CyRAG: Retrieval Augmented Generation for Robust Cyber Defense

Session Track: AI Engineering

Session Time: 07:30 pm - 08:00 pm November 6

Session description

We will present a cyber defense tool, CyRAG, which brings together structured data from common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE), common weakness enumeration (CWE), Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC), and Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge( ATT&CK) to generate accurate and context-rich responses from a LLM using retrieval augmentation technique. CyRAG employs Neo4j knowledge graphs to store and retrieve interconnected information in cybersecurity threat intelligence, enabling informed decisions and optimized cyber defense.

Speakers

Mahantesh Halappanavar

Chief Scientist and Group Leader, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Dr. Halappanavar is a chief data scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where he serves as the group lead of the Data Science and Machine Intelligence group. He also holds a joint appointment as adjunct faculty in computer science at Washington State University in Pullman. His research has spanned multiple technical foci and includes combinatorial scientific computing, parallel graph algorithms, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the application of graph theory and game theory to solve problems in application domains, such as scientific computing, power grids, cybersecurity, and life sciences. He has authored more than150 technical publications for peer-reviewed journals, conferences, and workshops.

Moqsadur Rahman

Ph.D. Student, University of Texas at El Paso

Moqsadur Rahman is a Ph.D. student in Computer Science at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he also completed my master's degree. His research focuses on AI-driven educational tools and cybersecurity, with recent work on knowledge graphs and retrieval-augmented models. Moqsadur is currently interning at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and has previously served as a faculty member at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Bangladesh. His research has been presented at workshops and conferences such as KDD, CIKM, and IEEE Big Data. Moqsadur enjoys mentoring, teaching, and exploring real-world applications of machine learning.

Siddhartha Shankar Das

Postdoctoral Researcher, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Siddhartha Shankar Das is a postdoctoral researcher at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). He received his Ph.D. from the department of Computer Science at Purdue University, and his research interests lie broadly in graph-based machine learning, natural language processing, and cybersecurity. During Siddhartha's PhD, he designed scalable algorithms for GNNs and has have also worked on classifying and analyzing software vulnerabilities into weaknesses and attack patterns using large language models. Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=kTAFl2yYe6QC&hl=en

Joseph Aguayo

Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Joseph Aguayo builds cybersecurity, data science, and AI applications for safety-critical and highly regulated industries. Prior to joining Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Joseph served in cybersecurity leadership roles in the banking/financial industry and at the U.S. Department of Defense. As a computer scientist, he has held academic appointments at NC State University and the University of Maryland.