Abstract

The Web has redefined the way in which malicious activities such as harassment, disinformation, and radicalization are carried out. To be able to fully understand these phenomena, we need computational tools able to trace malicious activity as it happens and identify influential entities that carry it out. In this talk, I will present our efforts in developing tools to automatically monitor and model malicious online activities like coordinated aggression, conspiracy theories, and disinformation. I will then discuss possible mitigations against these harmful activities, keeping in mind the potential unintended consequences that might arise from suspending offending users.

Bio:

Gianluca Stringhini is an Assistant Professor in the ECE Department at Boston University, holding affiliate appointments in the Computer Science Department, in the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences, in the BU Center for Antiracist Research, and in the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy & Research. In his research Gianluca applies a data-driven approach to better understand malicious activity on the Internet. Through the collection and analysis of large-scale datasets, he develops novel and robust mitigation techniques to make the Internet a safer place. His research involves a mix of quantitative analysis, (some) qualitative analysis, machine learning, crime science, and systems design. Over the years, Gianluca has worked on understanding and mitigating malicious activities like malware, online fraud, influence operations, and coordinated online harassment. He received multiple prizes including an NSF CAREER Award in 2020, and his research won multiple Best Paper Awards. Gianluca has published over 100 peer reviewed papers including several in top computer security conferences like IEEE Security and Privacy, CCS , NDSS, and USENIX Security, as well as top measurement, HCI , and Web conferences such as IMC , ICWSM, CSCW , and WWW .

RECORDING : Please note, this event will be recorded and will be available after the event for an indeterminate period under a CC BY -NC-ND license. Audience members should bear this in mind before joining the webinar or asking questions.