About the Author

Paul A. Watters received his PhD in computer science from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. He has also earned degrees from the University of Cambridge, University of Tasmania, and the University of Newcastle. Dr. Watters has written several books on the Solaris operating environment, including Solaris 8: The Complete Reference, Solaris Administration: A Beginner's Guide, Solaris 8 All-In-One Certification Guide, and Solaris 8 Administrator's Guide. After a stint dealing with security and privacy of electronic health records at the Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom, Dr Watters moved to the University of Ballarat in 2008, to become the first Research Director of the Internet Commerce Security Laboratory (ICSL), a partnership between Westpac, IBM, the State Government of Victoria, and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The ICSL's goal was to build capability in the cybercrime field, and to make Victoria the state of choice to undertake this type of work. In addition to numerous research publications, and skilled graduates who now protect Australia's cyber frontline, the ICSL also produced significant outcomes for its research partners in the areas of threat mitigation (phishing, malware, identity theft, scams, piracy, child exploitation) and intelligence gathering. Dr Watters undertook consultancies for numerous external clients, including the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), the Attorney General's Department (AGD) and Google. While on sabbatical with the AFP, he developed an approach to detecting drug deals online. In 2013, Dr Watters took up a Professorship in IT at Massey University in New Zealand. He continued his work in online threats, especially focusing on advertising as a vector for malware delivery and social harms. He also won two Callaghan Innovation grants to develop new algorithms for data analytics. He partnered with NGOs such End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) to systematically examine the links between film piracy and the proliferation of child abuse material online. In 2015, Dr Watters also became an Adjunct Professor at Unitec Institute of Technology, the home of New Zealand's first cyber security research centre. In recognition of his track record combating child abuse material online, he received an ARC Discovery grant in 2015 with colleagues at the University of Tasmania, University of Canberra and University College London.