Faculty
William Enck, Director
William Enck is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the North Carolina State University where he is co-director of the Secure Computing Institute (SCI) and director of the Wolfpack Security and Privacy Research (WSPR) laboratory. Prof. Enck’s research interests span the broad area of systems security with applications to the software supply chain, 5G and cloud infrastructure, mobile platforms, Internet of Things (IoT), and networks. In particular, his work in mobile application security has led to significant consumer awareness and changes to platforms, as well as a SIGOPS Hall of Fame Award. He is currently serving as Secretary for the USENIX Board of Directors, as associate editor for ACM TOPS, and on the steering committee of the USENIX Security Symposium. He was program co-chair of USENIX Security 2018 and is program co-chair of the 2024 and 2025 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (S&P). Prior to joining NC State, Prof. Enck earned his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S in Computer Science and Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 2011, 2006, and 2004, respectively. Prof. Enck is a member of the ACM, IEEE, ISSA, and USENIX.
Anupam Das
Anupam Das is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. His research interests lie in the domain of security and privacy with a special focus towards designing secure and privacy-preserving technologies. His work has looked at understanding and mitigating the security and privacy risks of exposing sensors, embedded in smart devices. Most recently, he has been working on designing novel frameworks for enhanced transparency and protection in the Internet of Things (IoT). Prior to joining NC State, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science in 2016 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he was a recipient of Fulbright Science and Technology fellowship. He previously served as an Assistant Professor in the department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
Alexandros Kapravelos
Alexandros Kapravelos is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at NC State University. He received his PhD in Computer Science from University of California, Santa Barbara in 2015. His research interests span the areas of systems and software security. Currently, he studies how the web changes on the client side via browser extensions and how we can protect the browser from malicious client-side attacks. He is also interested in Internet privacy and browser fingerprinting specifically, where he is working on making Internet users less distinctive while they browse the web. He is the lead developer of Wepawet, a publicly available system that detects drive-by downloads with the use of an emulated browser, Revolver, a system that detects evasive drive-by download attempts, and Hulk, a browser extension analysis system.
Brad Reaves
Brad Reaves is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the North Carolina State University. His research is dedicated to measuring and improving the security of computer systems, with a particular emphasis on telephone networks and mobile platforms. His work has addressed detection and measurement of mobile malware in the wild, identified systemic risks in developing world mobile money systems, and provided new techniques to distinguish legitimate and fraudulent phone calls. He holds a PhD from the University of Florida, an MS in Computer Science from Georgia Tech as well as a BS and MS in Computer Engineering from Mississippi State University. His work has been recognized with two best paper awards and is regularly published at top venues.
Alessandra Scafuro
Alessandra Scafuro is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at NCSU. She received her PhD from University of Salerno, Italy, in 2013. Prior to joining the NC State faculty, she was a post-doc at UCLA, and held a join post-doc position at Boston University and Northeastern University. Her research interests are in the theoretical foundations as well as practical applications of Cryptography. Presently she studies the problem of designing protocols for secure computation. The goal of secure computation is to allow several parties to compute a function of their joint inputs, in such a way that all participants learn the output of the function but yet, they do not learn the inputs of the other parties. This problem is relevant in scenarios where multiple parties are interested in evaluating function on sensitive data that must remain private, for example, running tests on medical records. While from a theoretical point of view this problem has been extensively studied, the challenge today is to design protocols that are efficient and usable in real world applications.
Dominik Wermke
Dominik Wermke is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. His research interests center around empowering software experts to design, develop, and deploy secure, privacy-respecting, and trust-worthy software. His general areas of research are in usable security & privacy, software supply chain security & transparency, the open source ecosystem, and supporting software experts in designing secure and user-friendly systems. Prior to joining NC State, Dominik was a researcher at the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security and part of the TeamUSEC research group for human-centered security. He received his Dr. rer. nat. (PhD equivalent) in computer science from Leibniz University Hannover in 2023 and both a M.Sc. and B.Sc. from Saarland University in 2016 and 2015 respectively.
