Portrait of Maryam Tanha
IEEE Member ACM Member

Welcome! I am Maryam Tanha, an Assistant Teaching Professor in Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University, Vancouver, Canada.

I received my PhD in Computer Science from the University of Victoria (2019). You can read my dissertation here. I also hold a B.Sc. in Software Engineering from Yazd University and an M.Sc. in Communications/Network Engineering from Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Research Interests

  • Android Malware Detection & Analysis
  • Computer Systems & Networks
  • Explainable ML for Cybersecurity

Find my work on Google Scholar and LinkedIn.

Awarded Khoury Teaching Faculty Research Seed Grant

Project Title: “Unmasking Android Droppers: An Open-Source Dynamic Analysis Trace Dataset”.

Paper Accepted at IEEE ICC 2026

Our paper has been accepted for presentation at the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2026).

Research Capstone (CS 7980) Showcase

Students in the Research Capstone in Cybersecurity course presented their final projects at Northeastern University Vancouver's student showcase, demonstrating original research in areas including, malware detection, network/web security, and LLM security.

Poster Accepted at DIMVA 2026

Our poster has been accepted for presentation at the 23rd Conference on Detection of Intrusions and Malware & Vulnerability Assessment (DIMVA '26).

2014 – 2019

University of Victoria

PhD in Computer Science

2011 – 2014

Universiti Putra Malaysia

MSc in Network & Communications Engineering

2001 – 2005

Yazd University

BSc in Software Engineering

Northeastern University, Vancouver Mastercard Assistant Teaching Professor
2025 – Present

Courses:

  • Data Structures, Algorithms, and Their Applications within Computer Systems (CS 5008) — Spring & Summer 2025
  • Research Capstone in Cybersecurity (CS 7980) — Fall 2025 and Spring 2026
  • Fundamentals of Computer Networking (CS 5700) — Spring & Summer 2026
Northeastern University, Vancouver Part-time Lecturer
2023 – 2024

Courses:

  • Fundamentals of Computer Networking (CS 5700) — Fall 2023, Summer 2024, Fall 2024
BC Institute of Technology (BCIT) Program Head (Student Success), BScACS
2022 – 2024

Led student success initiatives for the Bachelor of Science in Applied Computer Science program, including advising and curriculum review.

BC Institute of Technology (BCIT) Instructor, Computer Systems Technology
2019 – 2022

Taught courses in data communications and networking, computer architecture, and programming to diploma and degree students.

1QBit, Canada Operations Research Scientist (MITACS Intern)
2018

Conducted operations research and optimization work as a MITACS intern at 1QBit, a quantum computing software company based in Vancouver, Canada.

For a complete overview of my professional roles, work experience, and career history, please visit my LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn →

  1. Preprint

    A. Fu, H. Pei, and M. Tanha, "Self-Supervised Learning for Android Malware Detection on a Time-Stamped Dataset," CoRR, abs/2604.23025, Apr 2026. DOI →

  2. Journal

    M. Tanha and S. Kafaie, "A Review of Explainable AI for Android Malware Detection and Analysis," IEEE Access, vol. 13, pp. 141958–141974, Aug 2025. DOI →

  3. Conference

    A. Fu, H. Pei, and M. Tanha, "Self-supervised Learning for Android Malware Detection on a Time-stamped Dataset," accepted in IEEE ICC 2026.

  4. Conference

    M. Tanha, W. Zhao, A. Hunter, and A. Jangodaz, "Using Counterfactuals for Explainable Android Malware Detection," IEEE PST 2025, pp. 1–11, Dec 2025. DOI →

  5. Conference

    I. Akhmetov, M. Tanha, LW. Schmidt, and S. Yazdanian, "C-ing Beyond AI: A Cloud-Based Approach to Authentic Programming Assessment," 27th Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education (WCCCE 2025), Calgary, AB, Canada, 2025.

  6. Conference

    M. Tanha, A. Singh, and G. Knoke, "Revisiting Temporal Inconsistency and Feature Extraction for Android Malware Detection," IEEE CCECE 2024, pp. 301–306, Sep 2024. DOI →

  7. Conference

    A. Singh, M. Tanha, Y. Girdhar, and A. Hunter, "Interpretable Android Malware Detection Based on Dynamic Analysis," ICISSP 2024, pp. 195–202, Feb 2024. DOI →

  8. Journal

    M. Tanha, D. Sajjadi, R. Ruby, and J. Pan, "Capacity-Aware and Delay-Guaranteed Resilient Controller Placement for Software-Defined WANs," IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 991–1005, 2018. DOI →

  9. Journal

    M. Tanha, D. Sajjadi, R. Ruby, and J. Pan, "Traffic Engineering Enhancement by Progressive Migration to SDN," IEEE Communications Letters, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 438–441, 2018. DOI →

  10. Journal

    D. Sajjadi, R. Ruby, M. Tanha, and J. Pan, "Fine-Grained Traffic Engineering on SDN-Aware Wi-Fi Mesh Networks," IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. 67, no. 8, pp. 7593–7607, 2018. DOI →

  11. Journal

    M. Tanha, F. Hashim, and S. Shamala, "Secure and Self-healing Control Centers of Critical Infrastructures using Intrusion Tolerance," International Journal of Network Security, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 365–382, 2015.

  12. Journal

    M. Tanha, S. D. Sajjadi Torshizi, and S. Shamala, "A Discrete Event Simulator for Extensive Defense Mechanism for Denial of Service Attacks Analysis," American Journal of Applied Sciences, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 909–916, 2012.

