Muriel
Ph.D. in
Computer Science

Muriel Franco

I am

I am a Networking and Cybersecurity researcher with experience in multidisciplinary projects with technical, economic, and societal impacts.

About Me   Last Updates

Education

  • 2018-2023
    Ph.D. in Computer Science Switzerland

    Keywords: Cybersecurity Planning and Investments,
    Cybersecurity Economics, Risk Management

    Advisor: Prof. Dr. Burkhard Stiller

    University of Zurich (UZH)

  • 2020-2022
    MBA in Project Management Brazil

    Keywords: Cybersecurity projects in companies,
    Risk Management, Cost Management

    Advisor: Dr. Fabrício Martins Lacerda

    Federal University of São Paulo (USP)

  • 2015-2017
    M.Sc. in Computer Science Brazil

    Keywords: Network Functions Virtualization (NFV),
    Information Visualization

    Advisor: Prof. Dr. Lisandro Zambenedetti Granville

    Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)

  • 2010-2014
    B.Sc. in Computer Science Brazil

    Keywords: Green Building, Artificial Inteligence

    Advisor: Prof. Dr. Anderson Priebe Ferrugem

    Federal University of Pelotas (UFPEL)

About me.

I'm passionate about how technology can impact people and businesses to create value for the society.

I am a Brazilian computer scientist with experience in technical and multidisciplinary projects within international teams, including collaborations with experts in computer networks, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and economics. This resulted in more than 50 research papers and two software patents co-authored. Besides that, I have been participating as an invited speaker or presenting my research work at many conferences and events worldwide. I also have experience as a professor for computer science-related topics and acting as a supervisor for many under- and post-graduation students. Feel free to contact me if you foresee any collaboration or want to discuss any topic of interest.

Lattes CV

* The Lattes Platform is maintained by the Brazilian federal government to manage information on science, technology, and innovation related to individual researches and institutions working in Brazil.

Experience.

Postdoctoral Researcher
Full Time

Leading and conducting research at the Computer Networks Group with focus on cybersecurity and programmable networks.

Senior Research Consultant
Partial Time

Supporting ZERON to implement state-of-the-art research and cutting-edge technology on their products for cybersecurity posture management and risk assessment.

Research and Teaching Assistant
Full Time

Research and teaching activities at the Communication Systems Group leaded by Prof. Dr. Burkhard Stiller.
Research activities: Leading and conducting work on the topics related to Cybersecurity, Economics of Cyberattacks, Blockchain, Smart Contracts, and Network Functions Virtualization.
Teaching activities: Mobile Communication Systems, Protocols for Multimedia Communications, Internet Economics Seminar, Communication Systems Seminar, Supervisor of bachelor thesis, master projects, and master thesis.

Project Manager / Research and Development Assistant
Partial Time

Research and development activities to project and implant an ecosystem for offering, distribution, and execution of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs).
As Project Manager, Concepts of Agile Methods and, most precisely, Scrum was explored to help the team achieve the goals and also handle dynamic demands on the implementation and research fronts.

Substitute Professor
Full Time

Teaching activities at the Internet Systems bachelor degree on disciplines related to computer networks and web development.
Lectures: Computer Networks II, Web Development, and User Interfaces Design

Web System Developer
Partial Time

Development and evolutive maintenance activities in the web systems of Brazilian Computer Society.

Publications

A complete list of my publications is available at the repositories maintained by Scholar, ResearchGate, and DBLT. Furthermore, my last activities as Peer Reviewer can be verified at WebOfScience.

For a better view, only the last 5 years of selected publications are shown below.

