arXiv subjects

Junaid Farooq

Publications and source records attributed to Junaid Farooq.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Semantic Compression Trees: Multi-Resolution Knowledge Retrieval via Hierarchical Semantic Residuals

Retrieval-augmented generation relies mostly on flat, fixed-granularity indexes: documents are cut into uniform chunks and retrieved by similarity, discarding the hierarchical structure of the source. We introduce Semantic Compression Trees (SCT), a hierarchical index in which each node stores only its semantic residual -- the information it adds beyond its parent -- and retrieval proceeds by progressive descent from the root, so that per-query cost is governed by tree depth rather than collection size. We evaluate on QASPER (50 papers, 173 questions) under two protocols differing only in whether the benchmark supplies the relevant document, with bootstrap confidence intervals and paired significance tests throughout. The results are mixed and we report them as such. When the document is given, SCT with a zero-LLM extractive compressor matches dense retrieval on answer quality (0.274 vs. 0.277 F1, $p = 0.37$) using 30% fewer context tokens and no LLM calls to build the index, and residual storage beats storing full summaries at each node (0.274 vs. 0.205, $p < 0.001$). Increasing the collection fifty-fold multiplies flat retrieval's per-query scoring work by 48.9x and SCT's by 6.4x. Progressive descent itself is not supported. Retrieving the same residuals without the tree performs identically when the document is given ($p = 0.27$), and descent is substantially worse when the system must select the document (0.122 vs. 0.165, $p < 0.001$). Routing accuracy localises the cause: descent selects the correct paper 20.2% of the time against 39.3% for flat retrieval, because that choice is made from the root residual, the most compressed node in the tree. We conclude that the residual representation is worth keeping and top-down routing is not.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2026

Process-Aware Cross-Layer Adaptation for O-RAN-Enabled Industrial Systems

Wireless networks increasingly support closed-loop industrial applications in which sensed data must be transmitted, processed, and converted into an action before physical process makes the result obsolete. Throughput, latency, and inference accuracy measured separately cannot determine whether such an application completed a useful task. We propose a Process-Aware Co-adaptation Engine framework that combines application outcomes, process state, radio telemetry, edge-compute state, and sensing configuration to select coordinated operating points across the complete loop. We evaluate the proposed approach in a factory-inspection case study that integrates a physics-based digital twin, a programmable 5G O-RAN network, and edge-based visual inference. The experiments show that the preferred resource allocation changes with production speed and that adapting individual system components independently can be inefficient. We further show that efficient configurations can be identified with relatively few full-system evaluations.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2026

Temporally Encoded Double DQN for Proactive PRB Allocation in O-RAN Enabled Industrial Networks

Fifth-generation (5G) wireless systems are increasingly adopted in smart manufacturing to support heterogeneous industrial workloads through services such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC). However, industrial traffic is inherently process-driven and temporally correlated. So, static or reactive schedulers in the Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) are inadequate for such non-stationary conditions, leading to sub-optimal utilization and violation of latency-reliability guarantees. This paper proposes a temporal-aware deep reinforcement learning (DRL) xApp for proactive Physical Resource Block (PRB) allocation in O-RAN-enabled industrial networks. The proposed framework integrates a long short-term memory (LSTM) encoder within a Double Deep Q-Network (DQN) to model sequential dependencies among slice-level Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), enabling predictive and stable decision-making. A continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) traffic model is incorporated to emulate machine concurrency and process burstiness. Experimental results show that the LSTM-Double DQN improves slice satisfaction, and buffer stability under moderate and heavy load, with the longest sequence window providing the strongest gains.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2026

Jamming-Resilient PRB Reservation for Latency-Critical O-RAN Network Slicing

Open radio access network (O-RAN) architectures enable near real-time, software-driven control of network slicing through programmable xApps deployed on the near-real-time RAN Intelligent Controller (near-RT RIC). In industrial 5G downlink systems, adversarial jamming can abruptly reduce the effective physical resource block (PRB) capacity, triggering queue buildup and persistent latency violations, particularly in the presence of low spectral efficiency cell edge user equipments. This paper proposes a reserve-based resilience framework for PRB allocation in sliced O-RAN deployments. A finite pool of reserved PRBs is controlled by a near-RT RIC xApp that provides hybrid mitigation by proactively clearing backlog to build latency margin and reactively allocating reserve capacity during jammer active intervals. We formulate reserve activation as a constrained sequential decision problem and design a masked Deep Q-Network to learn effective control policies under non-stationary jamming. Simulation results show substantial reductions in URLLC latency violations and improved reserve efficiency compared to reactive baselines.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2026