Laurie Williams
Laurie Williams is a Distinguished University Professor in the Computer Science Department of the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU). Laurie is a co-director of the NCSU Secure Computing Institute (SCI) , the NCSU Science of Security Lablet, and the North Carolina Partnership for Cybersecurity Excellence (NC-PaCE). Laurie's research focuses on software security and secure software supply chain. She is an associate editor-in-chief of the IEEE Security and Privacy magazine. Laurie is an IEEE Fellow and an ACM Fellow. Laurie has a BS in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University, an MBA from Duke University, and a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Utah.
Current PhD Students
Sathvik Prasad, Lead Graduate Student
Sathvik Prasad is a PhD student being advised by Dr. Bradley Reaves. Sathvik's current research focuses on measuring and improving the security of telephone networks. His broader research interest is in data-driven security and network security. Previously, he worked at Cisco, where he developed VoIP software, supported some of the largest networks in the world, and developed in-house productivity enhancing tools.
David Adei
Dawuda Ahmed, also known as David Adei, enrolled in the Computer Science Department's Ph.D. program in 2022 and is currently under the guidance of Dr. Reaves. His research primarily centers on networks and software security, with a specific emphasis on mobile network research. David earned his BSc in Ghana, his home country. Before embarking on his Ph.D. journey, he contributed to the industry as a software developer for nearly 7 years. His ongoing research is dedicated to developing systems that ensure privacy while aiding authorities in tracing unauthorized phone calls to facilitate prosecution.
Dilawer Ahmed
Dilawer Ahmed is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Science at NC State University. Advised by Dr. Anupam Das, his current research focuses on Web Security and IoT Security & Privacy. Dilawer, through his research, hopes to make IoT and Web systems more secure and transparent. Before Graduate School, Dilawer was a Research Assistant at Lahore University of Management Science and received a B.S. Computer Science degree from Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan.
Setu Kumar Basak
Setu Kumar Basak started his Ph.D. program in the department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University in Fall 2021. His research interest is in the area of Software Engineering and Software Security. Currently, he is working under the supervision of Dr. Laurie Williams. He is currently working on risk-based software secret management. He received his bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Engineering at Khulna University of Engineering & Technology. Before joining NCSU, he worked at Enosis solutions for five years in Bangladesh, where his work domain was dental practice management software systems and opportunity model analysis. He loves to play cricket, table tennis, and volleyball.
Sohom Datta
Sohom Datta is a PhD student in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. He worked at the WSPR lab in Spring 2023 as a research intern and then subsequently re-joined as a PhD student in Fall 2024. He is being advised by Dr. Alex Kapravelos. His current focus is on understanding the web privacy and security landscape. Sohom received his Bachelors in Computer Science and Engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology in India in 2023. When he is not staring at (web) browsers, Sohom likes to edit Wikipedia and contribute to open-source projects.
K. Virgil English
Kelly Virgil English is a Ph.D. student of North Carolina State University in the Computer Science department under the advisement of Dr. William Enck. He joined WSPR Lab in 2021 as an M.S. student and transitioned to Ph.D. in Fall 2022. He currently works on 5G Cellular Security, focusing on cryptography and access control. Other research interests include embedded system security and memory corruption. Virgil received his B.S. in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2020 and his M.S. in Computer Science from NCSU in 2022.
Jonah Ghebremichael
Jonah Ghebremichael is a PhD student in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. He joined the WSPR lab in Fall 2023 and is being co-advised by Dr. William Enck and Dr. Alex Kapravelos. His current focus is on software supply chain security. Jonah received his B.S. in Computer Science from NC State in 2023.
Sivana Hamer
Sivana Hamer is Ph.D student in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University advised by Dr. Laurie Williams. Her research interest lies in empirical software engineering research to help software development and developers. She currently focuses on software engineering security, particularly the software supply chain. She obtained her M. Sc and B.S. from the University of Costa Rica.
Md Jakaria
Md Jakaria is a Ph.D. Student advised by Dr. Anupam Das. He joined the WSPR lab in 2021. His focus lies in exploring privacy and security aspects within the IoT domain. His ongoing project involves the comprehensive analysis of network traffic originating from smart home devices on a large scale. Before joining NC State, Jakaria was a lecturer at MIST, Dhaka. He earned his B.Sc. in CSE from BUET in 2018.
