Umar Iqbal

Umar Iqbal is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, part of the McKelvey School of Engineering. He holds a PhD from the University of Iowa (2021) and a BS from the National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences, Pakistan (2013). His research focuses on computer security and privacy, emphasizing transparency and control in computing systems. Key areas include AI system security, web privacy, and technology policy.

He has been recognized with awards such as the ACM IMC Best Paper Award (2023) and the Caspar Bowden Runner-Up Award (2024). His industry collaborations include roles at Apple, Microsoft, Mozilla, and Brave Software, contributing to tools like Brave's PageGraph and Safari's ITP. Iqbal teaches courses on web privacy and data-driven security, and mentors multiple PhD and master’s students.

• Education: PhD (University of Iowa, 2021), BS (NUCES, 2013)
• Awards: 7 major academic awards including NSF CISE Research Infrastructure (CRI) grant
• Labs/Teams: Leads research on secure AI systems (SecGPT architecture) and IoT privacy (ProperData Workshop)
• Grants: Over $275,000 in fellowships including CRA Computing Innovation Fellowship

His work bridges academic research with industry impact, influencing browser security policies at Safari, Brave, and Mozilla. Recent work includes analyzing smart speaker privacy (Alexa data tracking) and securing large language models through execution isolation techniques.