“Balancing a PhD with industry work has been both rewarding and challenging”
Academia and industry are often seen as two different spheres. In his PhD thesis, Kazi Masum Sadique has taken the best from both worlds and explored decentralized IoT in practice.
Our increased use of digital devices that are connected to the internet – and to each other – provides us with huge possibilities in our everyday life. At the same time, there are risks that need to be taken into consideration. We don’t want our personal data to fall into the wrong hands.
Kazi Masum Sadique’s PhD thesis focuses on decentralized trust, privacy, and identity management for securing the Internet of Things (IoT).
“IoT is transforming industries and societies, enabling smarter homes, cities, healthcare, and transportation systems. However, as IoT devices continue to grow exponentially, ensuring security, trust, and privacy becomes increasingly challenging – especially in centralized systems”, says Kazi Masum Sadique.
IoT systems are deeply embedded in our daily lives
Centralized systems are often vulnerable to data breaches and privacy risks. There are scalability issues and a lack of trustworthiness, according to Sadique.
“I found this area of research particularly important because IoT systems are deeply embedded in our daily lives and critical infrastructures. By shifting to decentralized models where data is processed locally, we can address the challenges.”
Safer when data remains local
In his PhD thesis, he introduces practical frameworks to enhance the security of IoT. Kazi Masum Sadique concludes that ensuring privacy, trust, and identity management in IoT systems requires a holistic approach. He demonstrates that decentralized solutions outperform centralized approaches, and that they can benefit both individuals, organizations, and society as a whole.
“For example, a wearable fitness tracker can process a user’s health data locally at the edge – on their smartphone – instead of sending it to the cloud. Thereby their privacy is safeguarded.”
“Another example is a smart home where only trusted and authenticated devices – like door locks, security cameras, and assistants – can interact with each other. This ensures safety and reduces cyber threats.”
For organizations, integrated decentralized models can be used in smart factories, where IoT devices like sensors and machines can be securely identified and authorized without relying on a central server. In logistics, IoT devices on delivery trucks can analyze route data in real-time to optimize deliveries, avoiding delays and reducing costs without exposing data to external servers. And organizations handling sensitive customer information can use edge-centric privacy solutions to align with regulations like GDPR. By localizing data processing, unnecessary data transfers are avoided, Sadique explains.
Smart traffic systems can securely share real-time data
Insights from the thesis can also contribute to society.
“Smart traffic systems can securely share real-time data to optimize signal timing and reduce congestion while ensuring that no unauthorized entities access sensitive information. Medical IoT devices used for remote patient monitoring can securely process health data at nearby gateways, ensuring both timely care and patient privacy. Another example is IoT devices used for environmental monitoring, such as sensors measuring air or water quality. They can support better decision-making for sustainability initiatives”, says Kazi Masum Sadique.
Double responsibilities
During his years as a PhD student at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), he has also worked in industry.
“Balancing a PhD with industry work has been both rewarding and challenging. This experience allowed me to bridge the gap between academic research and practical applications.”
“Being part of the industry provides exposure to the latest tools, technologies, and practical challenges that are sometimes unavailable in purely academic settings. This enriches the scope of the research and allows for addressing industry-relevant problems”, says Kazi Masum Sadique.
Even though his double roles and responsibilities were stressful at times, he sees many positive outcomes. Sadique has been able to apply theoretical concepts to real-life scenarios, expand his professional network, and develop problem-solving, and multitasking skills—qualities that are essential in both academia and industry.
“This experience not only strengthened my academic contributions but also enhanced my ability to address real-world problems, making my research more impactful and applicable”, he says.
“My long-term goal is to contribute to building scalable, secure, and dependable systems that benefit individuals, organizations, and society.”
A shorter version of this article has been published in Swedish
More about the research
Kazi Masum Sadique successfully defended his PhD thesis at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), Stockholm University, on April 30, 2024.
The title of the thesis is “Securing IoT Using Decentralized Trust Privacy and Identity Management”.
More information on the project webpage
The thesis can be downloaded from Diva
Qinghua Wang, Halmstad University, was the opponent at the defence.
Supervisors were Rahim Rahmani and Paul Johannesson, DSV.
Text: Åse Karlén
Last updated: December 19, 2024
Source: Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, DSV