Contact
a.khan@ajman.ac.ae
06 705 null
Ajman Campus
Atta ur Rehman Khan

  • Atta ur Rehman Khan

  • Professor
  • Ext: --
  • CV

Prof. Atta Ur Rehman Khan is a prominent academic and researcher, currently serving as a Professor at the College of Engineering and Information Technology, Ajman University, UAE. Prior to joining Ajman University, he has served as a Postgraduate Program Head/Coordinator at Sohar University Oman, Director of National Cybercrime Forensics Lab Pakistan, Head of Air University Cybersecurity Center Pakistan, Conferences Chair of IEEE Islamabad Section Pakistan, and Research Committee Chair at King Saud University Saudi Arabia. With over two decades of professional experience, he has held pivotal roles across academia, research, and industry. As a highly accomplished scholar, Prof. Khan has made significant contributions to the fields of cybersecurity, blockchain, mobile cloud computing, IoT, and ad hoc networks. He has developed multiple degree programs, published research articles in high impact journals and conferences, and edited/co-authored multiple books. Some of his publications have appeared among the most popular articles of the IEEE ComSoc Society, and are among the top 1% highly cited papers of the academic field of computer science (citations received with respect to publication year) as per Web of Science. Prof. Khan has been recognized among the world’s top 2% scientists (Stanford University) for six consecutive years, from 2020 to 2025. He is currently serving or has previously served on the editorial boards of leading journals, including Springer Journal of Cluster Computing, IEEE Communications Magazine, Elsevier Journal of Network and Computer Applications, Oxford Computer Journal, IEEE SDN Newsletter, IEEE Access, KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems, Ad Hoc & Sensor Wireless Networks, SpringerOpen Human-centric Computing and Information Sciences, and SpringerPlus. He is also a member of the EC-Council’s Global Advisory board for Penetration Testing. Moreover, he is a Program Evaluator of ABET and Pakistan’s National Computing Education Accreditation Council (NCEAC), and has served as a Steering Committee Member/ PC Chair/ Track Chair/ Technical Program Committee (TPC) member of over 85 international conferences. Prof. Khan is a Senior Member of IEEE and ACM. He has been invited as a field expert to multiple forums to discuss latest technological developments. He has also delivered keynote talks at international conferences and universities. Moreover, he has headed research groups at multiple universities, chaired national level academic events, and served as a domain expert for international funding bodies. Throughout his career, Prof. Khan has been recognized with numerous awards for his achievements. He has received three research awards, one best research project supervision award, and one best undergraduate project supervision award at Ajman University, VisionICT best project award, IEEE International Conference on Frontiers of Information Technology best project award, SPECTS best paper award, Technomoot best research poster award, University of Malaya GoT award, and multiple COMSATS University research productivity awards. He has also been featured by Arabian World Magazine as Middle East’s Most Admired Professors to Watch in 2025. His areas of research interest include cybersecurity, mobile cloud computing, blockchain, ad hoc networks, and IoT. For more updated information, visit his website at www.attaurrehman.com.

