Biography: Christian Doerr (Member, IEEE) received a joint Ph.D. degree in computer science and cognitive science from the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA. He is a Professor of Cyber Security and Enterprise Security and the Director of the Cyber Threat Intelligence Lab, Hasso Plattner Institute, Potsdam, Germany. His research focuses on network security, cyber threat intelligence, and situational awareness.
Christian Doerr, University of Potsdam
David Mohaisen, University of Central Florida
Title: AI in Cybersecurity: Attribution, Inference, and the Dynamics of the Attack?Defense Arms Race
Abstract: The rapid progress of artificial intelligence has ushered in new methodologies for modeling, learning, and inference across domains. In security, this evolution offers both promise and peril. This keynote explores the dual role of AI in the cybersecurity landscape–empowering defenders with advanced capabilities such as code authorship attribution, LLM-driven vulnerability description enhancement, automated repair, and in-network intelligence for self-driving networks, while also exposing novel vulnerabilities, including privacy breaches in emerging modalities such as AR/VR systems. Drawing from empirical studies and system-level research, we illustrate how AI reshapes the balance in the attack-defense arms race. The talk concludes with a discussion of open research questions and methodological challenges, calling for a deeper synthesis of AI robustness, interpretability, and trust in the design of future-secure systems.
Biography: David Mohaisen is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Central Florida, where he directs the Security and Analytics Lab (SEAL). His research spans systems and security, with contributions in malware analysis, adversarial machine learning, privacy inference, blockchain security, in-network intelligence, and trusted hardware. His work appears in top venues such as IEEE S&P, USENIX Security, CCS, NDSS, HPCA, CHI, VR, and ICCV. Prior to UCF, he held research and faculty positions in both academia and industry, including at Verisign Labs, the University at Buffalo (SUNY), and ETRI in South Korea. He has led major research efforts funded by NSF, NRF, AFRL, and various industry partners. He has served on editorial boards for IEEE TDSC, TMC, TPDS, and TCC, and regularly contributes to the organization of leading conferences, including IEEE S&P, CCS, NDSS, etc. He is a senior member of ACM and IEEE, and a Distinguished Speaker (ACM) and Distinguished Visitor (IEEE).
Guofei Gu, Texas A&M University
Biography: Dr. Guofei Gu is a professor and holder of the Eppright Professorship in Engineering in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at Texas A&M University (TAMU). Before coming to TAMU, he received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from the College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology. His research interests are in network and systems security.
Dr. Gu is an IEEE Fellow and an ACM Distinguished Member. He is a recipient of 2010 NSF CAREER Award, 2013 AFOSR Young Investigator Award, and Texas A&M Presidential Impact Fellow, among several others. He has pioneered several new research directions such as botnet detection and software-defined network (SDN) security, and his research received 2010 IEEE S&P Best Student Paper Award, 2015 ICDCS Best Paper Award, 2022 ASIACCS Best Paper Award, and 2023 ACSAC Test of Time Award. He is currently directing the SUCCESS Lab at TAMU.