Network and Systems Security (NetSS) Lab Estd. 2025

The Network and Systems Security (NetSS) Laboratory at Digital University Kerala conducts research and development in advanced areas of cybersecurity, including security automation, attack modelling, risk analysis, 5G security, and smart grid security. The laboratory undertakes R&D in collaboration with national and international academic institutions, industry partners, and government organizations. The laboratory is equipped with security testing and cyber range facilities to support cybersecurity experimentation, evaluation, and the development of practical security solutions.

R&D Projects

Design and Development of Next Generation Automated Security Operations and Response Tool (ASPER)
Funded by: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India
Budget: Rs. 252.09 Lakhs
Industry Partner: Tata Elxsi Pvt. Ltd.
Summary: Futuristic cybersecurity solution designed to defend enterprise network infrastructures against potential and real-time cyber threats. ASPER generates comprehensive attack scenarios that directly support strengthening the security of complex networks.

ASPER Project

Collaborations

Academic

  • KTH, Sweden
  • George Mason University, USA
  • Jadavpur University, India

Industry

  • Tata Elxsi Pvt. Ltd.
  • GuardArcs Pvt. Ltd.

Organizations

  • MeitY, Govt. of India
  • TSDSI
  • CDOT, India
  • CDAC, India
Collaborations

Lab Members

NetSS Lab Team

Coordinator

  • Dr. Preetam Mukherjee

Research Team

  • Ms. Lakshmi R Nair
  • Ms. Smitha Rani B S

Development Team

  • Mr. Akshay A B
  • Mr. Anandhu Ashok
  • Mr. Giri Prasad A
  • Mr. Viswanath R

Staff Member

  • Ms. Rakhi Raj S

Present Interns

  • Ms. Anietta Aruldhas
  • Mr. Neeraj Jayesh
  • Mr. Jishnu P
  • Mr. Afnan K

Former Interns

  • Mr. Nanda Krishnan V
  • Mr. Ibrahim A R
  • Mr. Himanshu
  • Mr. Adithya Anil
  • Mr. Salihu Ahamed
  • Mr. Bibungsarth Islary
  • Ms. Ansu Rose Joseph

Publications

  • S. Rani, P. Mukherjee, and M. Ekstedt, A Cyber-Physical Risk Assessment Framework for IEC 61850 Substations, Accepted, 52nd Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, Oct. 18–21, 2026, Doha, Qatar.
  • A. Aruldhas and P. Mukherjee, Network Attack Modelling and Validation: A Study of Attack Graph Generation Challenges and Evaluation Methodologies, In Press, 8th MIND Conference, June 19–21, 2026, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
  • L. R. Nair, A. Anil, P. Mukherjee, and M. Aggarwal, Security-Centric NWDAF Module for Threat Detection and Mitigation in 5G Core Networks, In Proc. of 21st ICISS, Dec. 16–19, 2025, Indore, India.
    [Springer]
  • S. Rani, P. Mukherjee, and M. Ekstedt, Modular Analysis of Attack Graphs for Smart Grid Security, In Proc. of 21st ICISS, Dec. 16–19, 2025, Indore, India.
    [Springer]
5G Patent Certificate

5G Patent

Dynamic Zone Adaptation for Security-Aware Network Slicing in 5G System
Patent Number: 591554
Inventor: Lakshmi R Nair, Preetam Mukherjee

Vulnerability Discoveries

CVE-2024-51179

CVE-2024-51179: Flooding of Crafted packets from an Attacker can crash UPF/SMF Open5GS
High Severity Vulnerability (CVSS Score - 7.5) [NIST]
Discovered by: Lakshmi R Nair (DUK), Preetam Mukherjee (DUK), Subhajit Chatterjee (C-DOT)