Earlier this year, I interned at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI-SP) under the excellent guidance of Prof. Carmela Troncoso, where I worked on securing broadcast media [
Preprint].
Before that, for my master's thesis, I investigated vulnerabilities in zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) in collaboration with Nokia Bell Labs (supervised by Janwillem Swalens) and zkSecurity (supervised by Prof. Stefanos Chaliasos) [
S&P 2026].
In a follow-up work, in collaboration with and funded by the Ethereum Foundation, I studied the state of ZKP security tooling [
Preprint].
My first research experience was an internship at KU Leuven's COSIC group under the supervision of Prof. Bart Preneel and Prof. Dave Singelée, which focused on the security of the Matter standard for smart home devices [S&P 2027].Industry impact: During my internship at COSIC, we identified weaknesses in both the specification and the codebase of Matter (an IoT standard adopted by Apple, Google, Amazon, and others). This led to patches in their codebase and meetings with the Matter team, where we discussed potential improvements. As part of my master's thesis on zero-knowledge proofs, I uncovered vulnerabilities in projects by Microsoft, TikTok, and others. During my internship at MPI-SP, we collaborated with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on designing a lightweight media encryption system.
Recent Highlights
My COSIC internship work on the Matter protocol will appear at IEEE S&P 2027!
Started research internship at CISPA!
My research internship project at MPI-SP is now on ePrint!
I will give a talk on ZKP security at the Science of Blockchain Conference (SBC)!
Visited Martin Kleppmann's group at the University of Cambridge for an upcoming collaboration on AI security!
I will present my Master's thesis work at IEEE S&P 2026 (supported by their student stipend) and ZKProof 8!
Received student stipend to attend Real World Crypto!
Received BAEF Graduate Study Fellowship for one academic year!
Started research internship at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy!
My Master's thesis work is now on ePrint!
Master's thesis won 1st place in the national ie-net thesis competition!
Master's thesis won the ie-net audience award!
Awarded Most Outstanding Science Student out of 345 graduates!
Awarded Best Master's Thesis in Computer Science for my work on ZKPs!
Received bug bounty for vulnerability report in the Self ZKP project!
My research internship project at COSIC is now on ePrint!
Achieved 4th place out of 359 teams in the national Cyber Security Challenge finals!
2027
What's the Matter? An In-Depth Security Analysis of the Matter Protocol
Informal Abstract
2026
SafeCast: End-to-End Security for Ultra-High-Bitrate Broadcast Media
Informal Abstract
ZKP Security Tools and Verification: Coverage, Effectiveness, Adoption, and Challenges
Informal Abstract
Language-Agnostic Detection of Computation-Constraint Inconsistencies in ZKP Programs
- 🏅 1st Place National ie-net Master's Thesis Award (€1000)
- 🏅 National ie-net Master's Thesis Audience Award (€250)
- 🏅 Best Master's Thesis in Computer Science Award (€500)
Informal Abstract
* co-first author
SafeCast: End-to-End Security for Ultra-High-Bitrate Broadcast Media
- ARD-ZDF Seminar on IP-Based Broadcast, Upcoming in November 2026 (Heimbuchenthal, Germany)
- EBU Media Cybersecurity Seminar (MCS), Upcoming in October 2026 (Geneva, Switzerland)
- Stanford Security Lunch, July 2026 (San Francisco, USA)
- Cambridge Security Seminar Series, July 2026 (Cambridge, UK)
- MPI-SP Spark(l)ing Science Seminar, July 2026 (Bochum, Germany)
- EBU Network Technology Seminar (NTS), June 2026 (Geneva, Switzerland)
- University of Bern (Christian Cachin's group), June 2026 (Bern, Switzerland)
Language-Agnostic Detection of Computation-Constraint Inconsistencies in ZKP Programs Poster | Slides (10-min) | Slides (20-min) | Slides (40-min)
- TUM Blockchain Conference (TBC), Upcoming in October 2026 (Munich, Germany)
- The Science of Blockchain Conference (SBC), July 2026 (San Francisco, USA)
- MPI-SP Retreat Poster Session, May 2026 (Meschede, Germany)
- Stanford Security Seminar, May 2026 (San Francisco, USA)
- IEEE S&P, May 2026 (San Francisco, USA)
- ZKProof, May 2026 (Rome, Italy)
- MPI-SP (Carmela Troncoso's group), May 2026 (Bochum, Germany)
- Microsoft Research, April 2026 (Online) *
- MPI-SP (Marcel Böhme's group), April 2026 (Bochum, Germany)
- Self, November 2025 (San Francisco, USA)
- Veridise, October 2025 (Online)
- zkSecurity, October 2025 (Online)
- Nokia Bell Labs, September 2025 (Antwerp, Belgium)
*due to recording/editing issues, it seems like at some points the audio and slides are not matching 😔
Research Assistant
Research Assistant
- Conducted research on securing IP-based broadcast media, in collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and under the excellent supervision of Prof. Carmela Troncoso.
