William A. Johnson

Assistant Professor · Cyber and Computer Sciences  · The Citadel

I am an assistant professor in the Cyber and Computer Sciences department at The Citadel Military College of South Carolina. I teach classes on computer organization, low level programming, malware analysis and digital forensics. My primary research areas are malware detection and analysis, emerging network security, and embedded system security. I am the faculty advisor for The Citadel's cyber security team T215, and I coach The Citadel's cyber security teams.

What's New?

In The News

My Graduate Students

Trey Stevens - Enrolled in Citadel Cybersecurity MS program (Fall 2022)

Awards and Honors

CyRF@C Best Presentation Award - Collective Remote Attestation with a Focus on Industrial Internet of Things (2023)
Joined Upsilon Pi Epsilon - Honors Computing Society (2019)
Selected for Cybercorps Scholarship for Service (Fall 2018)
Joined Pi Mu Epsilon - Honors Mathematics Society (2017)
Dean's List - Tennessee Tech University (2014-2022)

Education

Tennessee Technological University

Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Computer Science - Cyber Security

Disertation Supervisor - Dr. Sheikh Ghafoor
Disertation Title - "Companion Assisted Remote Attestation of Embedded Systems in Industrial Control Networks"
GPA - 4.00

August 2018 - May 2022

Tennessee Technological University

Master of Science
Department of Computer Science - Cyber Security
GPA - 3.91

August 2018 - May 2021

Tennessee Technological University

Bachelor of Science
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering - Computer Engineering
Minor in Mathematics
Minor in Computer Science
Graduated Cum Laude

August 2014 - May 2018

Professional Appointments

Tenure Track Assistant Professor

The Citadel Militar College of South Carolina

Teaching
 • Computer organization and programming
 • Reverse Engineering
 • Malware Analysis
 • Digital Forensics
 • Special Topics: Ethical Hacking
 • Special Topics: Cybersecurity Research

Service
 • Faculty Search Committee
 • Department Curriculum Development Committee
 • Faculty Advisor for Citadel Cyber security team T215

August 2022 - Present

Deputy Director of Academic Engagement

Citadel Department of Defense Cyber Institute (CDCI)

Duties
 • Mentor students for DoD work force
 • Mentor Cybercorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) students
 • Mentor DoD Cybersecurity Scholarship Program (CySP) students
 • Develop and deliver material for Gencyber summer camps
 • Reviewer for the Cybersecurity Research Forum at the Citadel (CyRF@C)

August 2022 - Present

Lecturer

Tennessee Tech University

Teaching
 • Computer Architecture
 • Computer Programming and Problem Solving with C++
 • Computer Programming and Problem Solving with C++ for Engineers

May 2021 - Present

C.E.R.O.C. CyberCorps Intern

Tennessee Tech University

Duties
 • Worked toward a survey in remote attestation of embedded systems
 • Collaborated with Tennessee Tech University and Oak Ridge National Lab

June 2020 - August 2020

H.E.R.E. Intern

Oak Ridge National Lab

Duties
 • Lead discussion on Remote Attestation for low power embedded systems
 • Developed kernel modules to collect memory information of PLCs.

June 2019 - August 2019

Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)

Tennessee Tech University

Duties
 • Investigated attribute based encryption for vehicular ad hoc networks
 • Ensured privacy and security of user financial information and location

June 2017 - August 2017

Programming Languages

  • Bash ● ● ● ● ●
  • Python ● ● ● ● ●
  • R ● ● ● ○ ○
  • C ● ● ● ● ●
  • C++ ● ● ● ● ●
  • X86 Assembly ● ● ● ● ○
  • Motorola Assembly ● ● ● ○ ○
  • ARM Assembly ● ● ● ○ ○

Publications

W. A. Johnson, S. Ghafoor, S. Prowell, “Companion Assisted Remote Attestation in a Smart Grid Setting.” under preparation.

W. A. Johnson, S. Ghafoor, S. Prowell, “Virtual Memory Collection as evidence in Remote Attestation of a Programmable Logic Controller.” under preparation.

W. A. Johnson, S. Ghafoor, S. J. Prowell, (2020). "Remote Attestation in Embedded Systems: Taxonomy, Survey, and Framework for Evaluation." IEEE Open Access. IEEE Access. under revision.

W. A. Johnson , S. Ghafoor, S. J. Prowell, (2020). "Companion Assisted Software Based Remote Attestation in SCADA Networks." ICCWS, under review.

M. A. Ayub, W.A. Johnson, D.A. Talbert, and A. Siraj, “Model Evasion Attack on Intrusion Detection Systems using Adversarial Machine Learning,” IEEE 2020 52nd Annual Conference on Information Sciences and Systems (CISS).

Siddik, M., Moni, S., Alam, M. and Johnson, W. (2019). SAFE-MAC: Speed Aware Fairness Enabled MAC Protocol for Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks. Sensors, 19(10), p.2405.

Johnson, W., Ayub, M. and Masum, R. (2018). INSuRE Projects: Tennessee Tech University Working with Government Agencies and National Labs.

Nabil, M., Bima, M., Alsharif, A., Johnson, W., Gunukula, S., Mahmoud, M. and Abdallah, M. (2018). Smart Cities Cybersecurity and Privacy: Chapter 12 - Priority-Based and Privacy-Preserving Electic Vehicle Dynamic Charging System with Divisible E-Payment. Washington, DC, United States: Elsevier.