Robert Lagerström

Illustration of Robert Lagerström as a kid, by Emily Ryan for the children's book "Forskardrömmar - Berättelser för nyfikna barn". Order here:
Fri Tanke,Bokus,Adlibris

Background

Robert Lagerström is Associate Professor inSoftware Systems Architecture and Security,NSE,Computer Science atKTH Royal Institute of Technology.

He received his Docent title in Industrial Information Systems in 2014, his PhD degree in Electrical Engineering in 2010, and his MSc degree in Computer Science in 2005. His topic of research as a PhD-student was software applications modifiability. In 2010/2011 Robert was an Industrial Post-Doc at ABB Corporate Research where he focused on improving the software system architecture and the software change and configuration management process at a business unit of ABB. During 2013 Robert worked at Harvard Business School in Boston as a research associate and in 2016 as a visiting scholar, on the project Software Systems Architecture Complexity and Security. Robert is responsible for the coursesSecurity Analysis of Large-Scale Computer Systems andCyber Security Analysis. As well as several PhD student courses incl.Conducting Systematic Literature Reviews in SystemsEngineering andAdvanced Enterprise Modeling: Holistic Systems & Software Modeling. In addition to that he supervises PhD students and bachelor/master thesis projects. Robert has written more than a hundred peer-reviewed publications in the fields of cyber security, threat modeling, software application architecture, enterprise IT architecture, modifiability, and IT management. He is also the co-founder of several open-source software incl. the Meta Attack Language (MAL) and pwnPr3d.

Robert is one of the founders and board members of the KTH spin-off companyForeseeti, where he also works as an expert. The foreseeti flagship product focuses on cyber security threat modeling and proactive risk management. The tool helps companies: 1) Understand current cyber security levels across complex enterprise-wide architectures. 2) Prioritize areas to address and cyber security investments to pursue. 3) Proactively manage cyber security e.g. when building or modifying architectures.

2016-2021 was Robert a member of theYoung Academy of Sweden, a transdisciplinary academy for a selection of the most prominent, younger researchers in Sweden. Its operations rest firmly on three pillars: transdisciplinarity, science policy and outreach. The Academy is an independent platform that provides younger researchers with a strong voice in the science policy debate and that promotes science and research to young adults and children. The Young Academy of Sweden was formed at the initiative of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and has about 35 members.

Resume

A two page version of Robert's resume can be foundhere.

Ph.D. Students & Post-docs

On-going

Viktor Engström (PhD student, main supervisor,CDIS)
Fredrik Heiding (PhD student, main supervisor,SweGRIDS)
Nikolaos Kakouros (Phd student, main supervisor,Threat MOVE)
Emre Süren (post-doc, mentor,Viable Cities)
Ismail Butun (post-doc, mentor,EnergyShield)
Carlos Barreto (post-doc, mentor,Digital Futures)

Graduated

Wenjun Xiong (PhD student, main supervisor)
Margus Välja (PhD student, main supervisor)
Nicholas Honeth (PhD student, assistant supervisor)
Liv Gingnell (PhD student, assistant supervisor)
Hannes Holm (PhD student, assistant supervisor)
Simon Hacks (post-doc, mentor)

Research Interests

Robert's main research interests are Secure Enterprise Architecture, Software Systems Complexity & Security, Threat Modeling & Attack Simulations, and Software Architecture. Robert's work is funded by (among others);H2020,the Swedish Armed Forces,InnoEnergy,STandUP,Vinnova, and theSwedish Energy Agency.

Media

Popular science article about ethical hacking education at KTH, Forskning & Framsteg.

Commenting bank systems being down in Swedish television,Svt Rapport.

Interviewed by TT about ransomware, Revil, and the Kaseya attack. Published inSvenska Dagbladet,Dagens Nyheter,Expressen,Aftonbladet and more.

Spoke on national radio (SR) about KTH ethical hacking education (short version,longer version).

Our new children's book "Forskardrömmar - Berättelser för nyfikna barn" in the news:
Swedish Radio P4 Stockholm,Tidning Curie,Bärgslagsbladet,KTH News,Stockholm University News,Young Academy of Sweden,,Linköping University,Göteborg University,Uppsala Tidningen,GIH,Uppsala University,Expressen Mama,Schizofreniförbundet,Nya Lidköpings-Tidningen,Skaraborgs Läns Tidning,Swedish Radio P4 Skaraborg

Dagens Industri reports on theincreased cyber attack acitvity during the pandemic

Expressen reports oncyber risks in modern cars

Swedish Radio reports on the importance of cyber security and ethical hacking,Ökat behov av etisk hackning

Nu ska elbolagen hackas – KTH får 1,5 miljoner till white hats, Computer Sweden

Dagens Nyheter write about vulnerabilities in car dongles

Vulnerabilities discovered

CVE-2021-34594 - Relative path traversal vulnerability through TwinCAT OPC UA Server,Beckoff Security Advisory, Johannes Olegård, Emre Süren, and Robert Lagerström.