- Designed a system that provides end-to-end confidentiality, integrity, and per-sender authentication for ultra-high-bitrate multicast media streams in broadcast production facilities.
- Presented the work at the EBU Network Technology Seminar in Geneva, as well as at several universities, including Stanford University and the University of Cambridge.
Research Assistant
- Invited for the Self Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) Residency.
- Worked on post-quantum cryptography protocols.
- Presented my Master’s thesis research.
- Collaborated with builders on improving real-world ZKP applications.
- Fully funded by the organizers.
Research Assistant
- Conducted research focused on the security analysis of Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs), under the supervision of Prof. Coen De Roover, Prof. Janwillem Swalens, and Prof. Stefanos Chaliasos.
- Part of my Master’s thesis.
- Developed a language-agnostic approach for detecting inconsistencies between computations and constraints in ZKP programs.
Cryptography Summer School Participant
- Participated in the EPFL-ETH Summer School on Lattice-based Cryptography, held at EPFL.
- Received lectures from experts on both the theory and applications of lattice-based cryptography.
- Worked on a small research project focused on the Lattice Isomorphism Problem (LIP), where I explored the problem and identified directions for further research.
- Registration fee and accommodation were fully covered by the organizers.
Research Assistant
- COSIC is a leading research institution in cryptography and software/hardware security.
- Conducted an in-depth security analysis of the Matter standard for smart home communication, with the aim of identifying potential security weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
- Performed formal verification of Matter’s protocols using automated tools, which involved modeling and verifying the protocols.
- Worked under the supervision of Prof. Dave Singelée and Prof. Bart Preneel.
- This experience strengthened my skills in protocol security analysis and formal verification, and expanded my understanding of security challenges within the IoT field.
Summer School Participant
- Attended the ACM Europe Summer School on Distributed and Replicated Environments (DARE) 2024.
- The summer school was focused on advanced topics in distributed systems.
- It offered me both theoretical and practical knowledge, with lectures focusing on CRDTs, Byzantine fault-tolerance, distributed systems, verification techniques for consistency, and programming/debugging/testing distributed applications.
- Participated in hands-on sessions and conducted a small research project on enhancing decentralized access control algorithms with a focus on security.
- Took classes from leading researchers in this field, including Prof. Martin Kleppmann, Prof. Carlos Baquero, Prof. Antonio Fernández Anta, Prof. Mira Mezini, and Prof. Elisa Gonzalez Boix.
- Fully funded by the Erasmus+ grant.
Bachelor's Thesis
- Conducted research on enhancing the speed of modular static analyses, under the supervision of Prof. Coen De Roover.
- Identified limitations in existing worklist heuristics.
- Designed more efficient ones.
- Benchmarked all new and existing worklist heuristics.
Teaching Volunteer
- Infogroep is the student association dedicated to supporting Computer Science students at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
- Organized and taught classes on various subjects, including a preparation workshop for my university’s Capture the Flag (CTF) security competition.
- Taught an introductory session on using LaTeX (Overleaf) for writing academic essays and reports.
Programming Lecturer
- Lecturer for additional programming classes (in the programming language Scheme), organized for first- year Computer Science students at my university.
- Always prepared slides to help the students refresh the necessary theory. Then we solved exercises in preparation for the exam.
- During the coronavirus period, I gave a session online and an on-campus session every other week.
- If the session went online, I had the students share their code via a code-sharing website where I provided comments to help them make progress.
Lecturer of Mathematics
- Taught the following topics of mathematics for both mathematics and non-mathematics background students: Linear Algebra, Analysis, Functions, Plane Geometry, Three-Dimensional Geometry.
- This was my first experience teaching a class of more than 40 students.
Teaching Assistant of Preparation/Bridge Course in Mathematics
- During the coronavirus pandemic.
- Organized live question sessions.
- Answered students’ questions on discussion fora.
- Corrected mathematics tests.
- Updated the solutions of exercises on the website of the mathematics book Wiskundige basisvaardigheden.
Master's degree in Computer Science
Distinction: Greatest Distinction (summa cum laude), ranking first in Computer Science out of 350+ graduates in the last 10 academic years. Best Master's Thesis in Computer Science Award. Most Outstanding Science Student Award (out of 300+ graduating students in the Science Faculty).
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science
Distinction: Greatest Distinction (summa cum laude)
Science-Mathematics (8 hours of math per week)
Distinction: Ranked first in class
Fellowships & Grants
IEEE S&P Student Stipend
Received a student stipend to present my Master's thesis work at IEEE S&P 2026.
BAEF Graduate Study Fellowship
Awarded the Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF) Graduate Study Fellowship for one academic year. BAEF supports the exchange of scientists and scholars between the United States and Belgium.
Real World Crypto Student Stipend
Awarded a student stipend to attend Real World Crypto 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan.
