Ricardo Gomes is a Invited Adjunct Professor at of Computers Engineering Dept., School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic of Leiria. He graduated from Polytechnic of Leiria in Computers Engineering and holds an M.Sc. in Computers Engineering from Polytechnic of Leiria. He has worked in the IT field outside of academia for 20 years. His research interests are cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and the development of frameworks and methodologies.
EDUCATION
Specialist Title in Informatics Sciences from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria
MSc in Computer Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria
Bs in Informatics Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Software Development, Data Sciences
11
Scopus Publications
315
Scholar Citations
6
Scholar h-index
5
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Using Secure Multi-Party Computation to Create Clinical Trial Cohorts Rafael Borges, Bruno Ferreira, Carlos Machado Antunes, Marisa Maximiano, Ricardo Gomes, et al. Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy, 2026 The increasing volume of digital medical data offers substantial research opportunities, though its complete utilization is hindered by ongoing privacy and security obstacles. This proof-of-concept study explores and confirms the viability of using Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) to ensure protection and integrity of sensitive patient data, allowing the construction of clinical trial cohorts. Our findings reveal that SMPC facilitates collaborative data analysis on distributed, private datasets with negligible computational costs and optimized data partition sizes. The established architecture incorporates patient information via a blockchain-based decentralized healthcare platform and employs the MPyC library in Python for secure computations on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)-format data. The outcomes affirm SMPC’s capacity to maintain patient privacy during cohort formation, with minimal overhead. It illustrates the potential of SMPC-based methodologies to expand access to medical research data. A key contribution of this work is eliminating the need for complex cryptographic key management while maintaining patient privacy, illustrating the potential of SMPC-based methodologies to expand access to medical research data by reducing implementation barriers.
LLM Based Chatbot for Farm-to-Fork Blockchain Traceability Platform José Benzinho, João Ferreira, Joel Batista, Leandro Pereira, Marisa Maximiano, et al. Applied Sciences Switzerland, 2024 Blockchain technology has been used with great effect in farm-to-fork traceability projects. However, this technology has a steep learning curve when it comes to its user interface. To minimize this difficulty, we created a solution based on a Large Language Model (LLM) conversational agent. Our implementation, starting with an existing knowledge base that is prepared and processed with an embedding model to be stored in a vector database, follows a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) approach. Other non-textual media like images and videos are aggregated with the embeddings to enrich the user experience. User queries are combined with a proximity search in the vector database and feed into an LLM that considers the conversation history with the user in its replies. Given the asynchronous nature of these models, we implemented a similarly asynchronous scheme using Server-Sent Events that deliver the models’ replies to a UI that supports multimodal media types such as images and videos by providing the visualization of these resources. The end solution allows users to interact with advanced technologies using a natural language interface; this in turn empowers food traceability projects to overcome their natural difficulty in engaging early adopters.
INFORMATION SECURITY AND CYBERSECURITY ASSESSMENT IN SME – AN IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY Journal of Global Business and Technology, 2023
A Client-Centered Information Security and Cybersecurity Auditing Framework Mário Antunes, Marisa Maximiano, Ricardo Gomes Applied Sciences Switzerland, 2022 Information security and cybersecurity management play a key role in modern enterprises. There is a plethora of standards, frameworks, and tools, ISO 27000 and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework being two relevant families of international Information Security Management Standards (ISMSs). Globally, these standards are implemented by dedicated tools to collect and further analyze the information security auditing that is carried out in an enterprise. The overall goal of the auditing is to evaluate and mitigate the information security risk. The risk assessment is grounded by auditing processes, which examine and assess a list of predefined controls in a wide variety of subjects regarding cybersecurity and information security. For each control, a checklist of actions is applied and a set of corrective measures is proposed, in order to mitigate the flaws and to increase the level of compliance with the standard being used. The auditing process can apply different ISMSs in the same time frame. However, as these processes are time-consuming, involve on-site interventions, and imply specialized consulting teams, the methodology usually adopted by enterprises consists of applying a single ISMS and its existing tools and frameworks. This strategy brings overall less flexibility and diversity to the auditing process and, consequently, to the assessment results of the audited enterprise. In a broad sense, the auditing needs of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are different from large companies and do not fit with all the existing ISMSs’ frameworks, that is a set of controls of a particular ISMS is not suitable to be applied in an auditing process, in an SME. In this paper, we propose a generic and client-centered web-integrated cybersecurity auditing information system. The proposed system can be widely used in a myriad of auditing processes, as it is flexible and it can load a set of predefined controls’ checklist assessment and their corresponding mitigation tasks’ list. It was designed to meet both SMEs’ and large enterprises’ requirements and stores auditing and intervention-related data in a relational database. The information system was tested within an ISO 27001:2013 information security auditing project, in which fifty SMEs participated. The overall architecture and design are depicted and the global results are detailed in this paper.
