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DEWC Services and the University of Adelaide are researching ways to leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence to support the Australian Defence Force, assisting a PhD thesis in network analysis and linguistic understanding.
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Under the partnership, Australian C4ISREW provider DEWC Services will support a PhD candidate undertake research to identify how networks can support military applications, leveraging the company’s defence industry insights and relationships.
The four-year research project is funded as part of the Defence Trailblazer Industry Research Program.
The PhD candidate is expected to develop an initial prototype which leverages machine learning techniques to analyse networks, with support of the University of Adelaide’s School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences.
DEWC Services director of science and technology Dr Tim McKay welcomed the opportunity to support burgeoning AI technology to support the Australian Defence Force.
“We are delighted to support the professional development of one of our very own cyber experts, while also driving research that will ultimately lead to new technologies that enhance Australia’s defence capabilities and posture,” McKay said.
McKay explained that machine learning will become increasingly more important in defence applications, enabling militaries to process large volumes of complex data, recognising patterns and providing information to support decision making.
“This project explores ways we can combine ML models to analyse network traffic using a range of techniques, such as OS fingerprinting, communication protocol classification, natural language processing models to help infer the intent of the network,” McKay continued.
“For example, ML learning models could analyse a network by gathering data and making inferences about what operating systems are used and communications between them, which would give an operator greater insight into the network.
“Using ML to automate and congregate information from various sources to infer and predict a network is an effective reconnaissance tool and can help operators evaluate possible threats in an unobtrusive manner.”
Heather Nicoll, general manager of workforce, innovation and culture at Defence Trailblazer, said, “There is an urgent need to build workforce capability in Defence-related contexts, so we’re delighted to work closely with our partners to develop industry-led PhD and masters offerings. The scholarships have been specially designed to address the current and future needs of defence, with real-world projects on offer.
“The industry mentorship, onsite internships and academic guidance are just some of the ways the program enables a supportive research journey that fosters deep technical knowledge and a deeper understating of Defence-based applications for STEM fields, among others.”