CVE-2021-37147,CVE-2021-37148,CVE-2021-37149,CVE-2021-22959,CVE-2021-22960,CVE-2021-41136,CVE-2021-38512,CVE-2021-33197,CVE-2021-32715,CVE-2021-32714 - HTTP Request Smuggling (aka HRS). Students: Asta Olofsson & Mattias Grenfeldt, Supervisor: Robert Lagerström, Examiner: Pawel Herman.

CVE-2020-29664 - local arbitrary code execution without any hardware modifications on the DJI Mavic 2 Remote Controller and Leadcore processor on the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom drone. Student: Viktor Edström, Supervisor: Robert Lagerström, Examiner: Pawel Herman.

CVE-2020-13119,CVE-2020-12843,CVE-2020-12842,CVE-2020-12841,CVE-2020-12840,CVE-2020-12839,CVE-2020-12838,CVE-2020-12837,CVE-2020-12282,CVE-2020-12281,CVE-2020-12280 - Various vulnerabilities in the ismartgate PRO 1.5.9. Student: Madeleine Berner, Supervisor: Pontus Johnson, Examiner: Robert Lagerström.

CVE-2019-12941 - AutoPi Wi-Fi/NB and 4G/LTE devices allows an attacker to perform a brute-force attack or dictionary attack to gain access to the WiFi network, which provides root access to the device. Students: Aldin Burdzovic and Jonathan Matsson, Supervisor: Pontus Johnson, Examiner: Robert Lagerström.

CVE-2019-12944 - Glue Smart Lock 2.7.8 devices do not properly block guest access in certain situations where the network connection is unavailable. Student: Arvid Viderberg, Supervisor: Pontus Johnson, Examiner: Robert Lagerström.

CVE-2019-12943 &CVE-2019-12942 - Insecure permission vulnerabilities in TTLock Open Platform. Student: Arvid Viderberg, Supervisor: Pontus Johnson, Examiner: Robert Lagerström.

CVE-2019-12821 &CVE-2019-12820 - Vulnerabilities in the app 2.0 of the Shenzhen Jisiwei i3 robot vacuum cleaner. Students: Theodor Olsson and Albin Larsson Forsberg, Supervisor: Pontus Johnson, Examiner: Robert Lagerström.

CVE-2019-12797 - Vulnerability in a clone version of an ELM327 OBD2 Bluetooth device, hardcoded PIN leading to arbitrary commands to an OBD-II bus of a vehicle. Students: Ludvig Christensen and Daniel Dannberg, Supervisor: Pontus Johnson, Examiner: Robert Lagerström.

Some recent publications

S Katsikeasa, P Johnsson, S Hacks, and R Lagerström, "VehicleLang: A Probabilistic Modeling and Simulation Language for Modern Vehicle IT Infrastructures," in Computers & Security, 2022. 

V Engström & R Lagerström, "Two decades of cyberattack simulations: A systematic literature review," in Computers & Security 116, 2022.

S Katsikeas, P Johnson, M Ekstedt, and R Lagerström, "Research communities in cyber security: A comprehensive literature review," in Computer Science Review 42, 2021.

W Xiong, E Legrand, O Åbert, and R Lagerström, "Cyber security threat modeling based on the MITRE Enterprise ATT&CK Matrix," in Software and Systems Modeling, Online first, 2021.

S Hacks, S Katsikeas, E Ling, R Lagerström, and M Ekstedt, "powerLang: a probabilistic attack simulation language for the power domain," in Energy Informatics 3 (1), 2020.

M Välja, F Heiding, U Franke, and R Lagerström, "Automating threat modeling using an ontology framework: Validated with data from critical infrastructures," in Cybersecurity 3 (19), 2020.

#cybersecurity #ITsecurity #informationsecurity #systemsecurity #enterprisearchitecture #threatmodeling #attacksimulations #penetrationtesting #ethicalhacking #softwarearchitecture #systemarchitecture #softwaremodeling #systemmodeling #attackgraph #attacktree #bayesiannetworks #riskanalysis

News

Our paper on "vehicleLang: A Probabilistic Modeling and Simulation Language for Modern Vehicle IT Infrastructures" is accepted for publication in Computer & Security, 2022-03-25.

Popular science article about ethical hacking education at KTH in Forskning & Framsteg, 2022-03-21.

Our new review paper called "Two Decades of Cyberattack Simulations: A Systematic Literature Review" is now available online, Computers & Security, 2022-03-08.

Invited to join the editorial board of the Computer Science Review journal, 2022-02-09.

Elected as a member of theEECS Faculty Council at KTH, 2022-01-13.

Interview inSwedish radio P4 after the Researchers' Grand Prix finals, 2021-11-25.

Competing the national finals of theResearchers' Grand Prix, 2021-11-25.

Five new CVEs on HRS published,CVE-2021-37147,CVE-2021-37148,CVE-2021-37149,CVE-2021-22959,CVE-2021-22960, 2021-11-08.

New CVE "Relative path traversal vulnerability through TwinCAT OPC UA Server" (CVE-2021-34594 ),Beckoff Security Advisory, 2021-11-03.

Commenting bank systems being down in Swedish television,Svt Rapport, 2021-11-02.