2024

  • [Full Paper] J. C. Chasteles, E. J. Scheid, M. F. Franco, L. Z. Granville: Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe: Analyzing and Comparing the Selection of DNS Lookup Tools; IEEE Symposium on Computers and Communications (ISCC 2024), Paris, France, June 2024, pp. 1-6. (To appear)
  • [Full Paper] D. Boeira, E. J. Scheid, M. F. Franco, L. Zembruzki, L. Z. Granville: Traffic Centralization and Digital Sovereignty: An Analysis Under the Lens of DNS Servers; IEEE/IFIP Network Operations and Management Symposium (NOMS 2024), May 2024, Seoul, South Korea. Link.
  • [Technical Report] M. F. Franco, A. R. Mullick, S. Jha: QBER: Quantifying Cyber Risks for Strategic Decisions; May 2024, arXiv:2405.03513. Link
  • [Full Paper] M. Sauerserrig, M. F. Franco, E. J. Scheid, A. Huertas, G. Bovet, B. Stiller, L. Z. Granville: FEVER: Intelligent Behavioral Fingerprinting for Anomaly Detection in P4-based Programmable Networks; 38th International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications (AINA-2024), April 2024, Kitakyushu, Japan, p. 1-12. Link
  • [Full Paper] M. Almeida, M. F. Franco, E. J. Scheid, L. Zembruzki, L. Z. Granville: PerfResolv: A Geo-Distributed Approach for Performance Analysis of Public DNS Resolvers Based on Domain Popularity; 38th International Conference on Advanced Information Networking and Applications (AINA-2024), April 2024, Kitakyushu, Japan, p. 1-12. Link
  • [Journal] M. F. Franco, F. Künzler, J. von der Assen, C. Feng, B. Stiller: RCVaR: an Economic Approach to Estimate Cyberattacks Costs using Data from Industry Reports; Computers & Security, Vol. 139, January 2024. Link