Rao-Blackwellized Coverage Estimation in Poisson Networks: A High-Fidelity Hybrid Framework

While stochastic geometry provides a powerful framework for the analysis of cellular networks, standard Monte Carlo simulations often suffer from slow convergence due to the stochasticity of the infinite far-field. This work introduces the \textit{Rao-Blackwellized Hybrid Estimator} (RBHE), which enhances simulation efficiency by analytically marginalizing the residual far-field interference via the conditional Laplace functional. By partitioning the interference field into $K$ dominant interferers and an infinite tail, we derive an estimator that combines exact spatial sampling with a rigorous analytical representation. We prove that the RBHE is an unbiased estimator for any finite truncation, while its systematic bias relative to the infinite-plane benchmark decays at a rate of $\mathcal{O}(K^{1-η/2})$. Numerical results demonstrate significant sample parsimony; in the high-reliability regime ($T = -10$ dB) with $K=2$, the RBHE yields a variance reduction gain of $90.75\times$, enabling a $98.90\%$ reduction in the spatial realizations required to reach a target precision. This framework effectively bridges the gap between tractable analytical models and high-fidelity simulations.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2026

Quantum-Audit: Evaluating the Reasoning Limits of LLMs on Quantum Computing

Language models have become practical tools for quantum computing education and research, from summarizing technical papers to explaining theoretical concepts and answering questions about recent developments in the field. While existing benchmarks evaluate quantum code generation and circuit design, their understanding of quantum computing concepts has not been systematically measured. Quantum-Audit addresses this gap with 2,700 questions covering core quantum computing topics. We evaluate 26 models from leading organizations. Our benchmark comprises 1,000 expert-written questions, 1,000 questions extracted from research papers using LLMs and validated by experts, plus an additional 700 questions including 350 open-ended questions and 350 questions with false premises to test whether models can correct erroneous assumptions. Human participants scored between 23% and 86%, with experts averaging 74%. Top-performing models exceeded the expert average, with Claude Opus 4.5 reaching 84% accuracy, though top models showed an average 12-point accuracy drop on expert-written questions compared to LLM-generated ones. Performance declined further on advanced topics, dropping to 73% on security questions. Additionally, models frequently accepted and reinforced false premises embedded in questions instead of identifying them, with accuracy below 66% on these critical reasoning tasks.

cs.CL↗

arXiv2026

Differentiable Architecture Search for Adversarially Robust Quantum Computer Vision

Current quantum neural networks suffer from extreme sensitivity to both adversarial perturbations and hardware noise, creating a significant barrier to real-world deployment. Existing robustness techniques typically sacrifice clean accuracy or require prohibitive computational resources. We propose a hybrid quantum-classical Differentiable Quantum Architecture Search (DQAS) framework that addresses these limitations by jointly optimizing circuit structure and robustness through gradient-based methods. Our approach enhances traditional DQAS with a lightweight Classical Noise Layer applied before quantum processing, enabling simultaneous optimization of gate selection and noise parameters. This design preserves the quantum circuit's integrity while introducing trainable perturbations that enhance robustness without compromising standard performance. Experimental validation on MNIST, FashionMNIST, and CIFAR datasets shows consistent improvements in both clean and adversarial accuracy compared to existing quantum architecture search methods. Under various attack scenarios, including Fast Gradient Sign Method (FGSM), Projected Gradient Descent (PGD), Basic Iterative Method (BIM), and Momentum Iterative Method (MIM), and under realistic quantum noise conditions, our hybrid framework maintains superior performance. Testing on actual quantum hardware confirms the practical viability of discovered architectures. These results demonstrate that strategic classical preprocessing combined with differentiable quantum architecture optimization can significantly enhance quantum neural network robustness while maintaining computational efficiency.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Cyber Resilience in Next-Generation Networks: Threat Landscape, Theoretical Foundations, and Design Paradigms

