About the project
This project develops AI-enhanced threat-modelling techniques to improve the cybersecurity and resilience of autonomous vehicles. It analyses vulnerabilities in AI-driven sensing and decision systems, models complex adversarial interactions, and designs adaptive detection and mitigation strategies, with applicability to other safety-critical domains.
Autonomous vehicles increasingly depend on artificial intelligence to support perception, decision-making, and communication, introducing new and complex cybersecurity challenges. This project will investigate how advanced threat-modelling approaches can be used to improve the security and resilience of AI-enabled autonomous vehicle systems under adversarial conditions.
The research will focus on analysing AI models deployed within autonomous vehicles to systematically identify and characterise potential attack surfaces. Particular attention will be given to threats that exploit learning-based components, including data poisoning, sensor manipulation, and model interference, as well as how such attacks propagate across interconnected vehicle subsystems.
Building on this analysis, the project will develop a formal, multi-dimensional threat-modelling framework capable of representing interactions between physical, cyber, human, and AI elements, both within the vehicle and across its wider operational environment. A key aspect of the work will involve integrating AI-driven threat intelligence to support the automated extraction, classification, and prediction of emerging threats.
The project will also explore adaptive security mechanisms that leverage threat-aware reasoning to detect anomalous behaviour and inform mitigation strategies, enhancing the robustness of onboard AI systems and decision-making processes. The developed methods will be evaluated using realistic autonomous vehicle scenarios and will be considered for transfer to other safety-critical domains.
You'll have the opportunity to undertake an exciting industrial placement with a global automotive manufacturer, gaining hands-on experience with real-world autonomous vehicle security challenges and cutting-edge industrial research.
The School of Electronics and Computer Science is committed to promoting equality, diversity inclusivity as demonstrated by our Athena SWAN award. We welcome all applicants regardless of their gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or age, and will give full consideration to applicants seeking flexible working patterns and those who have taken a career break. The University has a generous maternity policy, onsite childcare facilities, and offers a range of benefits to help ensure employees’ well-being and work-life balance. The University of Southampton is committed to sustainability and has been awarded the Platinum EcoAward.
