Andrew Kwong

Andrew Kwong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in computer security and applied cryptography with a focus on side-channel attacks and defenses. His research bridges hardware vulnerabilities and cryptographic systems, particularly targeting microarchitectural weaknesses.

His primary research interests include Rowhammer-based exploits, side-channel attacks on cryptographic implementations, hardware security modules, and microarchitectural vulnerabilities. Kwong investigates how physical hardware properties (e.g., DRAM disturbance errors, cache hierarchies, acoustic properties) can compromise system security, with recent work demonstrating end-to-end key recovery against post-quantum cryptography and novel Rowhammer amplification techniques.

His publication record features high-impact venues including IEEE S&P (5 papers), USENIX Security (4 papers), and CCS (2 papers), with notable work When Frodo Flips receiving a Best Paper Award Honorable Mention at CCS 2022. Research trends show consistent focus on practical hardware-assisted attacks, evolving from acoustic side-channels (2018-2019) to Rowhammer sophistication (2020-2025).

• Best Paper Award Honorable Mention (CCS 2022)

Kwong teaches graduate courses including Hardware Security and Side-Channels (COMP 790-184) and Research Topics in Computer Security (COMP 790-185), emphasizing hands-on lab assignments for conducting and defending against hardware attacks. His syllabi cover foundational topics like cache side-channels, Spectre variants, Rowhammer, and trusted execution environments, requiring students to implement real-world attacks through programming assignments.