Giovanni Vigna

Giovanni Vigna is a Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), where he has been since 2000. He is a co-founder of Lastline, a cybersecurity company acquired by VMware, and a recognized authority in computer security. His career spans academia and industry, with notable contributions to malware analysis and cybersecurity research.

Education: Giovanni earned a Bachelor's in Electronic Engineering (1994) and a PhD in Information Technology (date unspecified) from Politecnico di Milano, Italy. His academic journey included a post-doctoral position at UCSB under Prof. Dick Kemmerer, leading to his tenure as an Assistant Professor in 2000.

Research Interests: His work focuses on cybersecurity, malware analysis, and threat intelligence. He organizes the iCTF hacking competition and emphasizes programming and Capture the Flag (CTF) participation as key for aspiring cybersecurity researchers. His entrepreneurial venture, Lastline, specializes in network threat detection and was integrated into VMware post-acquisition.

Advising and Grants: He has mentored numerous students and PhD candidates, many of whom contributed to Lastline's success. His research has received significant funding, including projects during his post-doctoral phase. Currently on a leave of absence from UCSB to finalize Lastline's integration with VMware.

Labs/Teams: Active in UCSB's cybersecurity research community and Lastline's threat intelligence initiatives.