Haitham Mahmoud’s research while affiliated with Birmingham City University and other places

The rapid increase in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) usage across various sectors has heightened the need for robust detection and tracking systems due to safety and security concerns. Traditional methods like radar and acoustic sensors face limitations in noisy environments, underscoring the necessity for advanced solutions such as deep learning‐based detection and tracking. Hence, this article proposes a two‐stage platform designed to address these challenges by detecting, classifying, and tracking various consumer‐grade UAVs. The tracking efficacy of the proposed system is assessed using a combination of deep learning and Kalman filter techniques. Specifically, we evaluate models such as YOLOv3, YOLOv4, YOLOv5, and YOLOx to identify the most efficient detector for the initial detection stage. Moreover, we employ both the Kalman filter and the Extended Kalman filter for the tracking stage, enhancing the system's robustness and enabling real‐time tracking capabilities. To train our detector, we construct a dataset comprising approximately 10,000 records that capture the diverse environmental and behavioural conditions experienced by UAVs during their flight. We then present both visual and analytical results to assess and compare the performance of our detector and tracker. Our proposed system effectively mitigates cumulative detection errors across consecutive video frames and enhances the accuracy of the target's bounding boxes.

Video conferencing and live streaming are being used in various industries, such as healthcare, gaming, telecommunication, manufacturing and others. As technology progresses, the need for real-time data transmission with minimal latency has increased. Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) addresses this need effectively. WebRTC is a technology designed to provide real-time communication through web and mobile browsers. Its low latency and P2P communication capabilities make it a convenient technology for secure, efficient communication in real-time applications. This paper reviews the key features of WebRTC, discusses its strengths and weaknesses and investigates a detailed analysis of 83 existing studies. Moreover, It evaluates all use cases that can be adopted by WebRTC by examining their descriptions, problem statements, and research gaps based on literature to date. Finally, It highlights the open research directions for the emerging technologies and enhancements of WebRTC. to identify their potential applications.

This paper presents an advanced framework for securing 6G communication by integrating deep learning and physical layer security (PLS). The proposed model incorporates multi-stage detection mechanisms to enhance security against various attacks on the 6G air interface. Deep neural networks and a hybrid model are employed for sequential learning to improve classification accuracy and handle complex data patterns. Additionally, spoofing, jamming, and eavesdropping attacks are simulated to refine detection mechanisms. An anomaly detection system is developed to identify unusual signal patterns indicating potential attacks. The results demonstrate that machine learning (ML) and hybrid models outperform conventional approaches, showing improvements of up to 85% in bit error rate (BER) and 24% in accuracy, especially under attack conditions. This research contributes to the advancement of secure 6G communication systems, offering details on effective defence mechanisms against physical layer attacks.

In recent research, there has been a significant focus on establishing robust quantum cryptography using the continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) protocol based on Gaussian modulation of coherent states (GMCS). Unlike more stable fiber channels, one challenge faced in free-space quantum channels is the complex transmittance characterized by varying atmospheric turbulence. This complexity poses difficulties in achieving high transmission rates and long-distance communication. In this article, we thoroughly evaluate the performance of the CV-QKD/GMCS system under the effect of individual attacks, considering homodyne detection with both direct and reverse reconciliation techniques. To address the issue of limited detector efficiency, we incorporate the phase-sensitive amplifier (PSA) as a compensating measure. The results show that the CV-QKD/GMCS system with PSA achieves a longer secure distance and a higher key rate compared to the system without PSA, considering both direct and reverse reconciliation algorithms. With an amplifier gain of 10, the reverse reconciliation algorithm achieves a secure distance of 5 km with a secret key rate of 10−1 bits/pulse. On the other hand, direct reconciliation reaches a secure distance of 2.82 km.

With the growing popularity of the Internet of Things (IoT), billions of devices are anticipated to be deployed in various industries without establishing trust between them. In environments without pre-established trust, reputation systems provide an effective method of assessing the trustworthiness of IoT devices. There has been considerable literature on deploying reputation systems in industries that have not yet established trust among themselves. Therefore, the paper reviews published studies on reputation systems for IoT applications to date, focusing on decentralised systems and decentralised systems using blockchain technology. These studies are evaluated regarding security (including integrity and privacy) and non-security requirements to highlight open research challenges. In alignment with this, an analysis and summary of the existing review studies on reputation systems for particular IoT applications are presented, demonstrating the need for a review article to consider all IoT applications and those that have not been explored. The IoT applications and sub-applications are described, and their problem statement, literature to date, and research gap are comprehensively evaluated. Finally, the open research challenges concerning reputation systems are reviewed and addressed to provide the researcher with a road map of potential research directions.