Drew Springall

Drew Springall is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Auburn University. His research focuses on nation-state attackers, Internet-scale vulnerabilities, election security, and cryptography. Previously, he worked at Google's Production Security team to address insider threats and infrastructure security.

He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan under Prof. J. Alex Halderman, funded by NSF, the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and Google ATAP. His work has received media attention from The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Guardian, and has influenced NIST and FBI cybersecurity strategies.

Key achievements include analyzing TLS protocol weaknesses, revealing cryptographic shortcuts in Diffie-Hellman implementations (Best Paper Award, CCS ’15), and exposing risks in Estonia's internet voting system. His research bridges theoretical cybersecurity with real-world policy implications.

• Awards: Best Paper Award (CCS ’15), Pwnie Award for Most Innovative Research
• Funding: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Google ATAP
• Media Coverage: WSJ, Washington Post, Ars Technica

His work often involves collaborative teams, such as with Zakir Durumeric and J. Alex Halderman, and addresses critical infrastructure and election integrity challenges.