The evolution of networked systems, driven by innovations in software-defined networking (SDN), network function virtualization (NFV), open radio access networks (O-RAN), and cloud-native architectures, is redefining both the operational landscape and the threat surface of critical infrastructures. This book offers an in-depth, interdisciplinary examination of how resilience must be re-conceptualized and re-engineered to address the multifaceted challenges posed by these transformations. Structured across six chapters, this book begins by surveying the contemporary risk landscape, identifying emerging cyber, physical, and AI-driven threats, and analyzing their implications for scalable, heterogeneous network environments. It then establishes rigorous definitions and evaluation frameworks for resilience, going beyond robustness and fault-tolerance to address adaptive, anticipatory, and retrospective mechanisms across diverse application domains. The core of the book delves into advanced paradigms and practical strategies for resilience, including zero trust architectures, game-theoretic threat modeling, and self-healing design principles. A significant portion is devoted to the role of artificial intelligence, especially reinforcement learning and large language models (LLMs), in enabling dynamic threat response, autonomous network control, and multi-agent coordination under uncertainty.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2025

SCOUT: A Defense Against Data Poisoning Attacks in Fine-Tuned Language Models

Backdoor attacks create significant security threats to language models by embedding hidden triggers that manipulate model behavior during inference, presenting critical risks for AI systems deployed in healthcare and other sensitive domains. While existing defenses effectively counter obvious threats such as out-of-context trigger words and safety alignment violations, they fail against sophisticated attacks using contextually-appropriate triggers that blend seamlessly into natural language. This paper introduces three novel contextually-aware attack scenarios that exploit domain-specific knowledge and semantic plausibility: the ViralApp attack targeting social media addiction classification, the Fever attack manipulating medical diagnosis toward hypertension, and the Referral attack steering clinical recommendations. These attacks represent realistic threats where malicious actors exploit domain-specific vocabulary while maintaining semantic coherence, demonstrating how adversaries can weaponize contextual appropriateness to evade conventional detection methods. To counter both traditional and these sophisticated attacks, we present \textbf{SCOUT (Saliency-based Classification Of Untrusted Tokens)}, a novel defense framework that identifies backdoor triggers through token-level saliency analysis rather than traditional context-based detection methods. SCOUT constructs a saliency map by measuring how the removal of individual tokens affects the model's output logits for the target label, enabling detection of both conspicuous and subtle manipulation attempts. We evaluate SCOUT on established benchmark datasets (SST-2, IMDB, AG News) against conventional attacks (BadNet, AddSent, SynBkd, StyleBkd) and our novel attacks, demonstrating that SCOUT successfully detects these sophisticated threats while preserving accuracy on clean inputs.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2025

SQUASH: A SWAP-Based Quantum Attack to Sabotage Hybrid Quantum Neural Networks

We propose a circuit-level attack, SQUASH, a SWAP-Based Quantum Attack to sabotage Hybrid Quantum Neural Networks (HQNNs) for classification tasks. SQUASH is executed by inserting SWAP gate(s) into the variational quantum circuit of the victim HQNN. Unlike conventional noise-based or adversarial input attacks, SQUASH directly manipulates the circuit structure, leading to qubit misalignment and disrupting quantum state evolution. This attack is highly stealthy, as it does not require access to training data or introduce detectable perturbations in input states. Our results demonstrate that SQUASH significantly degrades classification performance, with untargeted SWAP attacks reducing accuracy by up to 74.08\% and targeted SWAP attacks reducing target class accuracy by up to 79.78\%. These findings reveal a critical vulnerability in HQNN implementations, underscoring the need for more resilient architectures against circuit-level adversarial interventions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

ATP: Adaptive Threshold Pruning for Efficient Data Encoding in Quantum Neural Networks

