Spring 2026 ONR Project Students Present at USC Summer Research Symposium

Students participating in the Spring 2026 Office of Naval Research (ONR) project presented their cybersecurity research at the 2026 USC Summer Research Symposium, held on July 23 in the Atrium of the Science and Technology Building. The symposium brings together undergraduate researchers who have worked with USC faculty mentors and provides them with an opportunity to present their work to faculty, students, and members of the university research community.

The students are part of the ONR-supported initiative “Preparing Cyber Warfare Professionals by Integration of Curriculum, Experiences, and Internships.” Led by the University of South Carolina in collaboration with partner institutions, the project provides hands-on education and research experiences in cybersecurity, networking, and communications while helping prepare students for internships and careers in areas relevant to the Department of the Navy and the Department of Defense.

A Spring 2026 ONR project student presents his research during the USC Summer Research Symposium.	The “Encrypted Malware Detection” team (Nathaniel Lybrand with advisors Samia Choueiri and Liwaa Albanna) presented its work on using next-generation firewall decryption policies to detect malware hidden within encrypted TLS traffic.

Three student teams presented projects involving the configuration and evaluation of Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls. Max Vogel and Nathaniel Lybrand presented “Encrypted Malware Detection,” which examined the use of firewall decryption policies to inspect encrypted TLS traffic and detect malware that could otherwise remain hidden. Emme Koch and Zaneta Hill presented “Application Identification,” exploring how App-ID can identify and control applications based on their behavior rather than relying only on IP addresses and port numbers. Brayden Blackmon and Dalton Roland presented “Protection Against Reconnaissance Attacks Through Next-Generation Firewalls,” demonstrating the use of zone protection profiles to detect and mitigate host sweeps and port-scanning attacks.

Brayden Blackmon and Dalton Roland present “Protection Against Reconnaissance Attacks Through Next-Generation Firewalls” with project advisor Ali Mazloum and Shamreen Shaikh.	Zaneta Hill with advisor Sergio Elizalde presents the project, “Application Identification,” which explored the use of Palo Alto Networks App-ID.

Through these projects, the students gained practical experience configuring security policies, analyzing network traffic, monitoring firewall logs, and evaluating defenses against modern cyber threats. Their participation in the symposium provided an opportunity to share their results and discuss their work with the broader USC research community.