Berk Sunar

Berk Sunar is a Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and the founder of the Vernam Applied Cryptography and Cybersecurity Laboratory at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). He joined WPI in 2000 after holding postdoctoral and research roles at Oregon State University (OSU) and Trust Inc. His work focuses on applied cryptography, microarchitectural security, AI security, post-quantum cryptography, and homomorphic encryption. Sunar received his BSc from Middle East Technical University (1995) and PhD from Oregon State University (1998).

Research interests include vulnerabilities in hardware (e.g., Rowhammer, TPM-FAIL), side-channel attacks, and cryptographic implementations. Notable contributions include discovering flaws in Intel CPUs and TPM chips affecting billions of devices, as well as developing defenses like cuHE (GPU-accelerated homomorphic encryption).

Publications highlight breakthroughs in transient execution attacks (e.g., LVI, RIDL), post-quantum signature schemes (Dilithium), and cloud security (Firecracker VMM vulnerabilities). Awards include NSF CAREER (2002) and IBM Pat Goldberg Best Paper (2007).

Advised over 30 graduate students, many of whom hold senior roles in academia and industry. Current research addresses AI security, quantum-resistant algorithms, and automated attack detection via machine learning. The Vernam Lab remains a hub for cybersecurity innovation.