The Minister for Education Dan Tehan has awarded Swinburne researchers $360,000 to research and develop technology preventing cyber-attacks on smart home devices.

A team led by the Dean of the Digital Research Innovation Capability Platform, Professor Yang Xiang, will look at vulnerabilities in any devices and appliances connected to the internet.

“Eight out of 10 Australians have a smart device in their home, including smart TVs, baby monitors and mobile phones; nearly 50% of us have three or more such devices,” the Minister said.

“These devices are being targeted by cybercriminals and hackers and any security vulnerability in the internet enabled devices in our homes can have very real consequences. People need to have confidence when using new technology that they have the best-possible protection.”

As part of this three-year project, Professor Yang and his team will use specialised techniques, including software testing, to identify vulnerabilities in smart devices.

“The techniques we develop will position Australia as a world-leader in vulnerability detection,” says Professor Yang.

The Cybersecurity Lab will work with industry partner Greenland Property Group (GPG) to apply their findings to real-world scenarios.

The research grant is part of $5 million in funding for 11 new research partners, which was announced by the Minister at Swinburne’s Factory of the Future.