Thiago Rodrigues Alves

405 Summerview Dr.

E-mail: thiago.alves@uah.edu
Madison, AL - 35758 - USA
Web: http://www.openplcproject.com
Cel: +1 (251) 307-7632

Education
Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Engineering May 2019
The University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, AL
Thesis: OpenPLC - Towards a Fully Open and Secure Programmable Logic Controller

Masters of Science in Computer Engineering May 2018

The University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, AL

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Dez 2013

Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte, Brazil

GPA: 4.00. Graduate Dean’s List for both Masters and Ph.D.

Honors and Awards

• Winner of the Embedded Security Challenge Nov 2017
CyberSecurity Awareness Week
New York University – Center for Cybersecurity

• Best Senior Design Project Dez 2013

Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Minas Gerais
For: OpenPLC – An open source alternative to Automation

Press
• UAH Ph.D. Student Discovers – and Reports – Vulnerability in May 2018
Commercially Available PLC
By: Diana LaChance, UAH News

• Potentially Serious Vulnerability Patched in Rockwell Jan 2018

Automation’s MicroLogix 1400 PLC
By: Trendmicro
 • Rockwell Automation Patches Serious Flaw in MicroLogix 1400 Jan 2018
PLC
By: Eduard Kovacs, SecurityWeek

• Two UAH Graduate Students Take First Place in Prestigious Jan 2018
Embedded Security Challenge
By: Diana LaChance, UAH News

• OpenPLC is Ready for Hacking Jun 2016

By: Gerrit Coetzee, Hackaday

Experience
Graduate Research Assistant Aug 2015 - Present
The University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, AL
Research on Industrial Cybersecurity. Working on creating a secure platform on OpenPLC that
will allow all sorts of different machine learning algorithms to be plugged in, providing real time
analysis of the internal PLC data to detect and prevent cyberattacks.

iOS Developer Apr 2014 – Jul 2015

Pontomobi Tecnologia Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Led a group of 8 iOS developers. Developed commercial apps for iOS in Objective-C using iOS 7
SDK. Worked with full project planning and execution.

Hardware and Software Analyst Oct 2012 – Apr 2014

Vibracon Sistemas Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Developed computer software using C# and firmware for embedded electronics (using assembly
and C). Designed PCB using CAD software such as KiCAD, Proteus and Altium Designer. Other
fields of development: RTOS for microcontrollers, data acquisition and analog circuits.

Automation Technician Oct 2010 – Oct 2012

Aethra Sistemas Automotivos Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Created Embedded Systems for Industrial Automation. System development using PLC, HMI and
DAQ Solutions from National Instruments. Developed firmware and software for
microcontrollers.
Publications
Journal Papers
• Alves, T. and Morris, T., 2018. OpenPLC: An IEC 61,131–3 compliant open source industrial
controller for cyber security research. Computers & Security, 78, pp.364-379.

• Alves, T., Das, R., Werth, A. and Morris, T., 2018. Virtualization of SCADA testbeds for
cybersecurity research: A modular approach. Computers & Security, 77, pp.531-546.

• Alves, T., Das, R. and Morris, T., 2018. Embedding Encryption and Machine Learning
Intrusion Prevention Systems on Programmable Logic Controllers. IEEE Embedded
Systems Letters, 10(3), pp.99-102.

Conference Papers

• Alves, T. and Morris, T., 2018. Hardware-based Cyber Threats. Proceedings of the 4th
International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy.

• Alves, T., Morris, T. and Yoo, S., 2017. Securing SCADA Applications Using OpenPLC With
End-To-End Encryption. Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Industrial Control System Security
Workshop on - ICSS 2017.

• Alves, T., Das, R. and Morris, T., 2016. Virtualization of Industrial Control System Testbeds
for Cybersecurity. Proceedings of the 2nd Annual Industrial Control System Security
Workshop on - ICSS '16.

• Alves, T., Buratto, M., de Souza, F. and Rodrigues, T., 2014. OpenPLC: An open source
alternative to automation. IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC 2014).

Teaching
• Instructor, Cybersecurity Awareness Class Fall 2017, Spring 2018,
The University of Alabama in Huntsville Spring 2018

Taught and co-designed a 4-week course module on cybersecurity for ICS and SCADA for
Civil, Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical, and Electrical Engineers.

• Special help, Programming (C/C++) Fall 2006, Spring 2007

Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Minas Gerais

Assisted students one-on-one to answer questions and review projects and homeworks.
Prepared mini-classes to review concepts before tests.
Talks
• Hacking PLCs and Causing Havoc on Critical Infrastructures Aug 2018
DEFCON 26, Track 101

• Internet of Things using OpenPLC Oct 2017

IoT With The Best

• ICS Virtualization using OpenPLC Nov 2016

CAE Tech Talk

Funded External Grants

“Virtual Industrial Control Systems for Cybersecurity Engineering Education”, National Science
Foundation, September 2016 – August 2019, $500,000. PI: Tommy Morris, Co-PI: Rhonda Gaede,
Hongyu Zhou, Farbod Fahimi, Krishnan Chittur.