Summary
Alexandre Barreto is an Associate Professor, Department of Cyber Security Engineering at George Mason University.
He has applied his significant experience as an air traffic and air defense infrastructure manager to a career specializing in the field of cybersecurity and networking, which in conjunction with his research on cyber impact assessment, has led to applications in cyber and transportation security, and decision support systems in defense and critical infrastructure areas. These topics are at the core of his classroom activities at both graduate and undergraduate levels, as well as his research path.
Barreto is a researcher in impact assessment and secure air transportation protocols and developed innovative applications and extensions that aid in the fight against cyber-warfare. He received his MS and PhD from Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica in Brazil.
OnAir Post: Alexandre Barreto
News
CYSE 587 Shark Seminar
On May 6, 2026 at 4:30 PM, Dr. Alexandre De Barros Barreto’s CYSE Shark Tank – Cybersecurity Innovation Seminar will present their shark tank seminar presentations! Each team will present for twenty minutes before a panel of sharks began to ask their questions.
Event Details
- Location: Nguyen Engineering Building, Room 1103
- Virtual Attendance: The Zoom room will open at 4:20 PM for those joining remotely.
- Address: 4400 Patriot Cir, Fairfax, VA 22030
Go here to learn more about the course, the student projects, and the Shark panel.
– December 9, 2025
On December 8th, 2025, Dr. Alexandre De Barros Barreto’s CYSE 587 class presented their shark tank seminar presentations! Each team presented for twenty minutes before a panel of sharks began to ask their questions.
It was an innovative and engaging night, full of discussion, collaboration, and problem solving. Thank you to all of the amazing sharks who came out, and to all of the presenters for their solutions to real world problems!
Please look at the overview post to view each team’s presentation and videos.
When George Mason University cyber security engineering major Connor Wadlin learned about ransomware attacks on organizations, such as the one on the Health Service Executive in Ireland, in his CYSE 445 System Security and Resilience class, it confirmed his commitment to dedicating his educational and professional career to protecting and preserving human lives.
“There’s nothing more important than protecting and defending others. As an engineer, I’m driven to get important work done by thinking about complex problems and finding suitable solutions,” said Wadlin, who is from Leesburg, Virginia.
Since winter 2024, the Honors College student has been interning at the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative(CCI) Northern Virginia Node, George Mason’s branch of the statewide network dedicated of excellence in cybersecurity research. CCI’s mission includes workforce development through training the next generation of cybersecurity experts.
“It’s a super exciting job because I get to work with AprilTags, which are on objects that the drone’s camera then sees and scans. Instead of sharing data, the tags utilize location information for navigation, tracking objects, or pathing purposes,” he said.
Wadlin is also simulating drone flight with the Microsoft tool Air Sim, a project he presented at the CCI Symposium in April. “I created a model with a 98% accuracy, really high F1 score—higher than what we could find on the market—detecting collisions so the drones would be able to respond to anomalous factors such as objects that get too close, environmental variables, cyber-attacks, and more,” he explained.
Wadlin learned about many of the tools he’s currently using for CCI in his classes with College of Engineering and Computing professors, such as his mentor Mohamed Gebril, an associate professor in the Department of Cyber Security Engineering.
“George Mason supports people where they are to get them where they want to be,” Wadlin said.
The skills Wadlin has acquired during his time at George Mason and in his work with CCI have enable him to help other students in their studies.
“Connor is a very skilled student and has been able to develop different programs, as well as 12 labs for sophomore- and freshman-level students at George Mason. He even assists the students during our workshops,” said Gebril.
Wadlin is participating in George Mason’s Bachelor’s to Accelerated Master’s Program and will to pursuing a master’s degree also in cyber security. Gebril said he’s looking forward to having Wadlin in his classes again as a graduate student.
“It will be a smooth transition from the undergraduate to the graduate level because the curriculum aligns well with the CCI mission, which is to equip our students with the tools to conduct research activity and develop cutting–edge technology,” said Gebril.
Wadlin’s team is also working to develop a first–of–its–kind cyber drone race that incorporates cybersecurity challenges and artificial intelligence for undergraduate students.
Wadlin was diagnosed with autism at 19 and sees this diagnosis as working to his advantage by allowing him to see things from different perspectives and approach problems with his own unique ideas.
“As an engineer, you have to ask yourself ‘how is this making the world a better place?’ That’s always got to be the end goal,” said Wadlin.
About
LinkedIn Overview
With over 30 years of cybersecurity expertise spanning academia, research, and practical application, As an Associate Professor at George Mason University, I lead Cyber-security System Engineering, Secure Software Engineering, and Cyber Risk Analysis courses, driving research into cybersecurity and privacy threat modeling for complex systems like Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) and crisis management systems.
My practical experience is extensive. I developed the Cyber-Argus framework, initially designed for ADS-B scenarios, to measure the operational impact of cyber events. This framework, published in the Journal of Computer Networks and now foundational to the DALNIM Project (South Korean Defense), demonstrates my ability to translate research into real-world solutions. My research focuses on aviation security, including extensive work on ADS-B protocol authentication, for which I have a patent. Recent projects, such as the AFCENT counter-drone planning tool (MUSCAT), showcase my ability to apply advanced technologies like HTN planning, hybrid sensor placement, and probabilistic reasoning to address critical security challenges with civilian applications for airport and critical infrastructure protection. Ongoing research includes GPS threat analysis for GNSS procedures (UNB) and passive anomalous ADS-B attack detection.
As former Deputy Director of Research & Development at the Brazilian Airspace Control Institute (DECEA), I led multidisciplinary teams, fostering partnerships with agencies like the FAA, ANAC, and ANATEL-BR and industry leaders such as Boeing and SAAB. I spearheaded the development of the DECEA certification process and managed critical projects, including the Brazilian GBAS threat model and the certification of IACIT DME and BRADAR secondary radar. My experience within the Brazilian Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel, overseeing critical IT and security operations, provides a deep understanding of aviation security standards and regulations.
Post-retirement, I founded a company that contributed to the approval of early Brazilian RPAS projects with ANAC and collaborated on the telecommunications and security design for the EDP-Brazilian smart grid. My leadership is characterized by strategic planning, effective communication, and a passion for enhancing cybersecurity resilience within the aviation industry and critical infrastructure.
Source: LinkedIn
Articles
From Classroom Challenge to International Conference
Source: LinkedIn
Last year, at George Mason University, I began teaching Cybersecurity System Engineering, and it has been an incredible experience mentoring the new wave of cyber talent.
I gave my class a tough assignment: deeply analyze the security and privacy risks of a real-world, complex system—the Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) infrastructure for drone coordination. The initial result was two high-quality, 60-page professional reports.
But we didn’t stop there! I challenged the students to turn that research into a formal paper and submit it to a top-tier event, the Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC). They delivered an exciting paper that was accepted for presentation!
I regret not being able to be there, but the team had stellar representation from Brooke Prigg, an exceptional Ph.D. student who was instrumental in this project.
A special thanks to Maha Raja for her leadership in writing the paper, without which we would not have achieved this success.
Congratulations to the brilliant minds behind this work: Maha Raja, Brooke Prigg, Saira Akram, Manroop Dhanoa, and Ayra Islam. Thank you for teaching me so much. I know you all have phenomenal careers ahead of you.
I would also like to thank the GMU Cyber Security Department (CYSE) for their support throughout this journey.
Notebook LM experiment
Using this post as the sole source and no additional prompts, Google Notebook LM generated the video and infographic below
