Dr. Shashikant Mahajan

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Technology at Vidyalankar Institute of Technology, Mumbai, with more than two decades of professional experience encompassing technical administration, computer networking, teaching, research, student mentoring, and academic coordination.

My association with Vidyalankar began in 2004 as a Laboratory Assistant. I subsequently served as a Network Engineer, gaining practical experience in network infrastructure, systems administration, and computer-network management. After completing my M.E. in Computer Engineering, I transitioned into academics and have since contributed to undergraduate teaching, project guidance, departmental responsibilities, and student development.

I completed my Ph.D. (Technology) in Computer Engineering through the University of Mumbai in August 2025. My doctoral research, undertaken at Vidyalankar Institute of Technology under the guidance of Dr. Sunil Arvind Patekar, was titled “Developing a Paradigm in Covert Communication Using Reference Model and Protocol Channels for IPv4.”

My doctoral work proposed and implemented two approaches for covert-data transmission using IPv4 and TCP protocol-header fields. The proposed paradigm uses the TCP sequence-number field to carry encoded information and employs selected TCP and IP header fields to generate the passphrase. The research demonstrated the covert transmission of four words through shared-dataset addressing, extending an earlier approach that was limited to transmitting four ASCII characters. The work also examined the security implications, detection challenges, ethical considerations, and potential adaptation of covert-communication techniques to IPv6 and machine-learning-based environments.

My doctoral research resulted in two Scopus-indexed journal papers, one international conference paper, and one published Indian utility-patent application. I am a co-inventor of Indian Patent Application No. 202221036374, titled “Developing a Paradigm in Covert Communication Using Reference Model and Protocol Channels for IPv4.” My broader Google Scholar profile currently lists thirteen publications and one patent record.

My academic interests include computer networks, operating systems, network security, TCP/IP, covert communication, C and C++ programming, Java, soft computing, and emerging computing technologies. I have also collaborated with and guided students on projects and publications involving smart agriculture, machine learning, blockchain applications, Android systems, gaming, motion detection, online marketplaces, and firewall-policy anomaly resolution.

I believe that effective teaching should make complex technical concepts accessible and enable students to connect theoretical knowledge with practical applications. I strive to foster an approachable learning environment, encourage curiosity and independent problem-solving, and support students in building the technical competence and confidence needed for their professional careers.