Elizabeth Lin
Elizabeth Lin is a PhD student in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. Elizabeth joined the WSPR lab in 2022 and is being advised by Dr. William Enck. She is currently focusing on software supply chain security. Before joining NCSU, Elizabeth received her B.S. in Computer Science in 2022 from National Chengchi University.
Aleksandr Nahapetyan
Aleksandr Nahapetyan is a Ph.D. student co-advised by Dr. Bradly Reaves and Dr. Alexandros Kapravelos. He is interested in Reverse engineering, Threat Intelligence, Online Phishing/SPAM, and web security. He is working on studying the phishing ecosystem from different vantage points, studying the phenomena as a group of operations instead of individual cases; in his free time, he competes as part of NC State’s CTF Team Hackpack.
Lorenzo Neil
Lorenzo Neil is a Ph.D candidate in Computer Science at North Carolina State University. Lorenzo joined the WSPR Lab in 2019 and is advised by Dr. Bradley Reaves. His broader research interests include usable security and secret management. Specifically, his current research focuses on the quality of online security advice, as well as developer secret management practices.
Nikolaos Pantelaios
Nikolaos Pantelaios is a PhD student in Computer Science at North Carolina State University. He joined the WSPR lab in 2018 advised by Dr. Alexandros Kapravelos. He is currently working in Web Security, with a focus on Network Security using Machine Learning techniques. He graduated with a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering at National Technical University of Athens, Greece.
Imranur Rahman
Imranur Rahman started his PhD in 2022 and joined the WSPR lab in 2023. He is being advised by Dr. Laurrie Williams and currently focusing on software supply chain security. Before joining NCSU, Imranur received his B.Sc. in Computer Science in 2018 from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Before starting his PhD, he worked at Samsung Research for 3.5 years where he developed Chromium-based mobile browser for Samsung smartphones.
Md Atiqur Rahman
Md Atiqur Rahman is a PhD student advised by Dr. Alexandros Kapravelos. He joined the WSPR lab in Fall 2024. He completed his B.Sc in Computer Science and Engineering in 2022 from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and worked as a backend software engineer at IQVIA for two years. His research interests focus on the intersection of security, software engineering, and generative AI, with a current emphasis on software supply chain security.
Alex Ross
Alex Ross is a PhD student in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. He joined the WSPR lab in 2020 and is being advised by Dr. Bradley Reaves. His research interests include hardware, network, and IoT security along with edge computing, embedded systems, and virtual and augmented reality. Before joining the NCSU Wolfpack, Alex received his B.S. in Computer Science from Wake Forest University. When he is not busy with academics or research, Alex likes to design, build, and program smart electrical devices.
Aafaq Sabir
Aafaq Sabir is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Science at NCSU supervised by Dr. Anupam Das. His research interests lie in web security and privacy. He is currently working on analyzing and mitigating security and privacy problems in smart home devices and voice assistants. His research involves understanding the gap between a user's mental model and system behavior, detecting and regulating advertisements in smart home devices, and analyzing online tracking technology across different platforms, among other aspects. Before joining NCSU, he graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in 2020.
Shaown Sarker
Shaown is a PhD student in the department of Computer Science at NC State and he joined the WSPR lab in 2016. Shaown is advised by Dr. Kapravelos and is mostly interested in static and dynamic analysis of JavaScript, malicious JavaScript detection, drive-by and malicious downloads. When he is not busy in his research, Shaown likes to dabble in the dark arts of binary exploitation and capture the flag competitions.
Abhinaya S B
Abhinaya S B is a Ph.D. student advised by Dr. Anupam Das and joined the WSPR lab in Fall 2022. Her research interests include usable security and privacy in emerging computing technologies, specifically focusing on VR privacy. She earned her Bachelor's in Computer Science from NIT Trichy, India, in 2019. She worked as a Software Architect at Qualcomm for three years before starting grad school.
Junhua Su
Junhua Su is currently a Ph.D. student in the WSPR lab advised by Dr. Kapravelos. He received his B.S. in Computer Science and minor in Physics from NC State University in 2021. He is currently working on web measurement and browser fingerprinting. He is also interested in privacy analytics in the web and browser.
