BIO

Dr. Ali Al-Sinayyid is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science and the Director of the Cybersecurity Innovation Center (CIC) at West Virginia State University (WVSU). He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, with over 17 years of combined experience in academia and industry. Ali AlSinayyid

Dr. Ali’s expertise spans cybersecurity, IT management, and computer science, focusing on critical infrastructure protection, cybersecurity education, and innovation. He has designed and led various cybersecurity programs, including a newly proposed  Cybersecurity Bachelor’s degree at WVSU, and his research involves advanced topics like Industrial Control System (ICS) security, phishing attack defense, and the application of AI in cybersecurity. Ali AlSinayyid

Under his leadership, the WVSU CIC has become a hub for workforce development, training students in hands-on cybersecurity practices through state-of-the-art labs like CyberHive, HoneyNet, and KITE which simulate real-world ICS environments. Dr. Ali also contributes to the development of specialized programs, such as the Agriculture Cybersecurity and AI Lab, aimed at tackling cybersecurity challenges in agriculture and related industries. Ali AlSinayyid

Dr. Ali has been instrumental in securing over $4 million in grants and building partnerships with major tech companies, including Google, IBM, and Amazon. He has published multiple research papers in peer-reviewed journals and regularly delivers talks at different conferences. His work in cybersecurity, AI, and workforce development continues to shape the future of both academia and the industry. Ali AlSinayyid

Grants: Ali AlSinayyid

• $1 million – Principal Investigator (PI) for Google grant for a six-year Cybersecurity Clinic, June 2024 – December 2030 (TF2405-120747)
• $749,973 – Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)  for Department of Energy (DoE) joint grant with Marshall University for creating the  help establish a Cyber Security Center for Critical Infrastructure (P116Z220124), September 2022 – May 2026
• $500,000  – CoPI for a joint grant with Marshall University for the Cybersecurity Innovation Center (CIC) expansion (R2401483), June 2023 – May 2026
• $764,792  – CoPI for a grant by Kanawha County Commission for the establishment of a Cybersecurity Innovation Center (CIC) at WVSU, 2022
• $349,681  – CoPI for Collaborative Research: CISE-MSI: DP: III (FAIN): 2318707, October 2023 – June 2025
• $90,000 – Co-Principal Investigator (CoPI) for  West Virginia Identity Theft Technology Hub grant (WVIDTH), November 2023 – April 2025
• $50,000 – Recipient for the Cisco Equipment Grant, 2024
• $15,000  – CoPI for planning grant for Appalachian Cybersecurity Training, Innovation & Opportunity Network (ACTION), funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission’s ARISE initiative, May 2024 – January 2025
• $12,000 NASA Space Grant to supervise Clair Wallace, NASA Contract # 80NSSC20M0055, 2024-2025
• $6,834.68  – Recipient for the funding for lab robotic equipment for AI graduate courses, 2021
• $3,000 NASA REA Grant to supervise Aurelio Amparo for Cybersecurity Research, 2023-2024
• $2,000  – Recipient for the funding for Yellow Jackets UNITE Research Experience Program, 2023

Pending Grants:

• Applying as PI for $500,000 OAM_ FY 2025 Senator Capito – Congressionally Directed Spending Request for FY2025
• Applying as CoPI for $125,000 NEH Grant, 2025
• Applying as PI for $125,000 EPSCoR R2 Grant, 2025

 Media Publications and News articles: Ali AlSinayyid

• WVSU Cybersecurity Expansion with Google. “WVSU Working With Google to Expand Cybersecurity Program,” June 11, 2024, Roger Adkins, The Charleston Gazette-Mail, West Virginia: Link
• “Teachers Share the Positives, Negatives of Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom” August 16, 2024, Rachel Pellegrino, WOWK. Quoted in a WOWK article discussing the benefits and challenges of artificial intelligence in education: Link
• “Ask an Expert: Computer Science Degree Programs” TechGuide, Ursula Squire, January 19, 2023. Authored a section in a TechGuid article titled “Ask an Expert” on Computer Science degrees: Link
• Cybersecurity Innovation Center Opening (November 2023) Featured in a press release about the grand opening of the Cybersecurity Innovation Center at WVSU:: Link
• Cybersecurity Center for Critical Infrastructure Joint announcement with Marshall University on the $1.5 million grant for establishing a cybersecurity center. December 2022: Link
• Kanawha County Commission Grant for Cybersecurity Innovation Center (2022): Highlighted the $764,792 grant for establishing the CIC at WVSU: Link.
• Panelist in cyber security engineer experts panel on Zippia.com. quote for Cyber security engineer job growth article, June 2024: Link
• Panelist in Supercomputing Organization, Early Career Panel (ECP Webinar #4), YouTube Video: Link
• Panelist in West Virginia Legislature and university professionals for Cybersecurity panel, WV House of Delegates Chamber discussion, November 12, 2023, Facebook: Link
• Panelist for University-Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP) Webinar: “Transforming Cybersecurity Education at WVSU”, UIDP Link
• Secure WV 2024 Conference Session Chair where 5 students presented their Cybersecurity research papers. 2024 Session Recording