Quantum Neural Networks (QNNs) offer promising capabilities for complex data tasks, but are often constrained by limited qubit resources and high entanglement, which can hinder scalability and efficiency. In this paper, we introduce Adaptive Threshold Pruning (ATP), an encoding method that reduces entanglement and optimizes data complexity for efficient computations in QNNs. ATP dynamically prunes non-essential features in the data based on adaptive thresholds, effectively reducing quantum circuit requirements while preserving high performance. Extensive experiments across multiple datasets demonstrate that ATP reduces entanglement entropy and improves adversarial robustness when combined with adversarial training methods like FGSM. Our results highlight ATPs ability to balance computational efficiency and model resilience, achieving significant performance improvements with fewer resources, which will help make QNNs more feasible in practical, resource-constrained settings.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Next-Generation Phishing: How LLM Agents Empower Cyber Attackers

The escalating threat of phishing emails has become increasingly sophisticated with the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs). As attackers exploit LLMs to craft more convincing and evasive phishing emails, it is crucial to assess the resilience of current phishing defenses. In this study we conduct a comprehensive evaluation of traditional phishing detectors, such as Gmail Spam Filter, Apache SpamAssassin, and Proofpoint, as well as machine learning models like SVM, Logistic Regression, and Naive Bayes, in identifying both traditional and LLM-rephrased phishing emails. We also explore the emerging role of LLMs as phishing detection tools, a method already adopted by companies like NTT Security Holdings and JPMorgan Chase. Our results reveal notable declines in detection accuracy for rephrased emails across all detectors, highlighting critical weaknesses in current phishing defenses. As the threat landscape evolves, our findings underscore the need for stronger security controls and regulatory oversight on LLM-generated content to prevent its misuse in creating advanced phishing attacks. This study contributes to the development of more effective Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) by leveraging LLMs to generate diverse phishing variants that can be used for data augmentation, harnessing the power of LLMs to enhance phishing detection, and paving the way for more robust and adaptable threat detection systems.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2024

RefreshNet: Learning Multiscale Dynamics through Hierarchical Refreshing

Forecasting complex system dynamics, particularly for long-term predictions, is persistently hindered by error accumulation and computational burdens. This study presents RefreshNet, a multiscale framework developed to overcome these challenges, delivering an unprecedented balance between computational efficiency and predictive accuracy. RefreshNet incorporates convolutional autoencoders to identify a reduced order latent space capturing essential features of the dynamics, and strategically employs multiple recurrent neural network (RNN) blocks operating at varying temporal resolutions within the latent space, thus allowing the capture of latent dynamics at multiple temporal scales. The unique "refreshing" mechanism in RefreshNet allows coarser blocks to reset inputs of finer blocks, effectively controlling and alleviating error accumulation. This design demonstrates superiority over existing techniques regarding computational efficiency and predictive accuracy, especially in long-term forecasting. The framework is validated using three benchmark applications: the FitzHugh-Nagumo system, the Reaction-Diffusion equation, and Kuramoto-Sivashinsky dynamics. RefreshNet significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods in long-term forecasting accuracy and speed, marking a significant advancement in modeling complex systems and opening new avenues in understanding and predicting their behavior.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2023

Deep Reinforcement Learning Based Placement for Integrated Access Backhauling in UAV-Assisted Wireless Networks

The advent of fifth generation (5G) networks has opened new avenues for enhancing connectivity, particularly in challenging environments like remote areas or disaster-struck regions. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been identified as a versatile tool in this context, particularly for improving network performance through the Integrated access and backhaul (IAB) feature of 5G. However, existing approaches to UAV-assisted network enhancement face limitations in dynamically adapting to varying user locations and network demands. This paper introduces a novel approach leveraging deep reinforcement learning (DRL) to optimize UAV placement in real-time, dynamically adjusting to changing network conditions and user requirements. Our method focuses on the intricate balance between fronthaul and backhaul links, a critical aspect often overlooked in current solutions. The unique contribution of this work lies in its ability to autonomously position UAVs in a way that not only ensures robust connectivity to ground users but also maintains seamless integration with central network infrastructure. Through various simulated scenarios, we demonstrate how our approach effectively addresses these challenges, enhancing coverage and network performance in critical areas. This research fills a significant gap in UAV-assisted 5G networks, providing a scalable and adaptive solution for future mobile networks.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2023