Grant for EPFL-ETH Summer School on Lattice-based Cryptography
Awarded a grant to attend the EPFL-ETH Summer School on Lattice-based Cryptography, covering both the registration fee and accommodation.
Erasmus+ Grant for ACM Europe Summer School (DARE 2024)
Received an Erasmus+ grant to attend the ACM Europe Summer School on Distributed and Replicated Environments (DARE) 2024 at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany.
Master's Thesis Awards
1st Place National ie-net Master's Thesis Award
The national ie-net Thesis Competition recognizes top Master's theses in Belgium, with eligibility limited to students in the top 20% of their faculty. After reaching the finals, I defended my thesis in front of a five-member jury from different backgrounds. I won first place (€1000) in the engineering track.
Longlist National mtech+ Technology Thesis Award
The national mtech+ Technology Thesis Award honors the most innovative technology-focused Master's theses submitted to the Flemish Thesis Award (Vlaamse Scriptieprijs), which received over 600 submissions this year. My thesis was selected for the longlist (top 10).
National ie-net Master's Thesis Audience Award
The national ie-net Thesis Competition recognizes top Master's theses in Belgium, with eligibility limited to students in the top 20% of their faculty. Finalists can also compete for the audience award (€250) by creating a two-minute video explaining their thesis to a broad audience. My video received 700+ likes on LinkedIn and was awarded this prize.
Best Master's Thesis in Computer Science Award
Awarded annually to the student with the best Master's thesis in Computer Science (€500). Selected for my thesis on improving the security of Zero-Knowledge Proofs, conducted in collaboration with Nokia Bell Labs.
Graduation Awards
Most Outstanding Science Student Award
Awarded annually to the top student of the Faculty of Sciences based on academic excellence across the full study track. Selected among 345 graduating students.
Master's Degree Summa Cum Laude (Greatest Distinction)
Graduated with the highest distinction (summa cum laude) for my Master's degree in Computer Science. I ranked first in Computer Science at my university in the last decade.
Bachelor's Degree Summa Cum Laude (Greatest Distinction)
Graduated with the highest distinction (summa cum laude) for my Bachelor's degree in Computer Science.
Competitions
4th Place Cyber Security Challenge Belgium 2025
National team competition for students about cyber security. Our team secured the 4th place out of 359 teams. My main contributions were to the cryptography category.
Winner Cyber Security Challenge Belgium 2024 (qualifiers)
National team competition for students about cyber security. We advanced through the qualifiers, securing first place out of 286 teams. We later finished 8th in the finals. My main contributions were to the cryptography category.
Finalist Cyber Security Challenge Belgium 2023
National team competition for students about cyber security. We successfully advanced through the qualifiers and secured 7th place out of 289 teams in the finals. My main contributions were to the cryptography and forensics categories.
Pre-Finalist Cyber Security Challenge Belgium 2022
National team competition for students about cyber security. We successfully advanced through the qualifiers and secured 43rd place out of 253 teams in the pre-finals. Unfortunately, we did not progress to the finals. My main contributions were to the cryptography and forensics categories.
Winner Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) CTF 2021
Capture The Flag (CTF) is a competition in which teams solve tasks related to cyber security. This competition was organized by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. My contribution was mainly on the cryptography category, where I successfully solved all of the crypto challenges.
Finalist Wiskunnend Wiske Wedstrijd 2020
Competition where hard mathematics questions must be solved by students in their final years of secondary school. I solved the challenges of the first round on my own and, upon hearing that my submission qualified for the finals, gathered a team to compete in the finals.
Article in Belgian Local News about my Master's Thesis
Article in Belgian Local News about my Master's Thesis
Interview on Belgian Radio about the Impact of Coronavirus on University Studies
Interview in Belgian Newspaper about my Academic Achievements
Web Developer
- Helped with the development of the new website of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).
- Regularly made small adjustments to the site, created new events, etc.
- Followed up a ticketing system and resolved tickets from VUB staff and external people.
IT Intern
- Argenta is a bank and insurance group offering financial services in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
- Spent a month in their IT Shared Service Integration department, assisting with the identification of available APIs.
- Created a comprehensive list of technical and functional descriptions of APIs and researched optimal tools for inventory setup and maintenance.
- This role brought me a first business experience in IT, improved my skills in conveying information clearly, enhanced my ability to ask targeted questions to colleagues, and introduced me to agile/scrum methodologies.
Integration of Usolv-it Exercises into the Canvas Learning Platform
- Wrote mathematics problems in LaTeX format.
- Managed mathematics assignments in Usolv-it.
- Converted Usolv-it assignments into tests and then migrated these to the Canvas learning platform.
Organization of Pretests in Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics
- Corrected pretests (which test the prior knowledge of first-year university students).
- Supervised when the students took their tests.
Logistics and Outlet Employee
IT Help Desk Assistant
- Famiris is the federal agency responsible for managing child benefits in Belgium.
- Assisted its staff with technical problems.