Presentation on cyber security at railway workshop with Trafikverket and others, 2021-10-25.

Presentation on "attack simulations for cyber insurance" at theDigitalize in Stockholm conference, 2021-10-20.

Grading committee member of the PhD thesis defence of Thomas Rosenstatter, "On the Secure and Resilient Design of Connected Vehicles: Methods and Guideline," 2021-10-14.

Two new vulnerabilities published,CVE-2021-38512 &CVE-2021-41136, both related to HRS, 2021-10-13.

Chairman/moderator of theInsigt Events SCADA security conference, 28-29 Sept. 2021.

Our paper entitled "Anomaly-based Intrusion Detection using Tree Augmented Naive Bayes" has been accepted for publication and presentation at the IDAMS'2021 workshop in conjunction with the twenty-fifthIEEE International EDOC Conference (EDOC 2021), "The Enterprise Computing Conference", in Gold Coast, Australia. 2021-09-21.

PhD studentWenjun Xiong successsfully defended her thesis "Enhancing IT Systems Cyber Resilience through Threat Modeling", 2021-09-17.

Our paper entitled "A Method for Quality Assessment of Threat Modeling Languages: The Case of enterpriseLang" was accepted for publication inPoEM FORUM post proceedings asCEUR-WS, 2021-09-06.

New improper input validation vulnerability (CVE-2021-33197) in Go published, 2021-09-01.

Our paper entitled "Research Communities in cyber security: A Comprehensive Literature Review " was accepted for publication inComputer Science Review, 2021-08-25.

New HRS vulnerability (CVE-2021-32565) in Apache published in NVD, 2021-08-14.

We got two papers accepted forEDOC 2021; 1) "Towards Automated Attack Simulations of BPMN-based Processes" by Simon Hacks, Robert Lagerström, and Daniel Ritter, and 2) "Attacking Websites using HTTP Request Smuggling: Empirical Testing of Servers & Proxies" by Mattias Grenfeldt, Asta Olofsson, Viktor Engström, and Robert Lagerström, 2021-08-09.

New CVEsCVE-2021-32715 andCVE-2021-32714 both on HTTP Request Smuggling in hyper, 2021-08-02.

Interviewed by TT about ransomware, Revil, and the Kaseya attack. Published inSvenska Dagbladet,Dagens Nyheter,Expressen,Aftonbladet and more, 2021-07-31.

Spoke on national radio (SR) about KTH ethical hacking education (short version,longer version), 2021-07-21.

New blog post out on "the Meta Attack Language: A flexible open-source attack simulation framework" inLevel up coding atMedium bygitconnected, 2021-06-23.

Our paper entitled "Integrating Security Behavior into Attack Simulations" has been accepted for publication inEPESec 2021 workshop, which will take place in conjunction withARES 2021. 2021-06-09.

Lecture about#290cybersecurity andForskardrömmar for four classes during the Järva-week, 2021-06-02.

Our paper "Cyber security threat modeling based on the MITRE Enterprise ATT&CK Matrix" was accepted for publication in the Journal of Software and Systems Modeling (SoSyM), 2021-05-25.

Popular science presentation for kids and youth atVetenskapenshus on "cyber security, ethical hacking and simulations", 2021-04-28.

Opponent in thedoctoral thesis defense of Thanh Bui's work "Security Failures in Modern Software" at Aalto University, 2021-04-27.

Blog post about phishing in the Infosecurity Magazine, "The Five Strategies Users Use to Determine Phishing: Which Work and Which Don’t?" 2021-04-26.

World book day,video for teachers and kids. with me talking about cyber security and Forskardrömmar, 2021-04-23.

Our paper "A Method for Assigning Probability Distributions in Attack Simulation Languages" was accepted for publication in Complex systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly (CSIMQ), 2021-04-19.

Science discussion atVetenskapsfestivalen (science festival) with kids (ages 10-12 years), seven classes from different Swedish cities participated, 2021-04-16.

Hosting and moderating "A better tomorrow", a scientist conversation at the movie festivalBUFF, 2021-03-18.

A new vulnerability has been published -CVE-2020-29664 - local arbitrary code execution without any hardware modifications on the DJI Mavic 2 Remote Controller and Leadcore processor on the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom drone. Student: Viktor Edström, Supervisor: Robert Lagerström, Examiner: Pawel Herman.

Our new children's book "Forskardrömmar - Berättelser för nyfikna barn" is now available, 2021-02-08.
Order here:
Fri Tanke,Bokus,Adlibris
News about the book here:
Swedish Radio P4 Stockholm,Tidning Curie,Bärgslagsbladet,KTH News,Stockholm University News,Young Academy of Sweden,,Linköping University,Göteborg University,Uppsala Tidningen,GIH,Uppsala University,Expressen Mama,Schizofreniförbundet,Nya Lidköpings-Tidningen,Skaraborgs Läns Tidning,Swedish Radio P4 Skaraborg

Interview with our student about studying at KTH and working as an engineer, 2021-01-20.

Our new children's book "Forskardrömmar - Berättelser för nyfikna barn" is now available as pre-order fromBokus, 2021-01-19.