Industrial Partners Collaboration: Ali AlSinayyid

• Fusion Career Conference Coordination (October 13, 2023): Collaborated with Fusion company to organize a career conference connecting students with industry professionals.
• External Advisory Committee for Cybersecurity Program (October 2023): Led the effort to create an external advisory committee for the Cybersecurity program, including partnerships with companies like Fusion, CASI, IBM, Amazon, Alpha Technology, and other industrial partners.
• Collaboration with AWS Tech Alliance
• CISCO Academy Partnership: Lead role to manage MOU with Cisco to establish WVSU as a Cisco Academy, enabling students and faculty to receive CCNA certifications.
• AWS Tech Alliance Partnership: Worked on developing partnerships with AWS to enhance the department’s research and educational offerings in cybersecurity.
• Participation in Research Collaboration Network for Agriculture Cybersecurity, and networking with WV American Water regarding operator training, January 18, 2024
• Engaging with different industrial and educational partners like: Google, IBM, Amazon Web Services, The Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics, Red Hat Academy, EC Console, Cyber Incident Response Yakabod, CM2, Coursera, Adobe, E4 Power Consulting, Vandalia Health IT Internship Program, and others.

Conferences: Ali AlSinayyid

• Attended the 2023 IEEE CPS International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence (CSCI’23) – Cyber Warfare – December 13-15, 2023 in Las Vegas, where 3 Grad students their research papers. IEEE Publications.
• Attended the 2024 Springer CPS International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence (CSCI’24) – Cybersecurity and AI – December 11-13, 2024 in Las Vegas, where 5 Grad students presented their research papers. Publications
• Attended 2024 Springer CPS  International Conference of Leadership, Business, and Management (ICLBM)  – Cybersecurity in Business –  December 14-16, 2024 in San Francisco, where 9 papers were accepted and 5 students presented their research papers.
• Session chair at Secure WV Conference in 2023 and 2024, 8 students presented their Cybersecurity research papers. 2024 Session Recording
• URDC – Undergraduate Research Day at the Capital in 2023 and 2024 where 5 students presented their Cybersecurity research.
• Attended HBCU Engage 2024 with three students, April 15-16, 2024
• Invited to NICE Dallas Cyber Conference by Google.org, June 2024
• Attended 2024 MC-CC Annual Meeting, Washington DC, May 2024
• NSF Cybersecurity Summit (October 2024): Attended the prestigious NSF Cybersecurity Summit held at Carnegie Mellon University, engaging with leading experts in the field. October 7-10, 2024
• Attended TechEX24 conference and MS-CC workshop, 2024
• Participated in West Virginia Identity Theft (WVIDTH) Consortium Meeting, February 10, 2024

Keynote Speaker and Workshops: Ali AlSinayyid

• Speaker and Event Manager for the Cybersecurity Innovation Center Opening Ceremony, November 2023
• Conducted Workshop on “Harnessing the Power of ChatGPT for Researchers,” September 2023
• WVSU College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Board Advisory meeting, special guest, talk entitled: West Virginia Cybersecurity Innovation. WV, November 2023.
• Lecture for Cyber Hygiene – Faculty Lecture Series, November 14, 2023
• Guest Speaker at Chemical Alliance Zone (CAZ) Annual Meeting, December 7, 2023
• Delivered a lecture on Cybersecurity Safeguarding at
  • WVSU Student Union Jan 10^th, 2024
  • WVSU Downtown Center Discussion Feb 7^th,2024
• Lecture in Profissional Cybersecurity Awareness for Charleston WV Chapter AGA Jan 22^nd, 2025.

