On November 25, 2024, from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM, a lecture took place at the eAmazonia Auditorium of the Federal University of Acre (UFAC), in Rio Branco, Acre, featuring Professor Michele Nogueira as the keynote speaker.

Dr. Michele Nogueira is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Pierre et Marie Curie University – Sorbonne Université, France, and completed a sabbatical at Carnegie Mellon University, USA, from 2016 to 2017. Her research interests include wireless networks, network security, and reliability, with a current focus on developing network security intelligence powered by data science.

Dr. Nogueira is a pioneer in addressing survivability issues in self-organized wireless networks, with her work “A Survey of Survivability in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks” standing as one of her most notable contributions. She has been awarded scholarships from both the Brazilian government and international institutions, such as the ACM SIGCOMM Geodiversity Program. Additionally, she has served as an Associate Technical Editor for IEEE Communications and as Chair of the IEEE ComSoc Internet Technical Committee. Dr. Nogueira is a Senior Member of IEEE and a member of the ACM.

Lecture Topic:

The lecture focused on the growing challenges and threats posed by cyberattacks to data security, which result in financial losses, resource depletion, and reputational damage for companies and institutions worldwide. Examples such as the ransomware WannaCry, which encrypts data and demands ransom payments in Bitcoin, and sophisticated Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks originating from Internet-connected devices like IP cameras and baby monitors, were discussed.

With an estimated 75 billion connected devices by 2025, the complexity of cyberattacks continues to grow, underscoring the urgent need to enhance cybersecurity. In this context, the lecture highlighted academia’s role in anticipating attackers’ next moves by leveraging network data to develop security intelligence and proactively prevent attacks. Dr. Nogueira provided an overview of her research team’s work and discussed future directions in this critical field during the session.