2023-2019

  • [Full Paper] E. J. Scheid, S. Kung, M. F. Franco, B. Stiller: Opening Pandora's Box: an Analysis of the Usage of the Data Field in Blockchains; 5th International Conference on Blockchain Computing and Applications (BCCA), Kuwait City, October 2023, pp. 1-8. Link
  • [Technical Report] M. F. Franco, C. Omlin, O. L. Kamer, E. J. Scheid, B. Stiller: SECAdvisor: a Tool for Cybersecurity Planning using Economic Models; arXiv:2304.07909, April 2023. Link
  • [Dissertation Digest] M. F. Franco, L. Z. Granville, B. Stiller: CyberTEA: a Technical and Economic Approach for Cybersecurity Planning and Investment; 36th IEEE/IFIP Network Operations and Management Symposium (NOMS 2023), Miami, USA, May 2023, pp. 1-6. Link
  • [Full Paper] A. Huertas Celdran, J. Kreischer, M. Demirci, J. Leupp, P. Miguel Sanchez, M. Franco, Gerome Bovet, Gregorio Martinez Perez, Burkhard Stiller: A Framework Quantifying Trustworthiness of Supervised Machine and Deep Learning Models; The AAAI Workshop on Artificial Intelligence Safety 2023 (SafeAI 2023), Washington, D.C, February 2023, pp. 1–14. Link
  • [Journal] M. F. Franco, F. M. Lacerda, B. Stiller: A Framework for the Planning and Management of Cybersecurity Projects in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises; UNINOVE, Journal of Business and Projects (Revista de Gestão e Projetos), Vol. 13, No. 3, December 2022, pp. 1–25. Link
  • [Journal] E. J. Scheid, R. Hy, M. F. Franco, C. Killer, B. Stiller: On the Employment of Machine Learning in the Blockchain Selection Process; IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management, Vol. 1, No. 1, December 2022, pp. 1–12. Link
  • [Full Paper] M. F. Franco, F. M. Lacerda , B. Stiller: SECProject: a Framework for the Management of Cybersecurity Projects in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises; X International Symposium on Management, Project, Innovation and Sustainability (X SINGEP), São Paulo, Brazil, October 2022, pp. 1–16. Link
  • [Demo] A. Huertas, J. Bauer, M. Demirci, J. Leupp, M. F. Franco, P. Sánchez, G. Bovet, G. M. Perez, B. Stiller: RITUAL: A Platform Quantifying the Trustworthiness of Supervised Machine Learning; 18th International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM 2022), Thessaloniki, Greece, September 2022, pp. 1–3. Link
  • [Full Paper] E. J. Scheid, M. F. Franco, F. Kuffer, N. Kubler, P. Kiechl, B. Stiller: VeNiCE: Enabling Automatic VNF Management based on Smart Contract Events; 47th IEEE Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN 2022), Edmonton, Canada, September 2022, pp. 1–8. Link
  • [Full Paper] M. F. Franco, E. Sula, A. Huertas, E. J. Scheid, L. Z. Granville, Burkhard Stiller: SecRiskAI: a Machine Learning-based Approach for Cybersecurity Risk Prediction in Businesses; 24th IEEE International Conference on Business Informatics, Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 2022, pp. 1–10. Link
  • [Book Chapter]} B. Rodrigues, M. Franco, C. Killer, E. J. Scheid, B. Stiller: On Trust, Blockchain, and Reputation Systems; Handbook on Blockchain, Series on Optimization and Its Applications, Springer, Cham, Switzerland, No. 194, 2022, ISBN 978-3-031-07534-6, pp. 299–337. Link
  • [Journal] C. Killer, B. Rodrigues, E. J. Scheid, M. F. Franco, B. Stiller: Blockchain-Based Voting Considered Harmful?; IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management (TNSM), June 2022, pp. 1-16. Link
  • [Full Paper] J. von der Assen, M. F. Franco, C. Killer, E. J. Scheid, B. Stiller: CoReTM: An Approach Enabling Cross-Functional Collaborative Threat Modeling; IEEE International Conference on Cyber Security and Resilience, Rhodes, Greece, July 2022, pp. 1–8. Link
  • [Magazine] M. Franco, B. Stiller: Cybersecurity Support for SMEs; Alumni Wirtschaftsinformatik University of Zurich, Readme Alumni - Das Bulletin, Vol. 2022, No. 47, May 2022, pp. 8–10. Link
  • [Technical Report] Jan von der Assen, Muriel F. Franco, Christian Killer, Eder J. Scheid, Burkhard Stiller: On Collaborative Threat Modeling; UZH, IFI-TecReport No. 2022.04, Zürich, Switzerland, April 2022. Link
  • [Tutorial] A. Huertas, P. Sánchez, M. Franco, G. Bovet, G. Martínez, B. Stiller: Theoretical and Practical Intelligent Behavioral Fingerprinting; IEEE/IFIP Network Operations and Management Symposium (NOMS 2022), Budapest, Hungary, April 2022.
  • [Tutorial] Alberto Huertas, Pedro M. Sánchez, Muriel Franco, Bruno Rodrigues, Gérôme Bovet, Gregorio Martínez, Burkhard Stiller: Intelligent Behavioral Fingerprinting – From Theory to Practice; 17th International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM 2021), Izmir, Turkey, October 2021.
  • [Full Paper] Eder John Scheid, Pascal Kiechl, Muriel Franco, Bruno Rodrigues, Christian Killer, Burkhard Stiller: Security and Standardization of a Notary-based Blockchain Interoperability API; IEEE 3rd International Conference on Blockchain Computing and Applications (BCCA 2021), Tartu, Estonia, November 2021, pp. 1–7. Link