Committees:

• Institutional Review Board (IRB) Committee (Since 2022): Contributed as a member of the IRB committee, providing oversight and ethical guidance on research involving human subjects.
• Academic Leaders (2024): An active member of ongoing meetings designed for academic leaders to collaborate and exchange strategies for academic improvement and innovation.
• Member of the Graduate Studies Console for the Computer Science Department: Directed the graduate committee, focusing on enhancing graduate education and student support.
• Department Committees (Since 2021):
  • Curriculum Committee: Participated in reviewing and updating curriculum structures within the department.
  • Chair of IT Committee: Led the IT committee, overseeing IT infrastructure and support within the department.
  • Chair of MSCS Committee: Chaired the Master’s in Computer Science committee, managing policies and initiatives for the MSCS program.
  • Member of the Graduate Program Curriculum Assessment Committee: Contributed to the development and evaluation of assessment practices within the department.
• Graduate Studies Constitution Committee (Since 2023): Actively contributed as a member to the development and implementation of the GSC Constitution.
• Graduate Studies Console Faculty Handbook Committee (January 2024): Served as a committee member to review and contribute to updates and revisions of the GSC Faculty Handbook.
• Cybersecurity Endowment Proposal Writing: Engaged in writing and contributing to proposals for endowment funding aimed at advancing cybersecurity initiatives within the institution.
• Search Committees for Prof. Ass. Position
  • Chair, Search Committee for Prof. Ass. in CS hiring.
  • Chair, Search Committee for AI-Cyber Prof. Ass. in CS hiring.
  • Member, Search Committee for AI-Cyber Prof. Ass. in CS hiring.
  • Member, Search Committee for Math Instructor hiring.
  • Member, Search Committee for Physics Prof. Ass. hiring.

Community Engagement: Ali AlSinayyid

• Recruitment activities and leading  CIC Cyber Lab educational tour for many high school students since 2023.
• Volunteered for University Science Bowl, November 18, 2024
• Judge for 2024 IgniteWV Tech/Innovation, January 19, 2024
• Scouting University for Teaching Technology Merit Badge Class, 2024-2025
• Participated in Academic Showdown at WVSU, February 2024
• Recruitment and Robotics at the West Virginia Capitol, February 16, 2024
• Volunteered at Engineering Day, February 25, 2024
• CyberDefender Event: Lectures for Sherman High (20 students), Independence High (30 students), John Adams School (63 students), April 27, 2024

Curriculum and Education: Ali AlSinayyid

• Development of New Bachelor’s Degree in Cybersecurity: Spearheaded the development of a new Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, including concentrations in General and Agricultural Cybersecurity. Designed and proposed 13 new Cybersecurity classes. The program is currently in the final stages of proposal submission to the Higher Education Policy Commission.
• Cybersecurity Minor in CS Department: Successfully designed and launched a Cybersecurity Minor, which has seen increasing enrollment each semester.
• CS Master Accelerated Program (4+1): Developed and launched a new accelerated master program in the CS department.
• Managing Google Cybersecurity Clinic to train students to conduct a free cybersecurity assessment and vulnerabilities scan for WV-based small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and Public Sector facilities.
• Authored CS611 Advanced Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Textbook for CyberHive Lab
• Internship Advisor for multiple students since 2022
• Advised over 40 students since 2021
• Supervised many SURE research program students since 2022

Awards: Ali AlSinayyid

• Teacher of the Year 2024
• Nominated for Service Award by the Chair, 2024
• Nominated for Faculty of the Year Award, 2025 (Anonymous Nomination)
• Multiple Travel Awards for Conference Attendance

Publications: Ali AlSinayyid

Authored and submitted a total of 26 research papers, marking an unprecedented level of scholarly productivity within the Computer Science department since its inception. This includes three papers published in Fall 2023, five in Spring 2024, nine in Summer 2024, and an additional nine submitted to IEEE in Fall 2024.

In the Fall of 2023, three research papers were published and presented at the IEEE CPC conference in cybersecurity in Las Vegas on December 2023, with an acceptance rate as low as 18%.

• Alsinayyid, A., Kadiyala, S., Mannuru, V., & Ali Jewel, M. (2023). IEEE CSCI. A Literature Survey And Analysis of Defending Cyber Attacks on Critical Infrastructure (2023rd ed.). PDF
• Alsinayyid, A., Mannuru, V., Kadiyala, S. & Ali Jewel, M. (2023). IEEE CSCI. Analytical Study for Cybersecurity Attacks and Defenses Characteristics (2023rd ed.). PDF
• Alsinayyid, A., Ali Jewel, M., Mannuru, V., Ali Jewel, & Kadiyala, S. (2023). IEEE CSCI. Defending Characteristics and Attribution Analysis for Phishing Attacks (2023rd ed.).PDF

In Spring 2024, five research papers were accepted for publication in Springer Nature CPS and presented at the cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas in June 2024 as below:

• Venkatesh Mannuru Ali Al-Sinayiid, Utilizing Logistic Regression to Detect Tautology-Based SQL Injection Attacks ESCS’24
• Rohith Reddy, Ali Al-Sinayiid Analytical Study on Advanced Persistent Threat Detecting, Defending and Mitigating ESCS’24
• Sasidhar Kadiyala, Ali Al-Sinayiid, SVM Enhanced Detection of Volume-Based Attacks in IoT Networks ESCS’24
• Alexander Sanchez, Ali Al-Sinayid, Comparative Analysis of AI-Powered Image Recognition for Dermatological Diagnosis ICAI’24
• Timothy Sanford, Ali Al-Sinayiid, Analytical Study of Attacks and Defenses for IoT in Critical Infrastructure ESCS’24