  13. Conference

    M. Tanha, D. Sajjadi, and J. Pan, "Demystifying Failure Recovery for Software-Defined Wireless Mesh Networks," 4th IEEE NetSoft, Montreal, Canada, pp. 488–493, Jun 2018. DOI →

  14. Conference

    B. Hu, M. Tanha, D. Sajjadi, and J. Pan, "Intelligent Caching in Dense Small-Cell Networks with Limited External Resources," IEEE LCN 2018, Chicago, USA, Oct 2018. DOI →

  15. Conference

    D. Sajjadi, R. Ruby, M. Tanha, and J. Pan, "Fine-grained access provisioning via joint gateway selection and flow routing on SDN-aware Wi-Fi mesh networks," IEEE WiMob 2017, pp. 1–10, 2017. DOI →

  16. Conference

    M. Tanha, D. Sajjadi, J. Pan, and F. Tong, "Enduring node failures through resilient controller placement for software defined networks," 59th Annual IEEE GLOBECOM, pp 1-7, 2016. DOI →

  17. Conference

    J. Wu, J. Wang, L. Liu, M. Tanha, and J. Pan, and F. Tong, "A Data Forwarding Scheme with Reachable Probability Centrality in DTNs," IEEE WCNC, 2016.

  18. Conference

    M. Tanha, D. Sajjadi, J. Pan, and F. Tong, "Disaster Management and Response for Modern Cellular Networks using Flow-based Multi-hop Device-to-Device Communications," 84th IEEE VTC, Montreal, Canada, Sep 2016.

  19. Poster

    J. Zhu, Weijian Zhao, Aaron Hunter, and M. Tanha, "A Dynamic Analysis framework for Android Malware Detection," DIMVA 2026.

  20. Poster

    M. Tanha, D. Sajjadi, F. Tong, and J. Pan, "Disaster Management and Response for Modern Cellular Networks using Flow-based Multi-hop D2D Communications," CRA-W Grad Cohort Workshop, San Diego, USA, Apr 2016.

  21. Conference

    D. Sajjadi, M. Tanha, and J. Pan, "A comparative study of channel switching latency for conventional and SDN-based routing in multi-hop multi-radio Wireless Mesh Networks," IEEE CCNC 2016, pp. 330–334, 2016.

  22. Poster

    M. Tanha, D. Sajjadi, F. Tong, and J. Pan, "Survivability Analysis and Disaster Response for Modern Cellular Networks," IWMCN, UVic, Nov 2015.

  23. Poster

    M. Tanha, L. Cai, and J. Pan, "Smart Grid Cyber Security: Research & Challenges," 1st UVic FUN Workshop, Nov 2014.

  24. Patent

    "System and Method for Providing Real-Time User Information Broadcast based on the User's Location" (Malaysia PI 2014003141), Issued November 2014. [Inventors: K.H. Kwong, D. Sajjadi, and M. Tanha]

  25. Book Chapter

    M. Tanha and F. Hashim, Towards a Secure and Available Smart Grid Using Intrusion Tolerance, in Internet and Distributed Computing Systems, LNCS. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2012, pp. 188–201.

  • Khoury Teaching Faculty Research Seed Grant, Northeastern University, Dec 2025
  • Institute Research Funds – Phase 1, BCIT, Apr 2022
  • Charles S. Humphrey Graduate Student Award, University of Victoria, Nov 2018
  • Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) Student Travel Grant, UVic (IEEE NetSoft 2018)
  • CUPE 4163 Conference Award (IEEE NetSoft 2018)
  • UVic Graduate Award (Academic Record & Research) — Jan 2016, Jun 2017, Jun 2018
  • UVic Graduate Award (TA top-up) — May 2015, Feb 2016, Feb 2017, Mar 2018
  • N2Women Young Researcher Fellowship Award — IEEE GLOBECOM 2016
  • FGS Student Travel Grant, UVic (IEEE VTC Sep 2016)
  • CUPE 4163 Conference Award (IEEE VTC Sep 2016)
  • CRA-W Grad Cohort Workshop Invitee (travel grant), 2016
  • Best Poster Award, 1st UVic FUN Workshop, Nov 2014
  • Gold Medal, 25th ITEX 2014 — Prototype: Reco Wave, Malaysia
  • Silver Medal, 25th ITEX 2014 — Prototype: Uni Secure, Malaysia
  • RUGS6 Research Grant, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 2012
  • Session chair, "Artificial Intelligence (ML, DL, and FL) for network security", IEEE ICC, May 2026
  • Session chair, WCCCE 2026, Northeastern University, Vancouver, Canada.
  • Mentor, Technovation Girls Program, 2021
  • SQC Member, BCIT, 2021–2022
  • External Reviewer, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, 2021
  • Peer Reviewer — Computers & Electrical Engineering (2014), IJNS (2015), KSII (2017), IEEE Communications Letters (2019, 2021), IEEE Trans. on Network & Service Management (2020–2024, 2026), IEEE Systems Journal (2021), IEEE Access (2023, 2026), IEEE Wireless Comms. Letters (2023, 2025), PIMRC 2026
  • Mentor, Canada Learning Code — Python, HTML/CSS, WordPress workshops (2016–2017)
  • Program Assistant, UVic Graduate Student Orientation, Sep 2016
  • Mentor, Girl Guides Outreach Program (WECS), Victoria, 2016
  • Local Arrangements Co-Chair, IWMCN, UVic, Nov 2015
  • Weekly Group Meeting Coordinator, PANDA Lab, UVic, Sep 2015 – Apr 2016
  • Co-Chair, CyberSec2012, Malaysia, Jun 2012
  • Student Association Member, Yazd University, 2004

I welcome collaborations, speaking invitations, and student inquiries.

m.tanha [at] northeastern [dot] edu