Biography

Joshua Bundt is a PhD student at Northeastern University’s College of Computer and Information Science, advised by Professors Engin Kirda and Will Robertson. He has an MS in Computer Science from the Naval Postgraduate School, and his research interests lie in the field of Systems Security. He is specifically interested in binary analysis, reverse engineering, and malware, as well as creating systems that autonomously find and patch vulnerabilities in software.

Education

• MS in Computer Science, Naval Postgraduate School

About Me

• Hometown: Glidden, Iowa
• Field of Study: Computer Science
• PhD Advisors: Engin Kirda and William Robertson

What are the specifics of your graduate education (thus far)?

I’m a first year PhD student working in the field of System Security.

What are your research interests in a bit more detail? Is your current academic/research path what you always had in mind for yourself, or has it evolved somewhat? If so, how/why?

Primarily I’m interested in system security, but more specifically binary analysis, reverse engineering, and malware. In my spare time, I have a passion for capture-the-flag competitions and digital forensics.

What’s one problem you’d like to solve with your research/work?

I would be pretty thrilled to make the smallest advancement in our ability to make software and systems more secure through program analysis.

What aspect of what you do is most interesting/fascinating to you? What aspects of your research (findings, angles, problems you’re solving) might surprise others?

The recent advancements made in binary analysis which include autonomously finding and/or patching vulnerabilities in software are pretty amazing. The software and systems we use continue to grow increasingly complex, so it seems that autonomous solutions are our only hope in keeping systems more secure than they are vulnerable.

What are your research/career goals, going forward?

I hope to continue research with the Army Cyber Institute, helping to prepare the US Army for the security threats and opportunities of the future, while also having the tremendous opportunity to develop our future leaders at the United States Military Academy.

Where did you study for your undergraduate degree? Any reason in particular behind your choice (a program you were excited about, a city you love, a researcher you wanted to work with)?

I studied at United States Military Academy in West Point, NY.