CoEIA KSU Represented at the World 3D Print Summit and Expo
The World 3D Print Summit & Expo took place on 7 & 8 October 2019 at Marriott Hotel, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This was the first-of-its-kind event in the Kingdom, aimed at bringing together international organizations, equipment manufacturers, experts, academics, scientists, and service providers with the local authorities, key industries and distributors to mutually collaborate and discuss the possibilities of additive manufacturing (AM) in the country as well as region.
Additive Manufacturing or 3D printing, being one of the central force of industry 4.0 revolution, plays a pivotal role in the future of industrial and manufacturing sector. AM could be counted among the most disruptive technologies of the new-age and has real-life applications in healthcare, automotive, oil & energy, construction, defense, aerospace, educational, and manufacturing sectors.
The agenda of this event included keynote and invited speeches, informative presentations, and panel discussions, covering the latest technologies in the areas of additive manufacturing. Prominent distinguished speakers and panelists from Hewlett Packard (HP), SABIC Global Application, Airbus Helicopters, Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources KSA, Ministry of Housing KSA, Security Forces Hospital KSA, European Association of the Machine Tool Industries, Aerosud, KACST, and many local and foreign organizations presented their speeches at the summit. Moreover, several manufacturers and industrial leaders also exhibited their products and technology in the expo.
Center of Excellence in Information Assurance (CoEIA) at King Saud University, represented by its distinguished faculty member Prof. Muhammad Khurram Khan, was invited to deliver a speech entitled, “Confronting Cybersecurity Challenges in Additive Manufacturing”. At the outset of his speech, Prof. Khurram explained that the new innovations in modern and enabling technologies are making limitless opportunities and transformations on industrial and manufacturing sectors, and fourth industrial revolution is blurring the lines between physical, digital and biological spheres and providing with connectivity to industries, factories, and manufacturing units, etc.
He further highlighted that cyber-attacks are proliferating with greater magnitude and sophistication and all the segments of our society are at the target of hackers and cyber criminals. He pointed out that attack vector on additive manufacturing or 3D printers is a double-edged sword. From one side, an attacker can launch attacks on 3D printers to sabotage their functionalities. From the other side, an adversary can compromise a 3D printer in order to manipulate the mechanical properties of the manufactured parts. If the printed equipment/parts are to be used in mission critical applications e.g. aerospace, healthcare and military hardware, then it could have catastrophic ramifications and damages as well as socio-economic affects.
At the end of his speech, Prof. Khurram elaborated on a real-life cyber-attack scenario on 3D printers and recommended some solutions to overcome vulnerabilities. Finally, he discussed some research challenges and future directions to protect the additive manufacturing ecosystem.
The event was attended by a large number of attendees from industry, public and private sectors, academia and research organizations etc.