  • [Full Paper] M. Franco, J. von der Assen, L. Boillat, C. Killer, B. Rodrigues, E. John Scheid, L. Granville, B. Stiller: SecGrid: A Visual System for the Analysis and ML-Based Classification of Cyberattack Traffic; IEEE 46th Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN 2021), Virtually, Edmonton, Canada, October 2021, pp. 1–8. Link
  • [Demo] Jan von der Assen, Muriel Franco, Bruno Rodrigues, Burkhard Stiller: Analysis and Classification of Cyberattack Traffic Using the SecGrid Platform; IEEE 46th Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN) - Demo Session, Edmond, Canada, October 2021, pp. 1–3. Link
  • [Full Paper] M. Franco, N. Berni, E. Scheid, B. Rodrigues, C. Killer, B. Stiller: SaCI: a Blockchain-based Cyber Insurance Approach for the Deployment and Management of a Contract Coverage; 18th International Conference on the Economics of Grids, Clouds, Systems and Services (GECON 2021), "LNCS", Virtually, September 2021, pp. 1–14. Link
  • [Book Chapter] E. Scheid, B. Rodrigues, C. Killer, M. Franco, S. Rafati, B. Stiller: Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers Uncovered: Clarifications, Achievements, and Open Issues; in: Michael Goedicke, Erich Neuhold, Kai Rannenberg (Edt.), "Advancing Research in Information and Communication Technology", Springer, Cham, Switzerland, No. 1, August 2021, pp. 1–29. Link
  • [Short Paper] L. Mueller, B. Rodrigues, E. Scheid, M. Franco, C. Killer, B. Stiller: LaFlector: A Privacy-Preserving LiDAR-Based Approach for Accurate Indoor Tracking; IEEE 46th Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN 2021), Virtually, Edmonton, Canada, October 2021, pp. 1–4. Link
  • [Journal] M. Franco, B. Rodrigues, C. Killer, E. Scheid, A. De Carli, A. Gassmann, D. Schoenbaechler, B. Stiller: WeTrace: a Privacy-preserving Tracing Approach; KICKS and IEEE ComSoc, Journal of Communications and Networks (JCN), Special Issue on Communications and Networking Approaches for Combatting COVID-19, October 2021, pp. 1–16. Link
  • [Poster] M. Franco, J. von der Assen, L. Boillat, C. Killer, B. Rodrigues, E. Scheid, L. Granville, B. Stiller, B. Rodrigues, B. Stiller: DDoSGrid: a Platform for the Post-mortem Analysis and Visualization of DDoS Attacks; IFIP Networking 2021, Virtually, Espoo, Finland, June 21-24 2021, pp. 1–3. Link
  • [Poster] R. Ribeiro, B. Rodrigues, C. Killer, L. Baumann, M. Franco, E. Scheid, B. Stiller: ASIMOV: A Fully Passive WiFi Device Tracking; IFIP Networking 2021, Virtually, Espoo, Finland, June 21-24 2021, pp. 1–3. Link
  • [Full Paper] E. Scheid, A. Knecht, T. Strasser, C. Killer, M. Franco, B. Rodrigues, B. Stiller: Edge2BC: a Practical Approach for Edge-to-Blockchain IoT Transactions; IEEE International Conference on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (ICBC 2021), Virtually, Darlinghurst, Australia, May 2021, pp. 1–9. Link
  • [Full Paper] C. Killer, M. Knecht, C. Müller, B. Rodrigues, E. Scheid, M. Franco, B. Stiller: Æternum: A Decentralized Voting System with Unconditional Privacy; IEEE International Conference on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (ICBC 2021), Virtually, Darlinghurst, Australia, May 2021, pp. 1–8. Link
  • [Tutorial] C. Killer, B. Rodrigues, E. John Scheid, M. Franco, B. Stiller: Blockchain-based Remote Electronic Voting from Theory to Practice; IFIP/IEEE International Symposium on Integrated Network Management (IM 2021), Virtually, Bordeaux, France, Bordeoux, France, May 2021. Link
  • [Full Paper] B. Rodrigues, C. Halter, M. Franco, E. John Scheid, C. Killer, B. Stiller: BluePIL: a Bluetooth-based Passive Indoor Localization Method; IFIP/IEEE International Symposium on Integrated Network Management (IM 2021), Virtually, Bordeaux, France, May 2021, pp. 1–9. Link
  • [Full Paper] M. Franco, B. Rodrigues, E. Scheid, A. Jacobs, C. Killer, L. Granville, B. Stiller: SecBot: a Business-Driven Conversational Agent for Cybersecurity Planning and Management; 16th International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM 2020), Mini Conference, Izmir, Turkey, November 2020, pp. 1–7. Link
  • [Full Paper] C. Killer, B. Rodrigues, E. J. Scheid, M. Franco, M. Eck, N. Zaugg, A. Schetlin, B. Stiller: Provotum: A Blockchain-Based and End-to-End Verifiable Remote Electronic Voting System; IEEE 45th Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN 2020), Sidney, Australia, November 2020, pp. 1–12. Link
  • [Journal] Bruno Rodrigues, Eder Scheid, Christian Killer, Muriel Franco, Burkhard Stiller: Blockchain Signaling System (BloSS): Cooperative Signaling of Distributed Denial-of-Service Attacks; Journal of Network and Systems Management, Springer Nature, August, 2020, pp. 1-37. Link