Education
  • PhD in Computer Science, University of Malaya, Malaysia, 2014.
  • Master of Science in Computer Science, COMSATS University, Pakistan, 2010.
  • Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, COMSATS University, Pakistan, 2007.
Experience
  • Professor, College of Engineering and Information Technology, Ajman University, UAE, 2024 - Present.
  • Associate Professor, College of Engineering and Information Technology, Ajman University, UAE, 2020 - 2024.
  • Associate Professor/ Postgraduate Program Coordinator, Faculty of Computing and Information Tecnology, Sohar University, Oman, 2018 - 2020.
  • Director, National Cybercrime Forensics Lab, Head, Air University Cybersecurity Center, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, Air University, Pakistan, 2017 – 2018.
  • Assistant Professor, Research Committee Chair, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, 2015 – 2017.
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Sciences, COMSATS University, Pakistan, 2014-2015.
  • Research Associate, Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, University of Malaya, Malaysia, 2011-2014.
  • Lecturer, Department of Computer Sciences, COMSATS University, Pakistan, 2010-2011.
  • Research Assistant, Department of Computer Sciences, COMSATS University, Pakistan, 2008-2010.
  • Lecturer, Department of Computer Science, Qurtuba University, Pakistan, 2007 – 2008.
Teaching Area
  • Security
  • Networks
  • Cloud Computing
  • Programming
Research
  • Security
  • Cloud Computing
  • Mobile Computing
  • Ad hoc Networks
  • Blockchain
Publications
Conference Presentation
  • Panelist, Innovation Technology Transfer Forum, Sharjah, UAE, 2023.
  • Session Chair, International Arab Conference on Information Technology, 2023.
  • Panel Moderator/Speaker, Future Datacentres and Cloud Infrastructure Summit, 2022.
  • Keynote Speaker, SPINN Lab, Pakistan, September 30, 2021.
  • Invited Speaker, Cybersecurity Day, Abu Dhabi University, UAE, May 27, 2021.
  • Keynote Speaker, Ghazi University, Pakistan, September 29, 2021.
  • Invited Speaker, IEEE Seminar on Hot Trends of 2018, Islamabad, Pakistan, March 2018.
  • Keynote Speaker, Institute of Southern Punjab, Multan, Pakistan, January 2018.
  • Invited Speaker/Panelist, Cyber Secure Pakistan Conference, Islamabad, Pakistan, March 2018.
  • Speaker, "Mobile Cloud Computing: Challenges, State-of-the-Art, and Future Research Directions," Sohar University, Oman, November 2018.
  • Speaker, How to Kickstart Research, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, April 2017.
  • Guest speaker, How to Earn Online? Radio Pakistan, Abbottabad, Pakistan, March 2009.
  • "Performance Assessment of Dynamic Analysis-Based Energy Estimation Tools," International Symposium on Performance Evaluation of Computer and Telecommunication Systems, pp. 1-12, July 2018, France (Best Paper Award).
  • "Salat Activity Recognition Using Smartphone Triaxial Accelerometer," 5th International Multi-Topic ICT Conference (IMTIC), April 2018.
  • "Code Offloading Using Support Vector Machine," Proceedings of the Sixth IEEE International Conference on Innovative Computing Technology (INTECH), August 2016, pp. 98-103.
  • "Impact of Mobility on Energy and Performance of Clustering-Based Power-Controlled Routing Protocols," Proceedings of the IEEE Frontiers of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan, December 2015.
  • "A Novel Application Licensing Framework for Mobile Cloud Environment," Proceedings of the International Conference on Future Trends in Computing and Communication Technologies, Beijing, China, December 2013, pp. 127-131.
  • A Study of Incremental Cryptography for Security Schemes in Mobile Cloud Computing Environments, Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Wireless Technology and Applications, Kuching, Malaysia, September 2013, pp.62-67.
  • Impact of Mobility Models on Clustering based Routing Protocols in Mobile WSNs, Proceedings of the IEEE Frontiers of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan, December 2012, pp. 366-370.
  • A Performance Comparison of Open Source Network Simulators for Wireless Networks, Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Control System, Computing and Engineering, Penang, Malaysia, November 2012, pp. 34-38.
  • Routing Proposals for Multipath Interdomain Routing, Proceedings of the IEEE International Multi Topic Conference, Lahore, Pakistan, December 2012, pp. 331-337.
  • Source Routing Proposals for Multipath Inter-domain Routing, Proceedings of the International Conference on Future Trends in Computing and Communication Technologies, Malacca, Malaysia, December 2012, pp.124-132.
  • Clustering-based Power-Controlled Routing Protocol, Vision ICT, Abbottabad, Pakistan, May 2010.
  • "Code Offloading Using Support Vector Machine," Proceedings of the Sixth IEEE International Conference on Innovative Computing Technology (INTECH), August 2016, pp. 98-103.
Memberships, Awards and Honors
  • Research Award, Ajman University, 2026.
  • Shield and Certificate for Supervising Best Scientific Research Project, Ajman University, UAE, 2026
  • Middle East’s Most Admired Professors to Watch in 2025, Arabian World Magazine, 2025.
  • Member of Global Advisory Board for Penetration Testing, EC-Council, 2025.
  • LinkedIn’s Top Educational Leadership Voice, 2025.
  • Listed in World's Top 2% Scientists, Stanford University, USA, 2025.
  • Research Award, Ajman University 2025.
  • Listed in World's Top 2% Scientists, Stanford University, USA, 2024.
  • Research Award, Ajman University, 2024.
  • Listed in World's Top 2% Scientists, Stanford University, USA, 2023.
  • Long-Term Research Achievement Award, Ajman University, 2023.
  • Senior Member, IEEE.
  • Senior Member, ACM.
  • Program Evaluator, ABET.
  • Cumulative Impact Factor Score of Published Journal Articles: 325+.
  • Highest Achiever of Continuing Professional Development (Teaching and Learning), Ajman University, 2022.
  • Listed in World's Top 2% Scientists, Stanford University, USA, 2022
  • Shield and Certificate for Supervising Best Scientific Research Project, Ajman University, UAE, 2021
  • Listed in World's Top 2% Scientists, Stanford University, USA, 2020.
  • Program Evaluator, National Computing Education Accreditation Council (NCEAC), Pakistan.
  • Domain Expert, CONICYT National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research, Santiago, Chile.
  • Featured on PrideofPakistan.com.
  • Research Incentive Award, Sohar University, Oman, 2020.
  • Research Incentive Award, Sohar University, Oman, 2019.
  • Best Paper Award, SPECTS, 2018.
  • Global Goodwill Ambassador, 2018.
  • Research Incentive Award, Air University, Pakistan, 2018.
  • Judge, Project Competition, Frontiers of Information Technology, Pakistan, December 2017.
  • Chair, AirTech Hackathon Pakistan, 2017.
  • Listed in Who’s Who in the World 2017.
  • Certificate of Outstanding Contribution in Reviewing, Elsevier, 2016.
  • Research Productivity Award, COMSATS University, Pakistan, 2016.
  • Judge, Graduate Research Poster Evaluation, Technomoot, Abbottabad, Pakistan, 2015.
  • Research Productivity Award, COMSATS University, Pakistan, 2015.
  • GoT Award, University of Malaya, 2014.
  • PhD Research Paper Among the Top 1% Highly Cited Papers in the Field of Computer Science (Clarivate - Web of Science).
  • Research Productivity Award, COMSATS University, Pakistan, 2012.
  • BrightSparks Fellowship, 2011.
  • DAAD Fellowship, 2011.
  • Best Research Poster Award, Vision ICT, Pakistan, 2010.
  • Best Project Award, Vision ICT, Pakistan, 2009.
  • Best Project Award, Frontiers of Information Technology, Pakistan, 2008.