Academics develop new method to protect AI tools used in healthcare
Academics at the University of Huddersfield are developing a new method to protect AI-enabled diagnostic tools used in hospitals from cyber-attacks.
Dr Faisal Jamil is spearheading the creation of the new software which is being designed specifically for healthcare AI security and patient data privacy.
Known as a Secure Threat Intelligence Sharing Platform, Dr Jamil, a Lecturer in Computing with the University’s Centre for Autonomous and Intelligent Systems, has received funding and support through Innovate UK’s cyber security academic startup accelerator programme, CyberASAP.
Working with Dr Saad Khan, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security; Professor Simon Parkinson, Professor of Cyber Security and Director of the University’s Centre for Cybersecurity; and Farah Barbar, Researcher in the Department of Computer Science, the team have reached the second phase of the highly competitive national programme.
After successfully completing both the market validation and proof of concept rounds, they have to date received funding of £32,000 alongside support to turn their concept into reality.
Next, the team will be presenting their work to Innovate UK at the end of July in a bid to secure further funds of £60,000 to develop it through to a product ready for the commercial market.
“Our platform is designed for hospitals that are adapting AI for diagnosis and treatment plans. Securing these AI models is critical as they are vulnerable to attacks and traditional security can't stop such attacks on AI models. We offer a secure platform - our platform uses federated learning and swarm intelligence to protect sensitive patient data. We would also share threat intelligence anonymously across the healthcare network to detect and stop attacks in real-time.”
Dr Faisal Jamil, Lecturer in Computing
Dr Jamil added that the Secure Threat Intelligence Sharing Platform would protect the integrity of the AI-enabled diagnostic tool, as such healthcare tech becomes more commonplace at a time when hospitals face an increasing number of cyber-attacks such as data poisoning and the use of evil models.
It also offers a reliable and consistent performance, keeping patient data secure as well as a collaborative advantage with improved security through using collective insights to stop attacks before they happen.
The team have identified pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, as well as hospitals and clinics as potential first customers for the platform.
This includes early disease detection and imaging analysis, such as the AI-powered red dot chest X-ray system currently used by Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust to assess chest scans in a quick turnaround reducing waiting times for patients.
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Dr Jamil explained that while their current focus is AI-enabled diagnostic tools in healthcare, the platform could be used by any company utilising an artificial intelligence model.
The CyberASAP programme provides academics with the expertise, knowledge and training needed to convert their research into technologies, products and services.
Funded by the Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and delivered by Innovate UK, the programme creates a pipeline to move great cyber security ideas out of the university lab and into the commercial market.