Three visiting researchers will discuss AI and software security at Monash Clayton. Their talks examine evidence for using large language models in secure software development, security risks across the AI supply chain, and the use of provenance graphs and reinforcement learning for cyber defence. The detailed running order will be confirmed.

Professor M. Ali Babar — Use of Large Language Models for Software Security: Reviewing and Reflecting on Empirical Efforts
Professor Babar will reflect on empirical evaluations of large language model (LLM) tools for software security. He will discuss the technical and socio-technical considerations involved in their adoption, as well as methodological challenges in assessing when these tools can support secure software development.

Dr Triet Le — Beyond the Code: Understanding and Securing the AI Supply Chain
Dr Le will present empirical studies of AI supply chain security. An analysis of more than 300,000 developer-reported security discussions identifies recurring issues and responses. A second study traces 16,977 known vulnerable models to examine how vulnerable AI artifacts spread through repositories, derivatives, and applications.

Associate Professor Etienne Borde — Towards Autonomous Cyber Defence: Graph-Based Reinforcement Learning and Provenance-Based Intrusion Detection
Dr Borde will introduce Cyber AI Battle Sim, a simulation environment that represents attacker and legitimate-user activity as dynamic provenance graphs. He will discuss how these graphs could support intrusion detection and graph-based reinforcement learning, with the aim of disrupting attacks while limiting harm to legitimate activity.

Speakers

Professor M. Ali Babar

Professor M. Ali Babar is a Professor in the School of Computer Science at the University of Adelaide. He established the Centre for Research on Engineering Software Technologies (CREST) and has led major research projects on software security, including work supported by the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre.

Dr Triet Le

Dr Triet Le is a Lecturer in the School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Adelaide, where he completed his PhD. His research focuses on mining software repositories and software security intelligence. His work has appeared at venues including ASE and MSR.

Associate Professor Etienne Borde

Associate Professor Etienne Borde is based at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. His research spans model-based software engineering, real-time systems, and cybersecurity, including moving target defence and reinforcement learning.