In the Summer of 2024, nine research papers were accepted for publication in Springer Nature CPS and presented at a cybersecurity conference in San Fransisco in December 2024, as below:

• Esther Dhiramo, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Blockchain-Based Security Algorithms Evaluation for SCADA/ICS Systems
• Natwange Chiwele, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Comparative Study of Defense Algorithms Against Denial of Service and Distributed Denial of Service Attacks
• Venkatesh Mannuru, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Real-Time Detection of Time-based Blind SQL Injection Using Machine Learning or Critical Infrastructure
•  Elias Valencia, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Evaluating AI-Driven Algorithms for Detection and Prevention of Code Injection Attacks
• Renata Castellanos, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Artificial Intelligence-Driven Solutions for Phishing Detection: A Comparative Analysis of Machine Learning Models
• Rohith Reddy Battula, Ali Al-Sinayyid, A Hybrid IDS for APT Detection using BI- LSTM Ensemble Learning
• Austin Higginbotham, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Analytical Study for DDoS Detection Algorithms in Cloud Computing
• Sasidhar Kadiyala, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Logistic Regression-Driven Framework for Securing IoT Networks Against Protocol-Based Threats
• Joshua Gilliland, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Comparing Machine Learning Algorithms for Detection and Prevention of Cyber-Attacks on IoT Devices: A Literature Review

In the Fall of 2024 nine research papers were submitted for publication in the IEEE Cybersecurity Conference as below:

• Esther Dhiramo, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Intelligent Intrusion Detection in Industrial Control Systems: A Comprehensive Evaluation of ML and DL Approaches
• Joshua Gilliland, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Detecting Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) in IoT Critical Infrastructure Using Random Forest Algorithm
• Luice Khamboo, Ali Al-Sinayyid, RANSOMWARE AND AI DEFENSE MECHANISMS
• Austin Higginbotham, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Random Forest, and Naive Bayes for DDoS Detection in the Cloud
• Rohith Reddy Battula, Ali Al-Sinayyid, A Hybrid IDS for APT Detection using BI- LSTM Ensemble Learning 
• Adewumi Samuel, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Defending the Financial Sector from Rapid Reset DDoS
• Sasidhar Kadiyala, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Logistic Regression-Driven Framework for Securing IoT Networks Against Protocol-Based Threats
• Venkatesh Mannuru, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Real-Time Detection of Time-based Blind SQL Injection Using Machine Learning for Critical Infrastructure
• Vaishnavi Kottala, Ali Al-Sinayyid, Cybersecurity Issues in 5G Networks

Other publications:

• Al-Sinayyid, A., & Zhu, M. (2018). Maximizing The Processing Rate for Streaming Applications in Apache Storm. Proceedings of The 14th International Conference on Data Science (ICDATA’18), 143-146. PDF

• Al-Sinayyid, A. A. A. (2017). Wireless Telecommunications Uprising Through 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE). Journal of Al-Qadisiyah for Computer Science and Mathematics, 3(1), 221-230. University of Al-Qadisiyah. PDF

• Al-Sinayyid, A., & Zhu, M. (2020). Job Scheduler for Streaming Applications in Heterogeneous Distributed Processing Systems. The Journal of Supercomputing, 76(12), 9609-9628. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.PDF

• Al-Sinayyid, A. (2020). Job scheduling for streaming applications in heterogeneous distributed processing systems (Order No. 28091032). Available from Dissertations & Theses @ Southern Illinois University at Carbondale; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2502862023). PDF

Taught Courses Ali AlSinayyid

Cybersecurity YouTube  Amazon  Facebook  Weather  Google  Gmail  Wordle  Google Translate  Translate  Home Depot  NFL  Walmart  Yahoo  Ebay  Instagram  NBA  Yahoo Mail  Amazon Prime  CNN  ESPN  Food Near Me  Fox News  Google Maps  Target  Twitter  Calculator  ChatGPT  Costco  Google Flights  Indeed

Cybersecurity YouTube  Amazon  Facebook  Weather  Google  Gmail  Wordle  Google Translate  Translate  Home Depot  NFL  Walmart  Yahoo  Ebay  Instagram  NBA  Yahoo Mail  Amazon Prime  CNN  ESPN  Food Near Me  Fox News  Google Maps  Target  Twitter  Calculator  ChatGPT  Costco  Google Flights  Indeed