📣 I am hiring: interns, students, postdocs.

I’m starting as an Assistant Professor in Computer Science & Engineering at New York University from January 2025. I also help to lead the Clinic to End Tech Abuse as the Director of Research and act as a core member of SIGCHI CARES.

Previously, I had a wonderful time as a postdoctoral scholar with Associate Prof. Nicola Dell and Prof. Thomas Ristenpart at Cornell Tech (NYC).

✉️ rfb7709 [at] nyu [dot] edu


What drives me as a researcher is to make technology safer for every individual. I combine rigorous data-driven and engaged design research techniques from the fields of Computer Security and Privacy (S&P) and Human- Computer Interaction (HCI) to: (1) Analyze abusive adversaries’ goals, skills, and attack strategies across in-person and online contexts; (2) Develop and deploy digital tools that change abusive adversaries’ patterns of behavior in community-based interventions, alongside software applications for assessment, training, and monitoring; (3) Design responsive sociotechnical interventions to help survivors of technology-based attacks to reclaim their privacy and security and improve their financial wellbeing; and (4) Build a community of practice dedicated to safer S&P research involving at-risk users in academia and industry.

To minimize harm to at-risk users, benefit academic theory, and drive real-world impact, my approach encompasses both proactive and reactive anti-abuse strategies. To proactively address technology abuse, I lead efforts to redesign consumer-facing technologies by detecting areas of misuse, and develop digital tools that intervene with abusers to prevent harmful behavior. I couple these efforts with direct, reactive security services for survivors subject to ongoing attacks, and consult with consumer-facing banking, legal, and security services to offer targeted solutions that mitigate harm.