Steve Kerrison

In brief

Dr Steve is a cybersecurity academic, researcher and industry practitioner with extensive experience spanning IoT, embedded systems, cryptographic security and Industry 4.0. At JCU in Singapore, he enthusiastically combines cybersecurity research, innovation in teaching and public engagement.

Past experience

Dr Steve has both research and industrial experience in the Internet of Things (IoT) and Cybersecurity. He has an MEng and a PhD from the University of Bristol’s Department of Computer Science, where he also worked as a Senior Research and Teaching Associate. Upon moving to Singapore in 2017 he conducted research into IoT for Industry 4.0 in the Model Factory @ ARTC, as well as digital twins for robotics applications. He subsequently joined a Singapore start-up as an engineer and later CTO, creating cryptographic security products for IoT devices. His professional credentials include scrum.org's PSM-I Professional Scrum Master, and ISC2's CISSP and CCSP cybersecurity certifications.

Teaching, outreach and public engagement

Since 2021, Steve has been working at James Cook University in Singapore, heavily involved in the development and delivery of cybersecurity subjects during the Bacehlor of Cybersecurity course's first five years of growth, subsequent expansion to delivering a master's course across campuses and their accreditation by the Australian Computer Society. Helping to promote JCU's cybersecurity courses through recruitment events locally and internationally, he also engages the public to share the university's cybersecurity research capabilities. This had led to contributions to the local press, radio and online international interviews, as well as participation in industry panels in both moderator and speaker roles.

In 2025, Steve worked with the production team of the current affairs TV show Talking Point, to investigate the security of home security cameras. He featured in the show along with other industry spokespeople, first broadcast to homes in Singapore during a prime-time evening slot and since reaching over 275,000 viewers worldwide on YouTube.

Research and supervision

Steve has a 2026 publication in the #1 ranked journal in Computer Science, Theory & Methods with colleague Dr Jusak on Integrating IoT and Distributed Ledger technologies and for more than one decade has published in topics ranging from embedded software energy modelling through to IoT cybersecurity, with seven publications since joining JCU. He is registered with JCU as a Primary Advisor, focusing on supporting Higher Degree by Research students with an interest in cybersecurity related topics, especially those looking at cross-discipline and cross-campus opportunities. He recently saw an external candidate from Sri Lanka's SLIIT University successfully defend their MPhil thesis.

Collaboration and leadership

He has collaborated in various research projects, including the EU-funded ENTRA, EMC2 and ICT-Energy projects, A*STAR’s Model Factory @ ARTC, and a project under Singapore National Research Foundation’s National Cybersecurity R&D Programme as a commercial partner. Steve joined JCU's Centre for AI and Data Science (CADSI) leadership committee in its founding year to contribute to the build-out of the centre's capabilities.

Research vision

With a history of expertise in systems from the cloud right down to chip micro-architectures, Steve’s current research interests focus on how to make cybersecurity easy, efficient and effective, with an understanding of how humans interact with technology, aiming to create a safer, smarter and more environmentally friendly world.

Innovation in education

Steve's research also reaches into pedagogy, wherein he seeks innovative new ways to convey critical IT concepts to learners to create the next generation of cybersecurity practitioners, combining AI, visual and physical elements to create rich experiences with external grant applications for this work currently under review.  Steve has also been promoting new models of ethical use of AI by students, supporting them in their use and establishing clear expectations alongside appropriate checks and balances. His commitment to education and supporting the teaching journey of others is evidenced through his Senior Fellow credential with Advance HE (SFHEA).

Further information and engagement

You can read more about Steve on his personal web page, see some of his personal projects on GitHub and GitLab, and find other reflections in his {C}yber {S}ecurity {B}log. Contact Steve if you with to engage him in cybersecurity research consultations, HDR supervision, collaborative projects, or media engagements.

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

Internet of Things (IoT)

Industry 4.0

AI in cybersecurity

Open Source teaching tools

Cybersecurity in the community