  • [Full Paper] Muriel Franco, Erion Sula, Bruno Rodrigues, Eder Scheid, Burkhard Stiller: ProtectDDoS: a Platform for Trustworthy Offering and Recommendation of Protections; International Conference on Economics of Grids, Clouds, Software and Services (GECON 2020), Izola, Slovenia, September 15-17, 2020. Link
  • [Technical Report] Christian Killer, Lucas Thorbecke, Bruno Rodrigues, Eder John Scheid, Muriel Franco, Burkhard Stiller: Proverum: A Hybrid Public Verifiability for Decentralized Identity Management; University of Zurich, Department of Informatics IfI, Communication Systems Group CSG, IFI Technical Report 2020.03, Zürich, Switzerland, August 2020. Link
  • [Demo] Getoar Gallopeni, Bruno Rodrigues, Muriel Franco, Burkhard Stiller: A Practical Analysis on Mirai Botnet Traffic; IFIP Networking 2020, Paris, France, 22-25 June, 2020. Link
  • [White Paper] Alessandro De Carli, Muriel Franco, Andreas Gassmann, Christian Killer, Bruno Rodrigues, Eder John Scheid, David Schoenbaechler, Burkhard Stiller: WeTrace: Privacy-preserving Mobile COVID-19 Tracing Approach and Application; Technical Report, Zürich, Switzerland, April 2020. Link
  • [Tutorial] Christian Killer, Bruno Rodrigues, Eder Scheid, Muriel Franco, Burkhard Stiller: Practical Introduction to Blockchain-based Remote Electronic Voting; IEEE International Conference on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (ICBC 2020), 3-6 May, Toronto, Canada. Link
  • [Full Paper] Eder J. Scheid, P. Widmer, B. Rodrigues, M. Franco, B. Stiller: A Controlled Natural Language to Support Intent-based Blockchain Selection; IEEE International Conference on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (ICBC 2020), 3-6 May 2020, Toronto, Canada, pp. 1-9. Link
  • [Book Chapter] Bruno Rodrigues, Muriel Franco, Eder Scheid, Salil S. Kanhere, Burkhard Stiller. A Technology-driven Overview on Blockchain-based Academic Certificate Handling. IGI Global. 2020, pp. 197-223. Link
  • [Journal] V. Garcia, G. Venâncio, E. P. Duarte, T. Tavares, L. Marcuzzo, C. dos Santos, M. Franco, L. Bondan, L. Granville, A. Egon, F. De Turck: On the Design and Development of Emulation Platforms for NFV-based Infrastructures; International Journal of Grid and Utility Computing, v. 11, No. 2, pp. 230, 2020. Link
  • [Full Paper] Muriel Franco, Bruno Rodrigues, Burkhard Stiller: MENTOR: The Design and Evaluation of a Protection Services Recommender System; 15th International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM 2019), Mini Conference, Halifax, Canada, October 21-25. Link
  • [Full Paper] Bruno Rodrigues, Muriel Franco, Geetha Parangi, Burkhard Stiller: SEConomy: A Framework for the Economic Assessment of Cybersecurity; 16th International Conference on Economics of Grids, Clouds, Systems, and Services (GECON 2019), Leeds, UK, September 17-19, 2019, pp. 154-166. Link
  • [Full Paper] Muriel Franco, Martin Bucher, Eder Scheid, Lisandro Granville, Burkhard Stiller: GENEVIZ: A Visual Tool for Construction and Blockchain-based Validation of SFC; 16th International Conference on Economics of Grids, Clouds, Systems, and Services (GECON 2019), Leeds, UK, September 17-19, 2019, pp. 15-28. Link
  • [Technical Report] Muriel Franco, Bruno Rodrigues, Burkhard Stiller: On the Recommendation of Protection Services; Technical Report No. ifi-2019.06, August 2019; Communication Systems Group CSG, Department of Informatics IfI, University of Zurich UZH, Switzerland. Link
  • [Short Paper] Eder Scheid, Manuel Keller, Muriel Franco, Burkhard Stiller: BUNKER: a Blockchain-based trUsted VNF pacKagE Repository; 16th International Conference on Economics of Grids, Clouds, Systems, and Services (GECON 2019), Leeds, UK, September 17-19, 2019, pp. 188-196. Link
  • [Full Paper] Muriel Franco, Eder Scheid, Lisandro Granville, Burkhard Stiller: BRAIN: Blockchain-based Reverse Auction for Infrastructure Supply in Virtual Network Functions-as-a-Service; IFIP Networking 2019, Warshaw, Poland, May 20-22, pp. 1-9. Link
  • [Journal] R. Pfitscher, A. Jacobs, L. Zembruzki,  R dos Santos, E. Scheid, M. Franco, A. Schaeffer-Filho, L. Granville: Guiltiness: A Practical Approach for Quantifying Virtual Network Functions Performance; Computer Networks (COMNET), June 2019, pp. 14-31.  Link
  • [Journal]  Vênancio, G.; Garcia, V. F.; Marcuzzo, L. C.; Tavares, T. N.; Franco, M. F.; Bondan, L.; Schaeffer-Filho, A.; Raniery, C.; Granville, L. Z.; Procópio, E.: Beyond VNFM: Filling the Gaps of the ETSI VNF Manager to Fully Support VNF Lifecycle Operations; International Journal of Network Management (IJNM), April 2019. pp.  1-16.  Link
  • [Journal] L. Bondan, M. F. Franco, L. Marcuzzo, G. Venancio, R. L. Santos, R. J. Pfitscher, E. J. Scheid, B. Stiller, F. De Turck, E. P. Duarte, A. E. Schaeffer-Filho, C. R. P. Santos, and L. Z. Granville: FENDE: Marketplace-Based Distribution, Execution, and Life Cycle Management of VNFs; IEEE Communications Magazine, 57(1): January 2019, pp. 1389-1406. Link

