Nicholas Hopper

Nicholas Hopper is a Professor and Associate Department Head of Instruction in the Computer Science & Engineering Department at the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering. He has been a faculty member at the University of Minnesota since completing his PhD at Carnegie Mellon University in 2004, and has established himself as a leading researcher in online communications security and privacy.

Dr. Hopper received his B.A. from the University of Minnesota, Morris in 1999 and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University in 2004.

Nicholas Hopper's primary research interest is in online communications security and privacy. Within this field, his main focus is on anonymous communication, censorship resistance, and applied cryptography. His work has significantly advanced the understanding of website fingerprinting attacks and defenses, particularly in the Tor network. Hopper has also made important contributions to secure messaging protocols, privacy-preserving technologies, and network security. His research often combines theoretical cryptography with practical implementations to address real-world privacy challenges. Over his career, his work has been cited more than 5,000 times, demonstrating substantial impact in the security and privacy community.

Hopper's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on website fingerprinting in Tor, with multiple papers on defenses like RegulaTor and analyses of information leakage. His work increasingly incorporates machine learning techniques for both attacks (like DeepCoFFEA) and defenses. There's also a consistent thread of research on secure messaging protocols and group communication. The breadth of his work spans theoretical cryptography, practical security implementations, and privacy metrics, with a particular emphasis on real-world applicability and evaluation.

Dr. Hopper has received numerous prestigious awards for his work:

• NSF CAREER award (2006)
• Institute of Technology Student Board "Professor of the Year" award (2007)
• McKnight Land-Grant Professor award (2008)
• Best Student Paper Award at ACM CCS (2012)
• Andreas Pfitzmann Best Student Paper Award (2013)
• Honorable Mention for the 2013 PET Award for Outstanding Research

Dr. Hopper has advised numerous graduate students, including over 10 PhD graduates who have gone on to academic positions at institutions like Ewha Womens University, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, and University of Tennessee. His current PhD students continue to work on cutting-edge privacy and security problems. He has served in significant leadership roles in the security research community, including as Program Chair for PETS 2010 and 2011, and as an Associate Editor for ACM TISSEC. His extensive service on program committees for major security venues (IEEE S&P, NDSS, CCS, CRYPTO, TCC, PETS, WPES, Financial Crypto, and WWW) demonstrates his standing in the field.

While specific lab information isn't prominently featured in the provided materials, Dr. Hopper's research group appears to focus on privacy-enhancing technologies, particularly related to the Tor network. His students' work on website fingerprinting, secure messaging, and censorship resistance suggests an active research group working at the intersection of theory and practice in security and privacy. His research has practical implications for users seeking anonymity online and has influenced the design of privacy-preserving systems.