NYU Center for Cybersecurity secures a new leader
NYU Tandon School of Engineering has named Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Damon McCoy the new co-director of the NYU Center for Cybersecurity (CCS), an interdisciplinary research institute that works across NYU.
McCoy succeeds Ramesh Karri — widely considered a founding figure in hardware security — who recently stepped down from CCS leadership after serving in that capacity since co-founding the center in 2009. He remains part of the CCS faculty. Randal Milch of NYU Law School continues as CCS’ other co-director.
McCoy specializes in empirically measuring the security and privacy of technology systems and their societal impacts.
Among his accomplishments is co-founding Cybersecurity for Democracy (C4D), a multi-university nonpartisan research project of the CCS that is dedicated to exposing disinformation and other online threats while recommending countermeasures. In recent years, the C4D team has analyzed online hate and harassment networks targeting election officials, found ways of preventing tech-fueled political violence, investigated political ad-spending, and studied how social media platforms influence teens, among other research projects.
"Cybersecurity is a cornerstone of NYU Tandon's academic priorities, and CCS plays a vital role in advancing both critical research and professional development in this field," said Linda Boyle, NYU Tandon Vice Dean for Research. "Damon's remarkable work with CCS and C4D has expanded the frontiers of cybersecurity, safeguarding not just individuals and organizations, but also the integrity of democratic institutions and processes that are essential to civic life."
Since its founding, CCS faculty, affiliated Ph.D. students and academic fellows have identified and developed solutions for a wide range of cybersecurity challenges, including ways to protect personal data, deter disinformation and deepfakes, strengthen manufacturing and hardware security, protect cyber-physical and communication infrastructures, bolster software security, fortify supply chains, and enhance the trustworthiness of Internet-of-Things systems.
CCS also offers a rigorous academic curriculum, and its one-year master’s program in Cybersecurity Risk and Strategy confers a new category of degree — one built around the interdisciplinary training and perspectives needed to address a new type of cybersecurity threat.
McCoy will lead the center’s curriculum and research while pursuing industry partnerships that add to existing relationships the center has developed with American International Group, Inc. (AIG), a leading global insurance organization; DTCC, the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry; Google and others.
Along with NYU Tandon’s McCoy and Karri, CCS is composed of over 20 faculty members, including faculty from NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU Law and the NYU Courant Institute for Mathematics.
“Damon is and will continue to be a champion of this NYU collaboration that includes Tandon and the Law School,” said Milch. “I’m thrilled to work with him in guiding the center to continued success.”
NYU Tandon has been at the forefront of cybersecurity research and education for almost three decades. The school introduced cybersecurity studies in 1999, making Tandon one of the first to implement the program at the undergraduate level. It is also home to a thriving digital learning program that offers cutting-edge hybrid and remote cybersecurity training to both traditional students and mid-career professionals.
