Welcome to Beyond Defense Lab
We are a dynamic research group in the Department of Computer Science at the University of New Mexico. We focus on advancing cybersecurity and privacy in digital ecosystems.
Our primary goal is to understand malicious activity on the Internet and its societal impact. We envision facilitating secure technology adoption by defending against malicious applications, enabling safe use of privacy-assuring tools, establishing informed trust in digital systems, and ensuring secure adoption of emerging communication technologies. To achieve this, we leverage malware analysis, vulnerability management, and threat intelligence to identify system weaknesses, develop new threat models, and build robust defense systems against evolving attack vectors.
Our research spans mobile, web, and space systems, contributing to the security and privacy of critical infrastructures.
Our students also organize the LoboSec CTF group, fostering hands-on cybersecurity skills through capture-the-flag competitions.
We are looking for passionate new PhD students, and student summer interns to join the team (more info) !
April 2026: We have received NSF CAREER award on building resilient VPNs. Thank you to the students, collaborators, and NSF for their support!
April 2026: We hosted Kendra Cook from NASA IV&V. She discussed about “Trust, but Verify (Independently):Securing NASA’s Mission-Critical Software”. Thank you Kendra for visiting us!
March 2026: We were visited by David Huggins and Ron Prado from Georgia Tech Research Institute. Thank you for visiting us!
March 2026: Afsah delivered a talk on “The Hidden Cost of Security & Privacy Risks in Modern Digital Systems” at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI!. Thank you Dr. Rhongho Jang for the invitation and your hospitality!
March 2026: Jack and Afsah are traveling to IEEE Aerospace Conference 2026 in Big Sky, Montana! Jack will be presenting our work on supply chain-based malware threats to small satellites. Come see us there!
February 2026: Enrique, Ramsha, and Afsah will be attending NDSS in San Diego. We will be presenting our work on auditing the security and privacy of mobile VPNs. Come see us there!
February 2026: We hosted Dr. Kevin Butler (University of Florida) at UNM. Dr. Butler delivered a talk on “Exploring Unanticipated Functionality in the Mobile Ecosystem and Beyond”.
January 2026: Congratulations Enrique and Ramsha for receiving the NDSS Fellowship!
January 2026: Danish has been featured by Computing Research Association (CRA)! Read more
