Track 2 | Special Track

Secure Edge Intelligence, Lightweight Cryptography and Trustworthy Connectivity for Smart Cities

As billions of resource-constrained IoT devices are deployed across smart cities, three converging challenges define the next decade of urban computing: (1) edge devices require lightweight yet provably secure cryptographic primitives resistant to quantum-era threats; (2) 5G/6G connectivity demands resilient, zero-trust architectures for mission-critical urban services; (3) AI-driven edge intelligence must operate under strict security, privacy, and sustainability guarantees. This track invites conceptual, empirical, design-science, and practice-oriented research at the intersection of lightweight cryptography, secure edge AI, and trustworthy connectivity for smart cities. We welcome studies on chaos-based and memristive cryptographic systems, post-quantum lightweight security, zero-trust architectures, secure 5G/6G MIMO and beam-steering, federated learning security, threat detection for urban IoT, and privacy-preserving edge analytics. The track complements ICIT 2026's existing tracks by providing a dedicated venue for the rapidly growing community working on security-by-design for intelligent urban infrastructure. Submissions bridging theory and real-world smart city deployments — in healthcare, transportation, energy, and public services — are especially encouraged.

Track Chair

Track Chair

Karim H Moussa

Associate Professor, School of Internet of Things (IoT)
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), China

About the Track Chair

Biography (EN)

Dr. Karim H. Moussa is an Associate Professor at the School of Internet of Things (IoT), Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), where he also serves as the Director of Teaching and Learning. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (Communications and Electronics) from Alexandria University.

Dr. Moussa has established a robust research profile at the intersection of Next-Gen Wireless Communications and Applied AI. He has authored over 43 scientific publications in high-impact journals and conferences, attracting external and internal funding exceeding 100,000 USD. His portfolio includes leading strategic projects such as "Intelligent Beam Management for IoT in mmWave Massive MIMO" and the "Practical Syntegrative Education Model" for Smart Cities.

As a technical leader, he serves on Technical Program Committees for international conferences (e.g., CNIOT 2025) and organizes industry-aligned knowledge-sharing sessions. His work is defined by a commitment to bridging the gap between theoretical 6G security frameworks and real-world industrial applications.

Research Interests

  • Next-Generation Wireless (6G & RIS): Advancing the physical layer of 6G networks, specifically focusing on Velocity-Aware Beamforming, Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS), and massive MIMO systems for high-mobility scenarios.
  • IoT Security & Chaos Theory: Developing lightweight, quantum-resistant security frameworks for the IoT edge, including novel work on 5D Memristive Hyperchaotic Maps and pseudo-random number generators (PRNGs) for securing image data in resource-constrained devices.
  • AI-Enhanced Syntegrative Education: Pioneering the "Lab-to-Class" model by integrating Digital Twin technology and AI-driven assessment tools into the engineering curriculum, directly addressing the "New Engineering Education" (Xin Gongke) national strategy.

个人简介（中文）

Karim H. Moussa 博士现任西交利物浦大学（XJTLU）物联网学院副教授，并兼任教学与学习主任（Director of Teaching and Learning）。他于亚历山大大学获得电气工程（通信与电子）博士学位。

Moussa 博士在下一代无线通信与应用人工智能的交叉领域建立了深厚的科研积累。他在高影响力期刊及国际会议上发表学术论文 43 余篇，主持及参与的校内外科研项目经费超过 10 万美元。他领导的战略性项目包括"毫米波大规模 MIMO 物联网智能波束管理"以及针对智慧城市的"实用融合式教育（Syntegrative Education）模型"。

作为技术领域的领导者，他担任多个国际会议（如 CNIOT 2025）的技术委员会委员，并积极组织产学研知识分享活动。他致力于将 6G 安全理论框架与实际工业应用相结合，推动技术落地。

研究兴趣（中文）

  • 推进 6G 网络物理层技术： 特别关注速度感知波束成形、智能超表面 (RIS) 以及面向高速移动场景的大规模 MIMO 系统。
  • 物联网安全与混沌理论： 开发面向物联网边缘设备的轻量级抗量子安全框架，包括基于 5D 忆阻超混沌映射的创新研究，以及用于资源受限设备图像数据保护的伪随机数生成器 (PRNG)。
  • AI 赋能的融合式教育： 通过将数字孪生技术和 AI 驱动的评估工具融入工程课程，开创"从实验室到课堂"的教学模式，积极响应国家"新工科"人才培养战略。

Track Topics

The track welcomes submissions related to, but not limited to, the following topics:

  1. Chaos-Based & Memristive Cryptography for IoT Edge — hyperchaotic maps, PRNGs, lightweight image/data encryption, hardware-friendly chaotic ciphers
  2. Post-Quantum & Lightweight Cryptography for Smart City IoT — lattice-based, hash-based, and resource-constrained PQC implementations; encrypted polar codes; quantum-resistant protocol design
  3. Zero-Trust Architectures & Resilience Engineering for Edge AI — identity federation, secure boot, firmware integrity, side-channel countermeasures, PUFs
  4. Secure 5G/6G Connectivity: MIMO, Beam-Steering & Physical Layer Security — mmWave security, dual-resonance MIMO, velocity-aware beamforming, PHY-layer authentication
  5. Trustworthy Edge AI & Federated Learning for Urban IoT — TinyML security, adversarial robustness, privacy-preserving on-device inference, explainable edge AI
  6. Threat Detection, Intrusion Prevention & Anomaly Detection for Smart City Networks — AI-driven IDS/IPS, attack modeling, digital twin security
  7. Privacy-Preserving Data Analytics & Confidential Computing for Urban IoT — homomorphic encryption, secure MPC, differential privacy, confidential computing enclaves
  8. Secure Smart City Applications — healthcare IoT, intelligent transportation, smart grid, waste management, and environmental monitoring with security-by-design
Submission:
Papers for this track should be submitted through the ICIT 2026 EasyChair system. Please indicate "Track 2" when submitting. For detailed submission guidelines, please refer to the Paper Submission page.