QoS Based Contract Design for Profit Maximization in IoT-Enabled Data Markets

The massive deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, including sensors and actuators, is ushering in smart and connected communities of the future. The massive deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, including sensors and actuators, is ushering in smart and connected communities of the future. The availability of real-time and high-quality sensor data is crucial for various IoT applications, particularly in healthcare, energy, transportation, etc. However, data collection may have to be outsourced to external service providers (SPs) due to cost considerations or lack of specialized equipment. Hence, the data market plays a critical role in such scenarios where SPs have different quality levels of available data, and IoT users have different application-specific data needs. The pairing between data available to the SP and users in the data market requires an effective mechanism design that considers the SPs' profitability and the quality-of-service (QoS) needs of the users. We develop a generic framework to analyze and enable such interactions efficiently, leveraging tools from contract theory and mechanism design theory. It can enable and empower emerging data sharing paradigms such as Sensing-as-a-Service (SaaS). The contract design creates a pricing structure for on-demand sensing data for IoT users. By considering a continuum of user types, we capture a diverse range of application requirements and propose optimal pricing and allocation rules that ensure QoS provisioning and maximum profitability for the SP. Furthermore, we provide analytical solutions for fixed distributions of user types to analyze the developed approach. For comparison, we consider the benchmark case assuming complete information of the user types and obtain optimal contract solutions. Finally, a case study is presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed contract design framework.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2022

Zero Touch Coordinated UAV Network Formation for 360° Views of a Moving Ground Target in Remote VR Applications

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with on-board cameras are widely used for remote surveillance and video capturing applications. In remote virtual reality (VR) applications, multiple UAVs can be used to capture different partially overlapping angles of the ground target, which can be stitched together to provide 360° views. This requires coordinated formation of UAVs that is adaptive to movements of the ground target. In this paper, we propose a joint UAV formation and tracking framework to capture 360° angles of the target. The proposed framework uses a zero touch approach for automated and adaptive reconfiguration of multiple UAVs in a coordinated manner without the need for human intervention. This is suited to both military and civilian applications. Simulation results demonstrate the convergence and configuration of the UAVs with arbitrary initial locations and orientations. The performance has been tested for various number of UAVs and different mobility patterns of the ground target.

cs.RO↗

arXiv2022

Proactive and Resilient UAV Orchestration for QoS Driven Connectivity and Coverage of Ground Users

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being successfully used to deliver communication services in applications such as extending the coverage of 5G cellular networks in remote areas, emergency situations, and enhancing the service quality in regions of dense user populations. While optimized placement solutions have been proposed in literature for ensuring quality of service (QoS) of users, they may not be ideal in highly mobile, autonomous, and diverse network scenarios. This paper proposes a proactive and resilient framework for distributed and dynamic orchestration of UAV small cells to provide QoS differentiation in the network. The UAV locations are tailored to end-user locations and service needs while ensuring that UAVs maintain localized backhaul connectivity. Simulation experiments show that under scenarios where physical placement can achieve service differentiation, the developed framework leads to a stable configurations of UAVs satisfying above 90% of user QoS requirements.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2022

Resilient UAV Formation for Coverage and Connectivity of Spatially Dispersed Users

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are a convenient choice for carrying mobile base stations to rapidly setup communication services for ground users. Unlike terrestrial networks, UAVs do not have fiber optic back-haul connectivity except when they are tethered to the ground, which restricts their mobility. In the absence of back-haul, e.g., in remote areas, emergency situations, or in battlefields, there is a need to ensure connectivity among UAVs in addition to coverage of ground users for creating local area networks. This paper provides a distributed and dynamic approach for UAV formation-based control for coverage and connectivity of spatially dispersed users. We use flocking dynamics as a guide to constructing tailored formations of UAVs on the fly. Simulation results demonstrate that if sufficient aerial base stations are available, the proposed approach results in a strongly connected network of UAVs that is able to provide both a backhaul and fronthaul network. The approach can be further extended to create multi-tier extra-terrestrial networks to cater for large-scale applications.

eess.SY↗