Recent projects

PROFISSA (2023-Current)

The PROFISSA project is proposed to investigate, map and advance the use of software engineering techniques when applied to programmable networks in order to improve the structural and functional quality and the process of developing network programs.
My role: Researcher
Sponsor: São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

GT-IMPACTO (2024-Current)

The GT-IMPACTO aims to develop a platform for cybersecurity professionals based on the modeling and simulation of the economic economic aspects of cybersecurity, including behaviors and incentives of attackers, the impacts of cyberattacks and the cost-benefit of implementing security controls. The platform will be proposed in the context of the Hackers do Bem" project for training the next generation of cybersecurity professionals in Brazil.
My role: Project Manager and Tech Lead
Sponsor: Brazilian Research Network (RNP)

Data Quality for Network Security
(2023-Current)

The objectives for this project are to define a specific data quality metric for different quality aspects of data. Given the established metrics for data quality in networking, the project will develop a collaborative online platform to evaluate and rank datasets commonly used datasets for ML in networking.
My role: Researcher
Sponsor: Internet Address Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACNIC)

CONCORDIA (2019-2023)

The vision of CONCORDIA is to build strong community cooperation between all European cybersecurity stakeholders, fostering the development of IT products and cybersecurity solutions along the whole supply chain. My work focuses on different aspects of the project, especially Task 4.3, which aims to understand and handle the economic impacts of cyberattacks.
My role: Researcher, Task Manager
Sponsor: European Commission H2020

SecGrid (2019-2022)

The project focuses on developing a platform for the processing, extraction, and analysis of malicious network traffic. For that, SecGrid implements a set of extensible miners, machine learning algorithms, and insightful visualizations for the understanding of behaviors and characteristics of cyberattacks.
My role: Researcher, Project Manager
Sponsor: University of Zurich

PasWITS (2020-2022)

PasWITS defines an approach for passive tracking of people using Wireless intelligence. For that, two fundamental points are explored: (1) the capture of passively device data and its identification, and (2) data correlation and visualization, which involves the correlation of devices and users and prediction of scenarios (i.e., prediction of events and exhibition performance). In this project, I contributed with the discussions on research directions and dissemination of results (i.e., papers and articles) in selected scientific venues.
My role: Collaborator
Sponsor: Inosuisse

COVID-19 Tracing Approach (2020-2021)

This project arose during the COVID-19 pandemic as an initiative of the Papers.ch and the Communication Systems Group CSG to contribute to the community in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed approach, called WeTrace, utilizes Bluetooth Low Energy (BTE) communication channels and asymmetric cryptography to provide a fully privacy-preserving application for tracing infected people.
My role: Collaborator, Researcher
Sponsor: University of Zurich

E-Voting and Blockchain (2019-2021)

This project focuses on research and developing Remote Electronic Voting (REV) systems to support the electronic transformation of political systems. For that, technologies like blockchain and state-of-the-art cryptography concepts have been explored to implement a BC-based REV system that supports a fully end-to-end verifiable voting process. My contribution remains on the collaboration for the threat modeling of E-votings and security analysis of implemented components.
My role: Collaborator, Security expert
Sponsor: University of Zurich

FENDE (2017-2020)

The project aimed to research, develop, and deploy a full-fledged ecosystem for the offer, distribution, and execution of Virtual Network Functions (VNF). This ecosystem was one of the first of its kind. It allowed for the automation of different aspects related to the acquisition and deployment of VNFs. I worked as a full-stack developer and assistant researcher in the first years and as a project manager in the last year, helping to consolidate all results and achieve the project's goals.
My role: Project Manager, Developer
Sponsor: Brazilian Research Network (RNP)

Teaching Activities

(2019-2023) Teaching Assistant in Bachelor's and Master's courses of the Department of Informatics IfI at the University of Zurich UZH (Switzerland).

(2017/1-2017/2) Substitute Professor at the Internet Systems bachelor degree of the Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul IFSul (Brazil).
Remark: Two years contract terminated before it ends, under request, to move for a PhD program in Switzerland.