Information Security and Cybersecurity Management: A Case Study with SMEs in Portugal Mário Antunes, Marisa Maximiano, Ricardo Gomes, Daniel Pinto Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy, 2021 Information security plays a key role in enterprises management, as it deals with the confidentiality, privacy, integrity, and availability of one of their most valuable resources: data and information. Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SME) are seen as a blind spot in information security and cybersecurity management, which is mainly due to their size, regional and familiar scope, and financial resources. This paper presents an information security and cybersecurity management project, in which a methodology based on the well-known ISO-27001:2013 standard was designed and implemented in fifty SMEs that were located in the center region of Portugal. The project was conducted by a business association located at the center of Portugal and mainly participated by SMEs. The Polytechnic of Leiria and an IT auditing/consulting team were the other two entities that participated on the project. The characterisation of the participating enterprises, the ISO-27001:2013 based methodology developed and implemented in SMEs, as well as the results obtained in this case study, are depicted and analysed in the paper. The attained results show a clear benefit to the audited and intervened SMEs, being mainly attested by the increasing of their information security management robustness and collaborators’ cyberawareness.
Automating and hardening blockchain nodes in a decentralized healthcare platform for enhanced security and efficiency RP Oliveira, R Camarada, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, M Dias, ... Procedia Computer Science 278, 1390-1397 , 2026 2026
Compute-to-Data Federated Learning Approach on a Blockchain Notarized Health Platform A Ruiz, G Rodrigues, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, M Dias, ... Procedia Computer Science 278, 1358-1365 , 2026 2026
Evaluating Model Context Protocol in the context of a Conversational Agent supporting an Agro-Food Blockchain Logistics Platform A Fernandes, L Oliveira, CM Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, ... Procedia Computer Science 278, 742-750 , 2026 2026
Supply chain traceability by recording EPCIS data on Hyperledger Fabric B Neto, J Febra, P Durães, P Domingues, CM Antunes, M Maximiano, ... Procedia Computer Science 278, 709-716 , 2026 2026
Threat Modeling a Solution Integrating Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence for Agro-Food Traceability A Guerra, H Lemos, P Domingues, CM Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes, ... Procedia Computer Science 278, 717-724 , 2026 2026
LINDDUN based Threat Modeling of a Healthcare Distributed Ledger Platform D Dinis, J Oliveira, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, M Dias, ... Procedia Computer Science 278, 1366-1373 , 2026 2026
Using Secure Multi-Party Computation to Create Clinical Trial Cohorts R Borges, B Ferreira, CM Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, ... Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy 6 (1), 2 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Integration of Citizen’s Card Digital Authentication in Hyperledger CM Antunes, M Maximiano, V Távora, R Gomes, M Dias, R Correia Journal of Digital Media & Interaction 8 (19), 66-86 , 2025 2025
Threat Modeling a Health Web3 DApp R Gomes, D Dinis, J Oliveira, M Maximiano, V Távora, CM Antunes, ... Journal of Digital Media & Interaction 8 (19), 46-65 , 2025 2025
Threat Modeling a Health Web3 DApp D Dinis, J Oliveira, M Maximiano, V Távora, R Gomes, CM Antunes, ... Book of the Extend Abstracts of the International Conference on, 26 , 2025 2025
Integration of Citizen’s Card Digital Authentication in Hyperledger M Maximiano, V Távora, R Gomes, CM Antunes, M Dias, R Correia Book of the Extend Abstracts of the International Conference on, 28 , 2025 2025
Using Homomorphic Encryption to Create Clinical Trial Cohorts based on Blockchain Notarized Private Patient Data D Cardoso, M Anastácio, CM Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, ... Procedia Computer Science 256, 988-995 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Architecture for Health Private Data Sharing using Blockchain F Carvalho, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, M Dias, RC Bezerra Procedia Computer Science 256, 909-917 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Can Secure MultiParty Computation be Used to Create Clinical Trial Cohorts based on Blockchain Notarized Private Patient Data? B Ferreira, R Borges, CM Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, ... Procedia Computer Science 256, 996-1002 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Using LLMs to bridge the gap between consumers and Blockchain on a Agro-food traceability platform: an architectural proposal D Santos, F Gonçalves, G Reis, M Santos, M Saraiva, P Durães, ... Procedia Computer Science 256, 319-326 , 2025 2025 Citations: 5
LLM Based Chatbot for Farm-to-Fork Blockchain Traceability Platform J Benzinho, J Ferreira, J Batista, L Pereira, M Maximiano, V Távora, ... Applied Sciences 14 (19), 8856 , 2024 2024 Citations: 25
