire course materials (lectures, workshops, and assignments) for Hot topics in IoT Security
- 2022: I developed the Master level course for Applied Privacy
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2025 Co-Supervisor Collecting and analysing real-world network topologies for novel algorithm application. Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Benjamin Jack Lang 2024 Principal Supervisor Understanding and enhancing the robustness of machine learning models for cyber security applications Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Yingxin Xu 2024 Co-Supervisor Collaborative Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Rohit Gopalan 2023 Co-Supervisor Internet Traffic Matrices Master of Philosophy Master Part Time Mr Eric Parsonage 2023 Principal Supervisor Algorithms for the Analysis of Network Robustness Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Yumeng Zhang 2022 Principal Supervisor Scalable Hypergame models and solutions for Autonomous Cyber Operations. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Quang Huy Ngo 2022 Principal Supervisor Characterising Cyber Environments and Assets using Graph Modelling and Machine Learning Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Ben Luo 2021 Co-Supervisor Algorithms and Equilibrium Computation for Defending Active Directory Style Attack Graphs Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Jialiang Li 2021 Principal Supervisor Hannan Consistent Countermeasures Against Non-Stationary Adversarial Attacks on Autonomous Cyber Operations Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Nhat Dao Anh Nguyen -
Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2023 - 2025 Principal Supervisor High-Order Graph Models and their Applications in Active Directory Security Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Nhu Long Nguyen 2021 - 2024 Principal Supervisor Analysis of New Methods for Inference in Markov Decision Processes Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Blake Edward Donnelly 2017 - 2024 Principal Supervisor Quality of Information in Mobile Ad hoc Networks Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Ameer Shakayb Arsalaan 2015 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Adaptive Reinforcement Learning for Heterogeneous Network Selection Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Duong Duc Nguyen 2015 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Community Detection in Complex Networks Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Ba Dung Le
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Memberships
Date Role Membership Country 2004 - ongoing Member IEEE - 2004 - ongoing Member Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) -
Connect With Me
External Profiles