  • Computer Networks (2017/1)
  • User Interfaces Design (2017/1)
  • Web Development (2017/1)

* A complete list of my talks as an invited speaker and education activities can be found in my Lattes CV.

Supervised Students



Master Thesis:

  1. Christian Omlin: Strategic Alignment in Cybersecurity Information Sharing: A Multidimensional Approach to Company Similarity Analysis; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zürich, Switzerland, October 2023. Link
  2. Bulin Shaqiri: A System for Cost-Efficient Cybersecurity Planning, Compliance, and Investment Prioritization; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zürich, Switzerland, August 2023. Link
  3. Fabian Künzler: Real Cyber Value at Risk: An Approach to Estimate Economic Impacts of Cyberattacks on Businesses; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zürich, Switzerland, January 2023. Link
  4. Viktor Matejka: MeritMiner4CI: A Novel Approach for Risk Assessment in Cyber Insurance Based on Process Mining; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zürich, Switzerland, March 2022. Link
  5. Erion Sula: SecRiskAI: A Machine Learning-based Tool for Cybersecurity Risk Assessment; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, August 2021. Link
  6. Luc Boillat: DDoSGrid-Mining: Analyzing and Classifying DDoS Attack Traffic; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, March 2021. Link
  7. Jan von der Assen: DDoSGrid 2.0: Integrating and Providing Visualizations for the European DDoS Clearing House; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, February 2021. Link
  8. Noah Berni: SC4CyberInsurance: Automated Cyber-Insurance Contracts; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, January 2021. Link
  9. Sebastian Sanchez: An Intent-Aware Chatbot for Cybersecurity Recommendation; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, March 2020. Link

Master Project:

  1. Christian Omlin, Oliver Kamer: SECAdvisor 2.0: Visualizations and Extensions for Cybersecurity Economics Analysis; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zürich, Switzerland, February 2023. Link
  2. Chenfei Ma, Euxane Vaz Pinto, Neng Xu: CyberAlert: An ML-based Cybersecurity Risk Assessment Tool; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zürich, Switzerland, January 2023. Link
  3. Viktor Matejka, Juan Angel Huacan Soto: A Framework for the Definition and Analysis of Cyber Insurance Requirements; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zürich, Switzerland, September 2021. Link
  4. Chao Feng, Qiaowen Wang, Xianxiao Xu: SHINE: a Collaborative System for Sharing Insights and Information of Economic Impacts of Cyberattacks; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, May 2021. Link
  5. Luc Boillat, Jan von der Assen: A Tool for Visualization and Analysis of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, April 2020. Link

Bachelor Thesis:

  1. Matheus Saueressig: A Framework for Behavioral Fingerprinting in Programmable Networks; Institute of Informatics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil, February 2024.
  2. Dario Akhavan Safa: Design and Implementation of a Decision Support System for Ransomware Protections; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zürich, Switzerland, April 2022. Link
  3. Christian Omlin: A Gordon-Loeb-based Visual Tool for Cybersecurity Investments; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zürich, Switzerland, January 2022. Link
  4. Florian Imami: A Web-Based Interface for a Blockchain-based Cyber Insurance Approach; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zürich, Switzerland, August 2021. Link
  5. Bulin Shaqiri: Development and Refinement of a Chatbot for Cybersecurity Support; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, February 2021. Link
  6. Amadeo Charle: Kirti: Decentralized Reputation and SLA Enforcement for Cybersecurity; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, September 2020. Link
  7. Dominik Jurilj: ReM: a Blockchain-based Reputation System for Infrastructure Providers; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, September 2020. Link
  8. Can Inan: A Visual Tool for the Analysis of Cybersecurity Investments; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, August 2020. Link
  9. Maximilian Tornow: Design and Implementation of a System to Request, Process and Store Information from Protection Services and Cyberattacks; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, April 2020. Link
  10. Erion Sula: ProtecDDoS: A Recommender System for Distributed Denial-of-Service Protection Services; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, August 2019. Link
  11. Reto Odoni: Design and Implementation of a Distributed Denial-of-Service Data Simulator; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, August 2019. Link
  12. Lawand Muhamad: Analysis of Unwanted Advertising Traffic: An Economic and User Experience Perspective; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, August 2019. Link
  13. Martin Bucher: GENEVIZ - Generation, Validation, and Visualization of SFC Packages; University of Zurich, Communication Systems Group, Department of Informatics, Zurich, Switzerland, May 2019. Link

