Cybersecurity trailblazer honored with prestigious award

Fulton Schools professor recognized for distinguished service to security community

At first, he thought it was a drill.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Gail-Joon Ahn sat in a conference room in Fort Meade, Maryland. The cybersecurity researcher was part of a group that had been invited to a meeting at the headquarters of the National Security Agency, or NSA, where they expected to brief leaders on future challenges in computer security.

As the images of the terrorist attack against the nation that day began to play out on the room’s television screens, the academics were confused. Was this an exercise they were being invited to analyze? But when a military leader was evacuated from the room and the researchers were sequestered in a nearby hotel, Ahn understood that life had suddenly changed.

The need to better secure everything from airports to data ports came into sharp focus.

That same year, Ahn took up a position as information director of the Special Interest Group on Security, Audit and Control, or SIGSAC, part of the Association for Computing Machinery, or ACM, the world’s largest association for computer industry professionals.

“Back then, it seemed clear to me that we all really needed to work together,” Ahn says. “SIGSAC is an active community of highly skilled computer security professionals all sharing their expertise.”

Ahn is a professor of computer science and engineering in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. In October, he received the ACM SIGSAC Outstanding Contributions Award to recognize his pioneering research and outstanding leadership in the cybersecurity community.

The honor was presented at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security in Salt Lake City. The event is a global gathering point for academics, industry partners and students.

As part of his work for SIGSAC, Ahn has helped organize conferences, chaired committees that reviewed cybersecurity research papers and assisted with the publication of numerous professional journals, all with the goal of giving researchers opportunities to collaborate.

Ahn receives his award onstage during an October ceremony held as part of the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security in Salt Lake City. Photo courtesy of Gail-Joon Ahn

Building a foundation for future success for all

Creating collaborative communities has been a significant part of Ahn’s career. He has played a pivotal role in the successful development of the undergraduate cybersecurity concentration of the computer science program in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, which was ranked No. 18 by U.S. News & World Report in 2024.

Ahn is the founding director of the Center for Cybersecurity and Trusted Foundations, or CTF, a large research laboratory that is central to advancing the school’s computer security educational and research missions.

Now helmed by Adam Doupé, a Fulton Schools associate professor of computer science and engineering and current CTF director, the center conducts innovative research, especially in exploring the use of artificial intelligence, and does extensive community outreach as part of developing programs to encourage young students to consider cybersecurity careers.

Securing success

The new award is the latest in a series of accolades for Ahn.

In 2023, he was named a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE. The distinction is one of the technology industry’s most prestigious honors and is given to senior members of the institute for extraordinary achievements made over a lengthy career. The number of fellows named in any given year is highly limited and restricted to 0.1% of its voting members.

Ahn is a past recipient of the Early Career Research Award from the U.S. Department of Energy, has been granted numerous patents for his cybersecurity innovations and is an ACM Distinguished Member.

Ross Maciejewski, director of the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, says that Ahn’s Outstanding Contributions Award is well-deserved.

“This new award is a special validation of Gail-Joon Ahn’s efforts,” Maciejewski says. “He truly is a trailblazer who has created paths and inroads that others can take to achieve success.”

Ahn now plans to expand on his achievements. He has ongoing research projects underway in the Security Engineering for Future Computing laboratory that he founded, where he is especially interested in emerging data privacy and systems security issues.

He also hopes to continue to inspire cybersecurity students and prepare them for future careers.

“These are challenging roles,” Ahn says. “But students with heart and passion can handle them.”