Vir V. Phoha

Vir V. Phoha is a distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University's College of Engineering and Computer Science. He holds multiple prestigious fellowships including AAAS, AAIA, IEEE, NAI, and SDPS, and was named an ACM Distinguished Scientist in 2008.

Dr. Phoha's research spans across cybersecurity, machine learning, and biometrics. His work focuses on cutting across conventional disciplines to unify basic and common concepts, particularly in security (malignant systems, active authentication), machine learning (decision trees, statistical, and evolutionary methods), and computer networks (anomalies, optimization). He develops field-realizable defensive and offensive cyber-based systems using these methodologies.

His recent publications reveal a strong focus on continuous authentication, biometric security, fake news detection, and adversarial challenges in cybersecurity. The research shows an evolution from traditional network security to more specialized areas like wearable device security, keystroke dynamics, and gait authentication.

Scientific Awards:

• Fellow of AAAS, AAIA, IEEE, NAI, SDPS
• ACM Distinguished Scientist (2008)
• IEEE Computer Society Distinguished Visitor (2024-2026)
• ACM Distinguished Speaker (2012-2015)
• IEEE Region 1 Technological Innovation Award (2017)
• "Highest Impact Award" IEEE CVPR 2018 Workshop on Biometrics

Dr. Phoha serves as an associate editor for the ACM journal, ACM Digital Threats: Research and Practice (DTRAP), and as an associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems (TCSS). He has advised numerous students who have gone on to publish significant research in cybersecurity and biometrics. His work has been supported by grants from DARPA and NSF, including the development of the BB-MAS dataset which became one of IEEE DataPort's most popular datasets.