News and Updates

Honors & Awards

  • 1st Place - Hacktoon HSClima 2024
    • We received the 1st placein the Hacktoon HSClima with the tool "É Verdade Isso?", a tool aiming to combat fakenews. The team was composed by Muriel Franco, Eder Scheid and Arthur Camargo.
  • Best Paper - ERRC 2023
    • Two papers from MA students (ongoing work) whom I have been co-author received the 1st and 2nd prizes in the "Best Paper Award" of the 20º Escola Regional de Redes de Computadores (ERRC 2023)
  • PhD Summa Cum Laude - UZH - Nov/2022
    • The highest recognition for a PhD that achieves particularly very good results. At the University of Zurich, it is given for PhD degrees that reach a final grade higher than 5.5 points out of 6.0 points possible. Generally representing the top 5% of the overall PhD thesis concluded.
  • Best Demo - LCN 2021
    • The demonstration of the SecGrid project received the "Best Demo Award" during the ceremony in the 46th IEEE Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN 2021).
  • Best Paper - ICBC 2021
    • Best Paper Award out of 226 submissions. The paper entitled "Æternum: a Decentralized Voting System with Unconditional Privacy", researched and organized by Christian Killer and the team of Markus Knecht, Claude Müller, Bruno Rodrigues, Eder Scheid, Muriel Franco, Burkhard Stiller was awarded as the best paper of ICBC 2022 during the closing ceremony.
  • Best Paper Presentation - GECON 2020
    • The "Best Paper Presentation" award was given to the best presentation of a paper at the GECON 2020. The work entitled "ProtectDDoS: a Platform for Trustworthy. Offering and Recommendation of Protections", presented by Muriel Franco, was awarded during the closing ceremony of the conference.
  • Student Travel Grant Award - SIGCOMM 2019
    • High-potential pos-graduate students were selected to have all costs covered by ACM to attend on the SIGCOMM 2019 - (Beijing, China).
  • Student Travel Grant Award - IFIP Networking 2019
    • High-potential pos-graduate students were selected to have costs covered by IFIP TC6 to attend on the IFIP Networking 2019 - (Warshaw, Poland)
  • Best Paper - WRGS 2018
    • Prêmio de melhor artigo do XXIII Workshop de Gerência e Operação de Redes e Serviços (WGRS) - (São Paulo)
  • Aprovação em Concurso Público (Passed in a Civil Service Examination) - 2018
    • 3º Lugar (297 candidatos) em Concurso Público para o cargo de Técnico de Segurança da Informação no BANRISUL (Edital 2018) - Nomeado
  • Aprovação em Concurso Público (Passed in a Civil Service Examination) - 2018
    • 2º Lugar (18 candidatos) em Concurso Público para o cargo de Professor Substituto no Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Sul-rio-grandense (IFSUL) (Edital 060/2018) - Posse
  • Aprovação em Concurso Público (Passed in a Civil Service Examination) - 2017
    • 3º lugar (20 candidatos) em Concurso Público para o cargo de Professor Substituto na Universidade Federal de Pelotas (Edital nº18/2017) - Nomeado
  • Aprovação em Concurso Público (Passed in a Civil Service Examination) - 2017
    • 37º lugar (1071 candidatos) em Concurso Público para o cargo de Perito Criminal - Computação Forense na Polícia Científica do Paraná (Edital 2017) - Nomeado
  • Student Travel Grant Award - SIGCOMM 2016
    • High-potential pos-graduate students were selected to have all costs covered by ACM to attend on the SIGCOMM 2016 (Florianopolis, Brazil).
  • Aprovação em Concurso Público (Passed in a Civil Service Examination) - 2016
    • 9º lugar (360 candidatos) em Concurso Público para o cargo de Analista de Infraestrutura e Aplicações na Empresa de Tecnologia e Informações da Previdência Social (DATAPREV) (Edital 2016) - CR
  • Best Paper - ERRC 2015
    • Best Paper Award of the 13º Escola Regional de Redes de Computadores (EERC) - (Passo Fundo, Brazil).
  • Honor Mention - 2012
    • The work presented in the 21st Congresso de Iniciação Cientifica (CIC) of Federal University of Pelotas was selected for the finals of the "Best Paper" competition.

Get in touch.

Contact Information

Always available for collaborations and discussions. Feel free to contact me.

  • Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
    Av. Bento Gonçalves - Agronomia, CEP: 90650-001, Porto Alegre, Brazil
    Institute of Informatics (INF), Room/Lab 210
  • [email protected]