Thomas Eisenbarth is an Affiliate Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), with a collaborative appointment in the Department of Computer Science. Since August 2017, he has also served as a Professor at the Institute for IT Security, University of Lübeck, Germany. His research spans applied cryptology, embedded systems security, side-channel analysis, and cloud security. Ph.D. in ECE, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany Former researcher at Center for Cryptology and Information Security (CCIS), Florida Atlantic University Member of Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security (HGI) during doctoral studies His research focuses on applied cryptology , secure computer architecture , side-channel and physical attacks , and cloud and virtualization security . He leads research efforts in identifying and mitigating microarchitectural vulnerabilities, particularly in cryptographic implementations. His work is closely tied to the Vernam Group at WPI. The most recent publications highlight trends in cache-based side-channel attacks , particularly in cloud and trusted execution environments (e.g., SGX). His research demonstrates practical attacks on cryptographic implementations, including false dependency exploits and cross-VM leakage, while also proposing countermeasures like CacheShield and MASCAT. The recurring themes include microarchitectural vulnerabilities , hardware-software interaction risks , and privacy threats in virtualized environments . Scientific contributions and recognitions include: Best Paper Award, CHES 2008 Editor, Springer’s Journal of Cryptographic Engineering Guest Editor, IEEE Embedded Systems Letters Special Issue on Embedded System Security General Co-Chair: CARDIS 2020, CARDIS 2021, CHES 2013 TPC Co-chair: CARDIS 2017, SPACE 2017, LightSEC 2014, WESS 2013 PC Member: USENIX Security, IEEE S&P, CRYPTO, EuroCRYPT, and others Thomas Eisenbarth has advised and collaborated with numerous researchers and students, many of whom are co-authors on his publications. His service includes extensive editorial and conference leadership roles. He has not received major grants explicitly mentioned in the text, but his sustained publication record and leadership suggest active funding. He is involved in promoting research exchanges with Europe, particularly Germany, through DAAD, DFG, and Fulbright programs. His research lab, the Vernam Group , focuses on practical side-channel analysis, secure hardware design, and cryptographic implementations. The team works on both offensive techniques (e.g., cache attacks) and defensive mechanisms (e.g., masking, threshold implementations). They utilize FPGA platforms, cloud environments, and embedded systems to evaluate real-world security.
