Mathias Payer

Mathias Payer is an associate professor at EPFL's School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC), leading the HexHive research group since 2018. He focuses on strengthening software and system security through fuzzing, vulnerability mitigation, and compiler-based approaches. His work includes open-source prototypes and contributions to embedded systems, IoT security, and trusted execution environments.

Education: PhD in Computer Science (Dr. sc. ETH) from ETH Zurich (2012), postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley (2012–2014), and assistant professor at Purdue University (2014–2018). Tenured at EPFL since 2021.

Research Interests: Fuzzing frameworks, memory safety, vulnerability analysis, compiler optimizations for security, and firmware security. Projects include Enclosure, HexType, and DP3T (decentralized contact tracing).

Awards: Multiple best/distinguished paper awards at top venues (e.g., Usenix Security, NDSS, RAID). Co-founded the EPFL polygl0ts and Purdue b01lers CTF teams to foster cybersecurity innovation.

Labs/Teams: HexHive group, CTF initiatives, and collaborations with industry (e.g., Intel SGX, Android security).