INFORMATION SECURITY AND CYBERSECURITY ASSESSMENT IN SME-AN IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY. B Azinheira, M Antunes, M Maximiano, RP Gomes Journal of Global Business & Technology 19 (1) , 2023 2023 Citations: 6
A methodology for mapping cybersecurity standards into governance guidelines for SME in Portugal B Azinheira, M Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes Procedia Computer Science 219, 121-128 , 2023 2023 Citations: 15
A Client-Centered Information Security and Cybersecurity Auditing Framework M Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes Applied Sciences 12 (9), 4102 , 2022 2022 Citations: 49
Acknowledgment to Reviewers of Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy in 2021 A Tonacci, K Perumalla, A Rahmati, K Shaukat, A Melis, K Demertzis, ... 2022
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Information Security and Cybersecurity Management: A Case Study with SMEs in Portugal M Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes, D Pinto Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy 1 (2), 219-238 , 2021 2021 Citations: 164
A Client-Centered Information Security and Cybersecurity Auditing Framework M Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes Applied Sciences 12 (9), 4102 , 2022 2022 Citations: 49
A Customizable Web Platform to Manage Standards Compliance of Information Security and Cybersecurity Auditing M Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes Procedia Computer Science 196, 36-43 , 2022 2022 Citations: 41
LLM Based Chatbot for Farm-to-Fork Blockchain Traceability Platform J Benzinho, J Ferreira, J Batista, L Pereira, M Maximiano, V Távora, ... Applied Sciences 14 (19), 8856 , 2024 2024 Citations: 25
A methodology for mapping cybersecurity standards into governance guidelines for SME in Portugal B Azinheira, M Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes Procedia Computer Science 219, 121-128 , 2023 2023 Citations: 15
INFORMATION SECURITY AND CYBERSECURITY ASSESSMENT IN SME-AN IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY. B Azinheira, M Antunes, M Maximiano, RP Gomes Journal of Global Business & Technology 19 (1) , 2023 2023 Citations: 6
Using LLMs to bridge the gap between consumers and Blockchain on a Agro-food traceability platform: an architectural proposal D Santos, F Gonçalves, G Reis, M Santos, M Saraiva, P Durães, ... Procedia Computer Science 256, 319-326 , 2025 2025 Citations: 5
Using Secure Multi-Party Computation to Create Clinical Trial Cohorts R Borges, B Ferreira, CM Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, ... Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy 6 (1), 2 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Using Homomorphic Encryption to Create Clinical Trial Cohorts based on Blockchain Notarized Private Patient Data D Cardoso, M Anastácio, CM Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, ... Procedia Computer Science 256, 988-995 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Architecture for Health Private Data Sharing using Blockchain F Carvalho, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, M Dias, RC Bezerra Procedia Computer Science 256, 909-917 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Can Secure MultiParty Computation be Used to Create Clinical Trial Cohorts based on Blockchain Notarized Private Patient Data? B Ferreira, R Borges, CM Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, ... Procedia Computer Science 256, 996-1002 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Automating and hardening blockchain nodes in a decentralized healthcare platform for enhanced security and efficiency RP Oliveira, R Camarada, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, M Dias, ... Procedia Computer Science 278, 1390-1397 , 2026 2026
Compute-to-Data Federated Learning Approach on a Blockchain Notarized Health Platform A Ruiz, G Rodrigues, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, M Dias, ... Procedia Computer Science 278, 1358-1365 , 2026 2026
Evaluating Model Context Protocol in the context of a Conversational Agent supporting an Agro-Food Blockchain Logistics Platform A Fernandes, L Oliveira, CM Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, ... Procedia Computer Science 278, 742-750 , 2026 2026
Supply chain traceability by recording EPCIS data on Hyperledger Fabric B Neto, J Febra, P Durães, P Domingues, CM Antunes, M Maximiano, ... Procedia Computer Science 278, 709-716 , 2026 2026
Threat Modeling a Solution Integrating Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence for Agro-Food Traceability A Guerra, H Lemos, P Domingues, CM Antunes, M Maximiano, R Gomes, ... Procedia Computer Science 278, 717-724 , 2026 2026
LINDDUN based Threat Modeling of a Healthcare Distributed Ledger Platform D Dinis, J Oliveira, M Maximiano, R Gomes, V Távora, M Dias, ... Procedia Computer Science 278, 1366-1373 , 2026 2026
Integration of Citizen’s Card Digital Authentication in Hyperledger CM Antunes, M Maximiano, V Távora, R Gomes, M Dias, R Correia Journal of Digital Media & Interaction 8 (19), 66-86 , 2025 2025
Threat Modeling a Health Web3 DApp R Gomes, D Dinis, J Oliveira, M Maximiano, V Távora, CM Antunes, ... Journal of Digital Media & Interaction 8 (19), 46-65 , 2025 2025
Threat Modeling a Health Web3 DApp D Dinis, J Oliveira, M Maximiano, V Távora, R Gomes, CM Antunes, ... Book of the Extend Abstracts of the International Conference on, 26 , 2025 2025