Grad students have papers published

February 13, 2020

Four online Dakota State students from The Beacom College of Computer & Cyber Sciences and the College of Business and Information Systems have had research papers published. All four students worked with Dr. Houssain Kettani, professor of computer science to write the papers. 

Renee Carnley, online Ph.D. cyber operations student, worked with Kettani to research identity and access management for the internet of things. Carnley’s job with the Department of Defense (DoD) inspired her to research the topic. An issue she’s encountered is expanding the existing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to allow mobile devices to use it. While working on the paper, Carnley learned she enjoyed research, even if the amount of information can be overwhelming at times. 

“All I did was take the research of other great minds and put it together in order to fill a gap in technology, meeting a need that not only the DoD needs, but the industry,” Carnley said. 

Thomas Jernejcic, online Ph.D. information systems major, wrote a paper with Kettani about the intersection of big data and privacy. Jernejcic’s 34-year career in information technology gave him an appreciation of the significance of data collection and the potential for abuse of the information. His research showed that it’s important to look at both sides of the fence. 

“It is important to keep private information private and it’s equally important, if done in an ethical manner, to allow certain entities access to this data for the benefit of the user of whom the data belongs, the benefit of the organization, and the benefit of the public,” Jernejcic said. 

Shane Prevost, online master’s in cyber defense student, worked with Kettani researching data privacy in modern personal vehicles. His topic interest stemmed from a love of cybersecurity and automobiles. Through research he found that privacy issues in personal vehicles is a rapidly growing field in cybersecurity, and an area where laws have not kept pace with the technology. 

“With the ever-increasing utilization of automobile telematic information being captured and transmitted from automobiles, people are generally unaware of the implications of its capture, storage, and use,” Prevost said. 

Samuel Jarocki, online Ph.D. cyber operations major, collaborated with Kettani in researching the efficacy of commercial cybersecurity certifications for information security analysts. With a large variety of cybersecurity certifications, Jarocki was concerned about candidate qualifications for new employees at his place of employment. The duo questioned whether current commercial certifications in cybersecurity provide effective indicators for the viability of a candidate.