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Professor David Choffnes inside West Village H
David Choffnes
Associate Professor of Computer and Information Science
617.373.4239
Expertise
crowdsourcing effectiveness, cybersecurity, mobile systems, networking and distributed systems

David Choffnes in the Press

David Choffnes for Northeastern Global News

Pete Hesgeth walking outside in the sun.

White House Signal mishap ‘would never have happened’ if leaders used official channels, cybersecurity expert says

“The main issue isn’t whether Signal is secure, it’s that it shouldn’t be used for communicating classified info,” says David Choffnes.
An Amazon Alexa sitting on a purple surface.

Your voice assistant is profiling you, just not in the way you expect, new research finds

New Northeastern research reveals the ways voice assistants track, monitor and profile user behavior.
A car that has Uber and Lyft stickers on the front windshield.

Uber and Lyft unintentionally sent gig workers’ Social Security numbers to social media companies, new Northeastern research uncovers

Uber and Lyft unintentionally sent gig workers' Social Security numbers to Meta and TikTok, new Northeastern research reveals.
The exterior of the Federal Communications Commission building.

What is net neutrality? And why it’s vital to the future of the internet, Northeastern computer scientist explains

David Choffnes says net neutrality is important with 5G, streaming , telemedicine, remote learning, or even watching TikTok.
Black and white speakers on top of a wooden table.

NSF grant will allow researchers from around the world to improve security of smart devices — remotely

Northeastern professor David Choffnes will use a grant to shed light on shortcomings of smart devices as part of the SPHERE initiative.
iPhone connected to a car with CarPlay displaying on the dashboard screen.

Automakers cleared in privacy lawsuit. Are your texts and call logs at risk? And what other data is being collected?

Cybersecurity expert David Choffnes says the decision raises the question as to what other data automakers might be collecting.
Person using a smart device.

The smart home tech inside your home is less secure than you think, new Northeastern research finds

David Choffnes and a team of researchers discovered vulnerabilities in smart home devices made by big technology companies like Google.

TikTok won’t be banned from US app stores. Here’s why.

TikTok doesn’t pose a national security threat to the U.S. any more than some of our most beloved apps such as Facebook and Twitter, says David Choffnes, associate professor of computer science. Banning the app would require a vote from Congress and massive changes in net neutrality.

Are Alexa, Siri, and Cortana recording your private conversations?

Smart speakers aren’t recording all the time, says David Choffnes, an associate professor of computer sciences. “But that doesn’t mean there’s no cause for concern.”

Facial recognition technology: In our rush to deploy it, are we ignoring the risks?

London has announced that it will install cameras across the city to catch and identify criminal suspects, joining a growing list of cities that have embraced facial recognition technology. David Choffnes, whose research focuses on network security and privacy, cautions that with so much at stake, it’s worth considering the potential risks of public surveillance tools before rushing to deploy them.