Cyber-Physical Systems Security Researcher Advances Robotics Security With CAREER Award
Cyber-physical systems such as robots are uniquely vulnerable to cyberattacks due to their complex interactions between physical and digital components. Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas are studying how to improve real-time threat detection through a systems approach.
Dr. Chung Hwan Kim, assistant professor of computer science at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, received a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation to study security for robotic systems. Kim directs the Software and Systems Security (S3) Lab, where he studies control system modeling and analysis for robotic systems.
“Robotic systems are becoming more pervasive in our daily life,” said Dr. Ovidiu Daescu, professor and head of the Department of Computer Science and holder of the Jonsson School Chair. “The cybersecurity threats associated with such systems need to be understood and addressed in a timely manner, as they sometimes exploit unique ways of attack compared to the more established computing systems.”
Daescu continued, “Since joining UT Dallas, Chung Hwan has established himself as a top researcher in identifying those vulnerabilities, sometimes in real time. Along the way, he has been a great contributor to our department as a researcher, educator and student mentor. I look forward to seeing him continue his path toward becoming a world-renowned faculty expert on securing robotic systems against cyberattacks.”
Kim was awarded a $531,303 grant to develop new security tools to protect robotic systems from attacks that exploit software and hardware vulnerabilities. Most current security methods focus on either the software or physical parts of robots, but not both, leaving them vulnerable to attacks. Kim aims to build systems that can find weaknesses in how a robot’s computer and physical parts interact, detect attacks in real time and investigate the attacks to improve the safety and trustworthiness of robotic systems in high-stakes environments.
“Chung Hwan has been a great contributor to our department as a researcher, educator and student mentor. I look forward to seeing him continue his path toward becoming a world-renowned faculty expert on securing robotic systems against cyberattacks.”
— Dr. Ovidiu Daescu, Professor and Head of the Department of Computer Science and Jonsson School Chair
“By improving how robots are designed, tested and monitored, this research aims to increase trust in robots used in everyday settings,” Kim said. “I will also use the project to create hands-on educational experiences that help students and the broader community better understand the risks and responsibilities of deploying robotic and autonomous technologies.”
Kim’s group currently has two projects, RoboInsight and RetroV, that the NSF award will support. RoboInsight focuses on the safety and security of robots and autonomous systems, while RetroV specifically focuses on robotic vehicles.
The research applies to numerous real-world robotic systems, including robotic systems used in manufacturing and chemical plants, agriculture, healthcare, military and defense. For off-the-shelf robotic systems, Kim aims to improve automated model extraction, fuzz testing, a method that scans large amounts of random data to uncover vulnerabilities, and attack analysis. Ultimately, the research will be used to facilitate incident investigation and forensics, while enhancing trust through the certification of critical robotic systems.
About NSF CAREER Awards
Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF) are competitive awards for promising early career faculty who have the potential to become leaders and role models both as researchers and as educators.
Since 2010, UT Dallas faculty members have received 63 NSF CAREER awards.
In addition to receiving the CAREER award in 2025, Kim was named a top 10 finalist for the CSAW Best Applied Research Paper award, and he received a UT Dallas New Faculty Research Symposium Grant.
Prior to joining the faculty at UT Dallas, Kim was a researcher at NEC Laboratories America Inc. He earned a PhD in computer science from Purdue University as well as an MS in computer science from The University of Utah and a BS in computer and information sciences from Sun Moon University, South Korea.