{"693822":{"#nid":"693822","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Recognized With Test of Time Awards","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech\u0027s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E (SCP) are being recognized for research that has helped shape how scientists understand and measure internet security.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETwo papers co-authored by Georgia Tech researchers have received the 2026 ACM Internet Measurement Conference (IMC) Test of Time Award, recognizing research with a lasting impact on the field. Among them is \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/10.1145\/2663716.2663755\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Matter of Heartbleed\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a 2014 study co-authored by SCP Professor \u003Cstrong\u003EMichael Bailey\u003C\/strong\u003E and Associate Professor \u003Cstrong\u003EFrank Li\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe paper examined how the internet responded to the Heartbleed vulnerability, one of the most serious security flaws of its time. But its impact extended beyond documenting the incident. A collaboration between researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan produced a broad analysis of the security crisis and helped shape a line of research that would influence Li\u0027s academic career.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn April 2014, Heartbleed took the internet by surprise. The flaw in OpenSSL, a widely used software library for securing internet communications, allowed attackers to trick vulnerable servers into revealing portions of their memory, potentially exposing passwords, session tokens, and private cryptographic keys.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith just one month before the IMC paper deadline, researchers at Berkeley and Michigan began investigating the vulnerability. They initially pursued separate efforts before learning about each other\u0027s work and deciding to combine forces.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELi, then a first-year Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley working with his advisor \u003Cstrong\u003EVern Paxson\u003C\/strong\u003E, led the Berkeley team. \u003Cstrong\u003EZakir Durumeric\u003C\/strong\u003E, now at Stanford University, led the Michigan team.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJoining forces enabled the researchers to examine the vulnerability from several angles. They tracked vulnerable servers across the internet, studied the replacement of digital certificates that might have been compromised, and investigated attempts to exploit the flaw.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe heard about each other\u2019s efforts, talked, and decided to join forces,\u201d Li said. \u201cAs a result, our final work was far more comprehensive than what any of us could have done individually.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne part of the study produced a particularly surprising result. The researchers wanted to know whether directly notifying system operators about vulnerable servers would encourage them to fix the problem. Because Heartbleed had received widespread media attention, the team initially expected the notifications to have little effect.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead, operators who received notifications patched vulnerable systems at a rate 47% higher than those who had not yet been notified. Many operators already knew about Heartbleed but had overlooked some servers or had not completed remediation correctly. The researchers found that specific, actionable information could make a difference.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe experiment also led Li down an unexpected research path. He continued studying how security notifications could help organizations address vulnerabilities, including web misconfigurations and compromised websites. He also investigated whether security patches introduced new bugs and examined the human and organizational factors that affect how system administrators handle security updates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETogether, that work formed the foundation of his doctoral thesis and faculty job talk, both focused on internet-scale vulnerability remediation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cResearch paths are highly dynamic, especially for early researchers,\u201d Li said. \u201cJump on opportunities when they present themselves.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat lesson has stayed with Li throughout his career. At Georgia Tech, he continues to study how internet operators handle security and privacy, while expanding into areas such as online authentication and AI agent abuse.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Li, the award is a reminder that an unexpected opportunity early in his career helped shape his research and his career path.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to get this recognition for the work, which goes all the way back to the start of my academic career,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel fortunate to have been involved in such a fun, interesting, and ultimately impactful project, especially early in my career.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Heartbleed paper was not the only Georgia Tech-connected research recognized this year. The conference also honored \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/abstract\/document\/6678649\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAnalysis of Country-wide Internet Outages Caused by Censorship\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a 2011 paper co-authored by \u003Cstrong\u003EAlberto Dainotti\u003C\/strong\u003E, a Georgia Tech professor in the School of Computer Science and adjunct professor at SCP.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe paper examined internet disruptions in Egypt and Libya in 2011, using large-scale internet measurements to understand how governments can disrupt communications across entire countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPhotos of Frank Li, Michael Bailey, and Alberto Dainotti by Terence Rushin and Kevin Beasley\/College of Computing\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers received 2026 Test of Time Awards for internet-security research with lasting impact. The recognized work spans Heartbleed remediation and country-wide internet censorship.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2022\u2002The 2014 Heartbleed study found that direct, actionable notifications led operators to patch vulnerable systems at a rate 47% higher than those not yet notified.\u003Cbr\u003E\u2022\u2002The research launched Frank Li\u2019s career-long work on vulnerability remediation, security notifications, system administration, authentication, and AI agent abuse.\u003Cbr\u003E\u2022\u2002A second honored paper analyzed internet outages caused by censorship in Egypt and Libya, using large-scale measurements to study government disruption of communications.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers received 2026 Test of Time Awards for internet-security research with lasting impact. The recognized work spans Heartbleed remediation and country-wide internet censorship."}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-11-05 19:57:16","changed_gmt":"2026-11-09 13:56:39","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-11-09T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2026-11-09T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681692":{"id":"681692","type":"image","title":"Award-Stock-photo.jpg","body":null,"created":"1794232195","gmt_created":"2026-11-09 13:49:55","changed":"1794232195","gmt_changed":"2026-11-09 13:49:55","alt":"A digital trophy with a digital hand holding it up. ","file":{"fid":"266131","name":"Award-Stock-photo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/11\/09\/Award-Stock-photo.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/11\/09\/Award-Stock-photo.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1592754,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/11\/09\/Award-Stock-photo.jpg?itok=HGGLv93N"}},"681693":{"id":"681693","type":"image","title":"Frank Li","body":null,"created":"1794232283","gmt_created":"2026-11-09 13:51:23","changed":"1794232283","gmt_changed":"2026-11-09 13:51:23","alt":"A man standing outside of the Coda Building","file":{"fid":"266132","name":"Frank-Li_86A0205-Enhanced-NR-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/11\/09\/Frank-Li_86A0205-Enhanced-NR-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/11\/09\/Frank-Li_86A0205-Enhanced-NR-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1195801,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/11\/09\/Frank-Li_86A0205-Enhanced-NR-copy.jpg?itok=jHPZR3Ih"}},"681694":{"id":"681694","type":"image","title":"Michael Bailey","body":null,"created":"1794232326","gmt_created":"2026-11-09 13:52:06","changed":"1794232326","gmt_changed":"2026-11-09 13:52:06","alt":"A man in a suit sitting on a wooden bench outside. ","file":{"fid":"266133","name":"Michael-Bailey_86A9603.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/11\/09\/Michael-Bailey_86A9603.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/11\/09\/Michael-Bailey_86A9603.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":20827295,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/11\/09\/Michael-Bailey_86A9603.jpg?itok=CKIsA3av"}},"675508":{"id":"675508","type":"image","title":"Alberto Dainotti.jpg","body":null,"created":"1730474811","gmt_created":"2024-11-01 15:26:51","changed":"1730474811","gmt_changed":"2024-11-01 15:26:51","alt":"Alberto Dainotti","file":{"fid":"259139","name":"Alberto Dainotti_86A5113-Enhanced-NR.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/11\/01\/Alberto%20Dainotti_86A5113-Enhanced-NR.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/11\/01\/Alberto%20Dainotti_86A5113-Enhanced-NR.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":68255,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/11\/01\/Alberto%20Dainotti_86A5113-Enhanced-NR.jpg?itok=g3iwI63T"}}},"media_ids":["681692","681693","681694","675508"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"660406","name":"School of Cybersecurity \u0026 Privacy"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer at the School of the Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}