Mahzabin Tamanna
Mahzabin Tamanna is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. Mahzabin joined the WSPR Lab in the Fall of 2022 and is being advised by Dr. Laurie Williams. She is currently focusing on software supply chain security and aiding software developers in designing secure and intuitive systems. Before joining NCSU, Mahzabin received her B.S. in Computer Science and Software Engineering from American International University-Bangladesh and her MS in computer science from North Carolina A&T State University.
Seaver Thorn
Seaver is a PhD student advised by Dr. William Enck in the Department of Computer Science at NCSU. Seaver joined the WSPR lab in 2020. His current focus is in 5G Cellular Network Security, but has other research interests in OS and network security. He received his M.S in Computer Science from NC State in 2020 and his B.S in Computer Science from East Carolina University in 2018.
Greg Tystahl
Greg Tysthal is a PhD student in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. Greg joined the WSPR lab in 2022 and is being co-advised by Dr. William Enck and Dr. Alex Kapravelos. He is currently focusing on software supply chain security. Before joining NCSU, Greg received his B.S. in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics in 2022 from Buena Vista University.
Tanner Verber
Tanner is a PhD student in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. He is currently researching secure blockchain-based applications and new paradigms for secure MPC. He received his B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin - Stout in 2019
Ahsan Zafar
Ahsan Zafar is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Science at NC State University and is being advised by Dr. Anupam Das. His research interests include online privacy and tracking in the context of evolving web applications. He is currently exploring the fingerprinting surface of mobile and desktop platforms and continues to develop measurement tools that can increase the transparency of web interactions. He graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in 2020.
Nusrat Zahan
Nusrat Zahan is a Ph.D. student who joined NCSU CS in 2020. She is working under the supervision of Dr. Laurie Williams. Her research interest is Cybersecurity, especially industrial control system security, healthcare software security. Currently, she is analyzing healthcare software efficiency, reliability across different security techniques. Along with that, she is researching on Industrial Control System's security framework development. Nusrat has received her bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering Technology, 2015. Before joining NCSU, she worked at NEC corporation for three years in Bangladesh, where her work domain was Biometric technology and its application.
Current MS Students
PhD Alumni
- Md Rayhanur Rahman, Summer 2024 (now Assistant Professor, University of Alabama)
- Trevor Dunlap, Summer 2024 (now at Chainguard)
- Varun Rajeev Madathil, Fall 2024 (now Postdoc at Yale)
- Samin Yaseer Mahmud, Fall 2023 (now at Meta)
- Iffat Anjum, Summer 2023 (now Teaching Assistant Professor, University of Denver)
- Abida Haque, Spring 2023 (now Teaching Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University)
- Isaac Polinsky, Spring 2023 (now at Google)
- Shaohu Zhang, Spring 2023 (now Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Pembroke)
- Jordan Jueckstock, Spring 2021 (now Assistant Professor, Bob Jones University)
- Quan Chen, Spring 2021 (now at Apple)
- Tae Hyun Kim, Spring 2021 (now Cyber Policy Officer, Republic of Korea)
- Sigmund Albert Gorski III, Spring 2020 (now at Booz Allen Hamilton)
- Akond Rahman, Summer 2019 (now Assistant Professor, Auburn University)
- Russell Meredith, Summer 2019
- Benjamin Andow, Summer 2019 (now at Google)
- TJ OConnor, Spring 2019 (now Assistant Professor, Florida Institute of Technology)
- Luke Deshotels, Fall 2018 (now at TikTok)
- Chris Theisen, Summer 2018 (now at Microsoft)
- Micah Bushouse, Summer 2018 (now at US Goverment in Washington, DC)
- Adwait Nadkarni, Spring 2017 (now Assistant Professor, William and Mary)
- Ruowen Wang, Spring 2016 (now at Google)
- Jason Gionta, Spring 2015 (now at DoD)
MS Alumni
- Aishwarya Seth
- K. Virgil English
- Seaver Thorn
- Monica Metro
- Sanket Goutam
- Akash Verma
- Vasant Tendulkar
- Andrew Branscomb
- Adwait Nadkarni