College of Computer Science and Mathematics

Discussion of a PhD thesis at the College of Computer Science and Mathematics – Department of Computer Science titled: “Shielding an Organization against Cyber-Attacks through SIEM”. Continuing the movement of scientific research, with the attendance and follow-up of the esteemed Dean of the College of Computer Science and Mathematics, Prof. Dr. Duha Bashir Abdullah, the PhD thesis of the student “Ziyad Safaa Younis Safawi” was discussed in the discussion hall of the College of Computer Science and Mathematics at the University of Mosul on Sunday, 7/9/2025, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Mufaz Mohsen Khalil. The thesis focused on enhancing the capabilities of SIEM systems in centrally protecting and monitoring network devices, detecting and accurately classifying attacks and threats by integrating them with smart models based on machine learning and deep learning techniques. Real-world data were collected by conducting simulated attacks on a virtual network environment, on the basis of which the proposed system was built and efficiently tested in a reality-like environment.

The contributions of the study are reflected in the provision of a proactive smart security framework characterized by the flexible integration of SIEM systems and artificial intelligence techniques, with improved threat detection capabilities through the addition of custom rules, the creation of realistic datasets, and support for binary and multi-class classification. The framework also relied on diverse strategies for feature selection and data processing, overcoming the issue of sample imbalance, and providing instantaneous and reliable alerts that contribute to reducing the burden on security teams within Cybersecurity Operations Centers (SOC). The discussion committee consisted of:

Prof. Dr. Djan Bashir Taha, President

Prof. Dr. Mithaq Talib Ka’t, Member

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saja Jassim Mohammed, Member

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yasin Hikmat Ismail, Member

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sufyan Salim Mahmoud, Member

Prof. Dr. Mafaz Mohsen Khalil, Member and Supervisor.